Bumblefoot

[Hopeful homesteader]

My dark brahma has a bumble on the bottom of her foot. I have watched videos on how to remove it and clean it but the problem is her feet are feathered and I don't how how far back I can trim her feathers so the vet wrap will stay on and not pull feathers out. We have not started removal yet, but I'm gathering supplies to start later today. I have an unused razor, latex gloves, rubbing alcohol to sanitize her foot and blade, peroxide to flush the hole after its removed, triple antibiotic ointment, gauze, and vet wrap for wrapping it it up after. I plan to keep her in my bathroom for a few hrs until the bleeding stops and then let her back out with the flock. How often should I change her bandage? How far back can I safely trim her foot feathers? Any other tips I should know before I start?

 

[coach723]

Depending on the size and depth of the bumble, cutting is not always neccessary. This is how I approach bumblefoot at first. If I don't get good results then I will consider other options then.
https://www.tillysnest.com/2015/12/non-surgical-bumblefoot-treatment.html/?spref=pi
I had a brahma roo with bumblefoot. You can trim any feathers with some small scissors if needed, as long as they are not blood feathers (newly growing with blood still in the shaft) they should be fine. Older feathers won't bleed. I was able to wrap the foot, I just was careful to wrap the feathers so that they lay in their natural position, and only wrap tight enough to keep it on, it can be a little loose. When you do bandage changes just check for any irritation.

 

[Hopeful homesteader]

Depending on the size and depth of the bumble, cutting is not always neccessary. This is how I approach bumblefoot at first. If I don't get good results then I will consider other options then.
https://www.tillysnest.com/2015/12/non-surgical-bumblefoot-treatment.html/?spref=pi
I had a brahma roo with bumblefoot. You can trim any feathers with some small scissors if needed, as long as they are not blood feathers (newly growing with blood still in the shaft) they should be fine. Older feathers won't bleed. I was able to wrap the foot, I just was careful to wrap the feathers so that they lay in their natural position, and only wrap tight enough to keep it on, it can be a little loose. When you do bandage changes just check for any irritation.

Thanks for that, hers is about the size of a pea and it's not red or swollen, it looks and feels identical to her other foot aside from the spot and I couldn't find anything showing how to remove it without cutting, I will try this first.

 

[Hopeful homesteader]

Depending on the size and depth of the bumble, cutting is not always neccessary. This is how I approach bumblefoot at first. If I don't get good results then I will consider other options then.
https://www.tillysnest.com/2015/12/non-surgical-bumblefoot-treatment.html/?spref=pi
I had a brahma roo with bumblefoot. You can trim any feathers with some small scissors if needed, as long as they are not blood feathers (newly growing with blood still in the shaft) they should be fine. Older feathers won't bleed. I was able to wrap the foot, I just was careful to wrap the feathers so that they lay in their natural position, and only wrap tight enough to keep it on, it can be a little loose. When you do bandage changes just check for any irritation.

Update, I'm really glad I didn't cut her. There was one on both feet, I didn't see the one on her other foot until I was soaking them. One was so shallow it was like a scab on the surface but the skin under was pink and healthy looking. The other foot that was pea sized she didn't want me to touch, just a little fluid was behind it and it barely bled but there was no white gunk in either foot so I'm guessing I caught it early before infection set in. She had just started limping on Friday, then Saturday and this morning she seemed fine but then started limping again today as the day went on so I looked her over and found the bumble. Since removing it and wrapping it she's not limping anymore so I've at least relieved pain, she was trying to peck at the vet wrap but kept getting her foot feathers instead. I just trimmed the tips off that got in the way and then I just waited until they dried to wrapping her feet.

 

[coach723]

Glad it went well. Even the shallow ones can sometimes take a while to heal, kind of hard to predict. I usually keep them bandaged until it is completely healed up. So check daily, reapply your ointment, put on fresh bandage, until you see that it's healing up well. Then you can go to every other or every third day if it's looking OK.