Bumblefoot?

[Ziggy1973]

I have researched on this website and YouTube to find out if my birds have bumblefoot. I tried soaking for up to 30 minutes, then pushing, squeezing and pulling on the black scab with tweezers. I could only pull off little bits and never did see a "kernel" or core and there was no pus. Is this really bumblefoot or just a callus? If it's bumblefoot, what am I missing or doing wrong? I want to get it taken care of before it gets worse if it is. Thanks in advance!

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Yes that is bumblefoot. In my experience picking and prying doesn't always work. In fact for me, it hasn't worked at all. The most extensive effort I gave this method was with two hens, both with bumblefoot. I soaked them in an Epson salt bath for 45 minutes every night, wrapped the foot with antibiotic ointment, isolated them so they don't get their bandages wet, and I was never able to just pull anything out. Surgery didn't work (tried that on one hen). I have however treated two hens with antibiotics, and the bumble cleared up, although in one case the bumblefoot did return and I am currently on round 2 of trying again. The third hen, she's had bumblefoot for two years now and I've never gotten it to go away. She's been on antibiotics three times, two different types, and has endured lots of hours of soaking, poking, prodding, and surgery as well. She is my absolute sweetest hen and likes to nap in my lap, even through all of the torment I've given her.

 

[Ziggy1973]

Thank you so much! I'm glad you were able to avoid the surgery with your other hens. I watched that on YouTube last night and don't know if that's something i could do! I'll try more soaking and keep it wrapped and see how that works.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

All bird products sells Baytril 2.5% which is direct oral injected. Very easy to do. It’s effective for staph infections, which is what Bumblefoot is.

 

[Ziggy1973]

Thanks! Is this something that can be used instead of treatments or along with them?

 

[Anita Fajita]

I have just treated my orpington's bumblefoot successfully. I had to wrap her in a towel and soak her feet in a warm bath with epsom salts for a minimum of 10 minutes everyday for about 6 days. After each soak, I'd have a bit of a pick at it, try and get any dead skin around the edges to come off or lift, then put some betadine antiseptic liquid on it before releasing her. On the sixth successive soak, I managed to get the edges to lift, then tentatively started to peel it off slowly and gradually. The hen didn't seem to mind. I got the round black callous off cleanly and there was evidence of a scar where her foot had been cut in the first place to cause the bumblefoot to develop. I applied betadine and then cut a small square of gauze and stuck it with some tape over the tender area. I will check it out tomorrow. I guess their feet are just so vulnerable and do a lot of work for them. My garden has a lot of old buried rubbish which the chickens unearth (even an old clay pipe!) so it's no wonder they cut their feet and get infected. A friend of mine who had a hen with the same complaint took her's to the vet and had it cut out - I guess it depends on how big it has got or if it has got infected. I really didn't want to resort to cutting it out so persevered with the soaking and it has paid off.

 

[Ziggy1973]

I have just treated my orpington's bumblefoot successfully. I had to wrap her in a towel and soak her feet in a warm bath with epsom salts for a minimum of 10 minutes everyday for about 6 days. After each soak, I'd have a bit of a pick at it, try and get any dead skin around the edges to come off or lift, then put some betadine antiseptic liquid on it before releasing her. On the sixth successive soak, I managed to get the edges to lift, then tentatively started to peel it off slowly and gradually. The hen didn't seem to mind. I got the round black callous off cleanly and there was evidence of a scar where her foot had been cut in the first place to cause the bumblefoot to develop. I applied betadine and then cut a small square of gauze and stuck it with some tape over the tender area. I will check it out tomorrow. I guess their feet are just so vulnerable and do a lot of work for them. My garden has a lot of old buried rubbish which the chickens unearth (even an old clay pipe!) so it's no wonder they cut their feet and get infected. A friend of mine who had a hen with the same complaint took her's to the vet and had it cut out - I guess it depends on how big it has got or if it has got infected. I really didn't want to resort to cutting it out so persevered with the soaking and it has paid off.

Thanks for letting me know how you dealt with bumblefoot. It's good to know how others handle these issues.

 

[aprattsky]

I had wonderful luck with using TricideNeo to treat bumblefoot! It's intended to treat bacterial infections in fish but I read that it can also cure bumblefoot so I decided to give it a try after nothing else was working for me. My four chickens all developed bumblefoot that looked very similar to yours. I tried all sorts of treatments and was at a loss when I stumbled upon this article-

https://ouroneacrefarm.com/2013/11/09/bumblefoot-treatment-tricideneo/

I soaked for 5 minutes a day for one week, no wrapping or invasive surgery. That was about a month ago and their feet have all healed beautifully. In my opinion it is really worth a try a least. Best of luck with your chicken!

 

[Ziggy1973]

I had wonderful luck with using TricideNeo to treat bumblefoot! It's intended to treat bacterial infections in fish but I read that it can also cure bumblefoot so I decided to give it a try after nothing else was working for me. My four chickens all developed bumblefoot that looked very similar to yours. I tried all sorts of treatments and was at a loss when I stumbled upon this article-

https://ouroneacrefarm.com/2013/11/09/bumblefoot-treatment-tricideneo/

I soaked for 5 minutes a day for one week, no wrapping or invasive surgery. That was about a month ago and their feet have all healed beautifully. In my opinion it is really worth a try a least. Best of luck with your chicken!

I'll see if i can find that product. Thanks!

 

[aprattsky]

Sure! Here's a link to the store I bought it from-

https://www.koiacres.com/featured/tricide-neo.html