Bumblefoot?

[Melpinela]

Hello,

I recently adopted a Black Cochin chicken who I suspect may have bumblefoot.

Her previous owner kept her in a dog house and she didn’t get out to forage very often. A couple of days after she came home with us we noticed that she had a limp and at the time we thought that she had overdone it on the exercise since that was something that she wasn’t used to. Her limp resolved after some rest however she walks fairly funky and somewhat bow legged. I looked at the bottom of both of her feet and she has what looks like a plug on the pad of each foot with some swelling but no redness. I’ve never dealt with bumblefoot before and any insight would be so appreciated!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Welcome To BYC

Please post some photos.
If you can get a video of her walking, that may be helpful as well. Upload video to youtube and provide a link.

Thank You!

 

[Melpinela]

Welcome To BYC

Please post some photos.
If you can get a video of her walking, that may be helpful as well. Upload video to youtube and provide a link.

Thank You!

Thank you I realize I didn’t attach a photo ! I attached a photo to my post.

 

[coach723]

Looks to be very early bumblefoot. I would soak in some warm epsom salts to soften it up, and clean up the feet, then remove that scab and flush out under it real well with chlorhexidine. Apply some plain triple antibiotic ointment, cover with a bit of gauze or telfa pad, and wrap the foot with co wrap or vet wrap to keep it covered and clean. Don't wrap too tight, just enough to keep it on, you don't want to cut off circulation. Change the bandage daily and reapply the ointment until it's healed up well. When it's healing well you can change the bandage every other or every third day, as needed. I usually keep them wrapped until it's completely healed up. There looks to be some irritation on her toes so she may have been kept in a not very clean environment before, causing irritation from droppings and wet, so with time and better conditions that should resolve also.

 

[Melpinela]

Looks to be very early bumblefoot. I would soak in some warm epsom salts to soften it up, and clean up the feet, then remove that scab and flush out under it real well with chlorhexidine. Apply some plain triple antibiotic ointment, cover with a bit of gauze or telfa pad, and wrap the foot with co wrap or vet wrap to keep it covered and clean. Don't wrap too tight, just enough to keep it on, you don't want to cut off circulation. Change the bandage daily and reapply the ointment until it's healed up well. When it's healing well you can change the bandage every other or every third day, as needed. I usually keep them wrapped until it's completely healed up. There looks to be some irritation on her toes so she may have been kept in a not very clean environment before, causing irritation from droppings and wet, so with time and better conditions that should resolve also.

Thank you so much for the advice! I soaked her feet in epsom salt and it seemed to start loosening up a bit more. I went to wrap her feet and realized that she has pin feathers in the way because she’s molting. Do you think it will be okay to wrap her feet still?

 

[coach723]

Yes, just wrap them so the feathers are laying in the normal direction they grow, and not too tightly. If you are using vet wrap or co wrap it doesn't have to be very tight at all, just enough to hold everything in place. Since it adheres to itself and nothing else, it stays in place really well. I used to have to wrap a brahama's legs every time he molted as he always had bleeding pin feathers during molt. Took a few tries to get it right, but it helped a lot. Once the scab is softened you can sometimes just scrape it off, or use some tweezers to loosen and remove it. If it's really stubborn you can apply decolorized iodine (not the same as betadine, any pharmacy should have it in the first aid section) to it, cover it overnight, and that usually softens it up well for removal.