Bumblefoot?

[bhawk-23]

@AnimalLover117

How is your treatment going?

@RubelliteRose

I am using the non surgical route but even after soaking in warm Epsom salt baths for 20 minutes I can’t loosen the plug enough to remove it. Makes no sense to me but I set timers so I do know it was 20 minutes. I didn’t want to pick at it or do any damage so I would soak, attempt to remove the plug, apply Derma vet, cover with non stick pad and wrap in surgical tape and do more research.

I came across the tricide-neo method and ordered that. I’ve done six 7 minute soaks in 3.5 days. I am still unable to remove the plug so I spray with vetericyn, apply Derma-vet, cover and wrap.

She has no swelling or redness, never did, and her slight limp is gone. She is eating, drinking and foraging like nothing is wrong. I would really prefer to not separate her. I lost a hen due to the stress of being separated and acclimated back in because of MD. She appears to be tolerating her treatments without much stress currently.

Can you offer advice on how to proceed? Thank you!

 

[AnimalLover117]

@bhawk-23 I have been soaking the hen's foot in Epsom salt and warm water with some essential oils usually when I get home from work, and I've also soaked her foot in colloidal silver once or twice.

I found what this person was doing so now I'm trying to see if that works, as my chicken has a stubborn case of bumblefoot. If that doesn't work, I may make an incision again to see if anything else needs to come out, then I will spray vetercyn and whatever else I find that will help into the incision and then bandage it all up again.

 

[bhawk-23]

@bhawk-23 I have been soaking the hen's foot in Epsom salt and warm water with some essential oils usually when I get home from work, and I've also soaked her foot in colloidal silver once or twice. View attachment 3543235I found what this person was doing so now I'm trying to see if that works, as my chicken has a stubborn case of bumblefoot. If that doesn't work, I may make an incision again to see if anything else needs to come out, then I will spray vetercyn and whatever else I find that will help into the incision and then bandage it all up again.

Thank you.

 

[RubelliteRose]

@AnimalLover117

How is your treatment going?

@RubelliteRose

I am using the non surgical route but even after soaking in warm Epsom salt baths for 20 minutes I can’t loosen the plug enough to remove it. Makes no sense to me but I set timers so I do know it was 20 minutes. I didn’t want to pick at it or do any damage so I would soak, attempt to remove the plug, apply Derma vet, cover with non stick pad and wrap in surgical tape and do more research.

I came across the tricide-neo method and ordered that. I’ve done six 7 minute soaks in 3.5 days. I am still unable to remove the plug so I spray with vetericyn, apply Derma-vet, cover and wrap.

She has no swelling or redness, never did, and her slight limp is gone. She is eating, drinking and foraging like nothing is wrong. I would really prefer to not separate her. I lost a hen due to the stress of being separated and acclimated back in because of MD. She appears to be tolerating her treatments without much stress currently.

Can you offer advice on how to proceed? Thank you!

What are you using to remove the scab and plug? I use slanted eyebrow tweezers so I can get a grip on the plug to help remove it. If I can't easily remove the plug after soaking and there isn't swelling, redness or limping, I wrap the foot overnight to help heal any damage I may have done trying to remove the plug. The next day, I unwrap the foot and just keep an eye out for swelling and limping. If your girl is acting fine, I would just monitor her and not separate her I only separate them for bumblefoot while I am actually working on the foot. Once the foot is wrapped, I return the patient to the flock.
When we first got chickens I would check their feet regularly and try to treat every little scab. Our chickens free range and our first group liked to run through thorny vines so we saw multiple cases of bumblefoot our first year. We soon learned that timing seems to be a thing with bumblefoot and treating it too early doesn't seem to do any good. Sometimes we would have to wait a bit to treat again and sometimes mild cases cleared up on their own without treatment.

 

[bhawk-23]

What are you using to remove the scab and plug? I use slanted eyebrow tweezers so I can get a grip on the plug to help remove it. If I can't easily remove the plug after soaking and there isn't swelling, redness or limping, I wrap the foot overnight to help heal any damage I may have done trying to remove the plug. The next day, I unwrap the foot and just keep an eye out for swelling and limping. If your girl is acting fine, I would just monitor her and not separate her I only separate them for bumblefoot while I am actually working on the foot. Once the foot is wrapped, I return the patient to the flock.
When we first got chickens I would check their feet regularly and try to treat every little scab. Our chickens free range and our first group liked to run through thorny vines so we saw multiple cases of bumblefoot our first year. We soon learned that timing seems to be a thing with bumblefoot and treating it too early doesn't seem to do any good. Sometimes we would have to wait a bit to treat again and sometimes mild cases cleared up on their own without treatment.

I have not tried anything more than lifting the scab. Since it does not want to release I do not try to force it.

Can these treatments just take a bit to bring the infection to the surface for removal? I’m hesitant to do too much picking and make things worse but what if I’m wrong. That’s the scary part. I have to choose my battles. Is the injury bad enough to stress them out with treatments and possibly push them over the edge? It’s a very stressful and delicate line I’m constantly walking.

 

[AnimalLover117]

I used those type of tweezers to remove the plug and scab as well. Our chickens also free range so I try to keep an eye on their feet, and we try to clean them when we can/need to.

 

[RubelliteRose]

I always at least remove the scab. If the plug is ready to be removed, it will be fairly solid. If it is stringy, I don't dig around and try to remove anything. All my girls are really friendly, some are cuddlebugs, so medical care doesn't usually stress them out. But if your girl is really stressed, I wouldn't treat her bumblefoot very aggressively unless she is limping or if there is swelling.

 

[bhawk-23]

She is friendly. Not a huge fan of being picked up but tolerates it. Lol
She had impacted crop surgery 1 year ago and was inside for 4 weeks. She definitely became more accustomed to us by the end of treatment.