Bumblefoot?

[Winderdear]

My hen Juillet seems to have bumblefoot, potentially on both feet. Can someone tell me how serious it is? I think there is some swelling in the foot with the bigger scab, but she isn’t limping and generally is behaving like normal.



Our vet can treat it, but he’s on vacation until next week. I was thinking of trying the non-surgical method mentioned in this article from Tilly’s Nest first. Is that advisable?

Also, do I need to separate her from the flock for any reason? If I manage to remove the eschar, how long should I keep her indoors to heal?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[pennyJo1960]

You should not for a week stomach first.
Okay read both is my goal here, Yes good to keep it clean.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/bumble-foot-cured-with-homeopathy.1607135/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/bumblefoot-in-chickens-my-successful-treatment.75244/

 

[Winderdear]

You should not for a week stomach first.
Okay read both is my goal here, Yes good to keep it clean.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/bumble-foot-cured-with-homeopathy.1607135/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/bumblefoot-in-chickens-my-successful-treatment.75244/

Thank you so much PennyJo! I had read the second article but not the first. Do you have any experience with the homeopathic treatment? I have never used homeopathics before.

My husband read some threads and articles about tricide neo and wanted to give that a try. I imagine that it would be a less gentle but quicker option than the homeopathy.

 

[coach723]

Tricide Neo can sometimes work on smaller lesions, if it's large, or very deep it's less effective. You can certainly give it a try.
I use the Tilly's nest method the most, with the lesions on yours being so small (which is a good time to start!) it probably wouldn't be bad at all. The smaller one I might just try topical treatments and wrapping for a while to see if that one will resolve that way. You can always do more if that doesn't work. For future reference, for a serious bumblefoot infection I have had very good results using sugardine, which is easily obtainable and inexpensive. I will link to one of my posts on that, with a video on sugardine:
See post #8 here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/bumblefoot-not-healing.1443809/
Sugardine is often used on horse hoof injuries and infections, so it isn't something new.
Here are a couple of articles if you are interested:
https://www.americanfarriers.com/articles/5053

https://www.americanfarriers.com/ar...-mess-that-works-when-treating-wound-injuries

 

[Winderdear]

Tricide Neo can sometimes work on smaller lesions, if it's large, or very deep it's less effective. You can certainly give it a try.
I use the Tilly's nest method the most, with the lesions on yours being so small (which is a good time to start!) it probably wouldn't be bad at all. The smaller one I might just try topical treatments and wrapping for a while to see if that one will resolve that way. You can always do more if that doesn't work. For future reference, for a serious bumblefoot infection I have had very good results using sugardine, which is easily obtainable and inexpensive. I will link to one of my posts on that, with a video on sugardine:
See post #8 here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/bumblefoot-not-healing.1443809/
Sugardine is often used on horse hoof injuries and infections, so it isn't something new.
Here are a couple of articles if you are interested:
https://www.americanfarriers.com/articles/5053

https://www.americanfarriers.com/ar...-mess-that-works-when-treating-wound-injuries

Thank you so much! I'm glad you think it's not too serious yet!

We bought the Tricide Neo, but it might not be here for several days. I'm going to give her 10 minute epsom salt baths morning and night for now to reduce the pain and swelling, and get her used to standing in a bowl of warm water. I've also ordered some vet wrap, duoderm cgf bandages and vetericyn spray for when we do manage to get the scab removed. These are probably things I should have had on hand already.

What topical treatment do you recommend for the smaller scab?

I will bookmark the links about Sugardine, in case I need it later. Always good to be prepared!

 

[coach723]

I would just clean it off with some chlorhexidine (hibiclens) and then use a plain triple antibiotic ointment or plain neosporin. I usually wrap them just to keep it clean and dry while trying to get it to clear up. Even the small ones can take some time to clear up, so I would just check it regularly, reapply, and see if it starts to get smaller and resolve. If it doesn't, you can go the route of soaking, removing the scab, and then treating that way. Bumblefoot is usually very slow progression (unless it's a really bad one that has been left awhile) so generally not an emergency. It's always easier to treat when it's small though. My most recent one was a hen (who is hard to monitor as she's so flighty) and it was pretty bad. I used sugardine on hers, it had to be lanced and cleaned out, smelled terrible, and it cleared up completely in a few weeks.

 

[Winderdear]

I would just clean it off with some chlorhexidine (hibiclens) and then use a plain triple antibiotic ointment or plain neosporin. I usually wrap them just to keep it clean and dry while trying to get it to clear up. Even the small ones can take some time to clear up, so I would just check it regularly, reapply, and see if it starts to get smaller and resolve. If it doesn't, you can go the route of soaking, removing the scab, and then treating that way. Bumblefoot is usually very slow progression (unless it's a really bad one that has been left awhile) so generally not an emergency. It's always easier to treat when it's small though. My most recent one was a hen (who is hard to monitor as she's so flighty) and it was pretty bad. I used sugardine on hers, it had to be lanced and cleaned out, smelled terrible, and it cleared up completely in a few weeks.

Thank you again! I'll give your suggestions a try, and update as things progress. I'm glad to hear your hen's bumblefoot cleared up! It's very distressing to know that Juillet is in pain, and that there is no quick fix, but I'm grateful that there are ways to heal her without surgery.