Bumblefoot?

[Themellowyellows]

Warm Epsom salts soak is actually soothing. A long soak helps in the softening, cleansing, & loosening of the scab. We dont force pulling or cutting of wound/scab. But then we never had a pus wound, just a rough dark scab to treat.

All owners figure what's best for them. For us we keep hen indoors to make a bad wound heal rather than get dirty from a hen's digging/dustbathing activities. Of course a hen doesn't like confinement but they adjust indoors if one really needs it for healing, illness, or recuperation. It's amazing how the hen gets accustomed to the human attention too. Of course treats after the daily treatment is a plus to the hen to look forward to treatments.

Our hens are not the boss of us when treating them for bumblefoot ~ they are quick smart learners too & want their own way. But we make the choices for how to handle situations ~ not them.

I know it suckks! Im about to treat it soon, ill try to get a picture. Excpecting a lot of blood, ugh! Do you think she will be okay?

 

[Themellowyellows]

Do you have any tips for this time?

 

[Sylvester017]

You are a caring pet owner & doing, learning , all you can, bless you. Time, treatments, & lots of patience will tell about the healing length. We can only let Nature do its own timetable of healing. I've kept many healing birds indoors in crate for days, sometimes weeks. It's the choice we made when we have pets.

Hurt? I dont know the pain tolerance of hens but I cant be scared if I have to treat a bird. I was at first squeamish but know now I have to do what is necessary to treat a hen. The bird will feel your confidence too.

We've had over the years bumblefoot, dry pox, Mareks, heatstroke deaths, avian leukosis, ovarian cancer tumor, had to learn tube & syringe feeding, and a bird who scratched so hard she tore off toenails & actually lost parts of toes so we're no strangers to treating sick/injured birds. But we learned & we grew more confidence over the years & it made us appreciate God's creations & how they have the ability to heal. Not all our efforts have saved birds but most survived our treatments and we've lost none to bumblefoot yet

 

[Themellowyellows]

You are a caring pet owner & doing, learning , all you can, bless you. Time, treatments, & lots of patience will tell about the healing length. We can only let Nature do its own timetable of healing. I've kept many healing birds indoors in crate for days, sometimes weeks. It's the choice we made when we have pets.

Hurt? I dont know the pain tolerance of hens but I cant be scared if I have to treat a bird. I was at first squeamish but know now I have to do what is necessary to treat a hen. The bird will feel your confidence too.

We've had over the years bumblefoot, dry pox, Mareks, heatstroke deaths, avian leukosis, ovarian cancer tumor, had to learn tube & syringe feeding, and a bird who scratched so hard she tore off toenails & actually lost parts of toes so we're no strangers to treating sick/injured birds. But we learned & we grew more confidence over the years & it made us appreciate God's creations & how they have the ability to heal. Not all our efforts have saved birds but most survived our treatments and we've lost none to bumblefoot yet

Thank you so much! I agree, I hope it heals quickly and she does not pass. I dont belive she will, but infections scare me. Thank you! Im about to do her foot wish me luck!

 

[Sylvester017]

You've gone thru this bumblefoot experience which enables awareness for frequent bird health checks catching issues earlier like bumblefoot, lice/mite issues, eggbound, heatstroke, etc. We were ignorant about bumblefoot so didnt even think to check for it when we first had chickens. But we learned something new every year by improving feed, vitamins/supplements, better housing and fencing, predator proofing, biosecurity, etc etc.

But in the end the pros far outweigh the cons for me.

 

[Themellowyellows]

You've gone thru this bumblefoot experience which enables awareness for frequent bird health checks catching issues earlier like bumblefoot, lice/mite issues, eggbound, heatstroke, etc. We were ignorant about bumblefoot so didnt even think to check for it when we first had chickens. But we learned something new every year by improving feed, vitamins/supplements, better housing and fencing, predator proofing, biosecurity, etc etc.

But in the end the pros far outweigh the cons for me.

Yup I agree, I have not went thru the more complicated things such as prolapsed and Marek... Thank the good Lord. I pray to never have to go thru that ever... Will I eventually, I dont know 50/50 but I hope not too. I lost a hen to egg bound and one to egg binding, Black sex links are a reget of mine getting, the problems they come with. Although they are beautiful and sweet.



I finished her foot not to long ago...(10 mins) happy to report no blood. I was able to get a picture and will post it at the end along with a picture of her. Thought I would share a little bit about her since this thread is 8 pages long and keeps on going... So no blood, she seemed calm in the Epson and was not panicking. Thankfully... I was bribing her with meal worms lol, she was loving it! I saw a little white but decided to let that be there until I get the drawing salve. Thats all that really happend, so glad there was no blood and she was happy!


Info:
Miss problems is her new nickname... Makeup lady is her full name but for short we call her Maggie...

We named her Makeup lady, when she was a little chick, she had a little white by her eye (picture below) it looked like some eyeliner, so cute!!! I call her Maggie or Mags, I think those names are cute and match her personality she lost her white by her eye sadly .


When she had just started laying, she was making soft eggs quite often and was very tired when she did. So we started Nutri-Drentch and changed her feed over to a layer with oyster. That helped now she is good! However she now has problems with her feet, Bumblefoot as you guys surely no by now. 3 on one and 2 on the other, luckly 3 of the 5 are small so easy to treat I hope now that we got the drawing salve.


So yeah now that you guys know, I wont be calling her "my hen" or "she". Insted Makeup lady, Maggie or Mags! Just to let you guys know.



Pics:
Her foot today:

Her as a baby *notice her eyes*:

Her now as a big girl:

The one in the front


Also would like to thank everone for there help, ill probably need more lol!

 

[Themellowyellows]

Today when I did the last soak, it looked the same. Tomorrow when I get the drawing salve, ill aply it to all bumbles even the one that were having trouble with. Maggie has been a good girl about it, and I think is starting to enjoy it. We gave her blueberries and grapes. As for the one that we have done "surgery" on im going to apply it around not  on the wound, sound good? Let me know, I dont want to put some other stuff in there that otherwise does not belong.

 

[Eggcessive]

Your mom being a nurse could probably offer a lot of help. I’m sure she has done some soaks and helped with draining wounds/dressed some similar wounds. Husband is a doc and I am an RN, but we had to learn our way with bumblefoot surgery. The first time or two was not easy, and I ended up doing the rest by myself. You will feel more comfortable once you have done a few of these.

 

[Themellowyellows]

Your mom being a nurse could probably offer a lot of help. I’m sure she has done some soaks and helped with draining wounds/dressed some similar wounds. Husband is a doc and I am an RN, but we had to learn our way with bumblefoot surgery. The first time or two was not easy, and I ended up doing the rest by myself. You will feel more comfortable once you have done a few of these.

Yeah tonight both me and Maggy were better. Did you see the pic I posted from earlier? How does that look? Good or bad?

 

[Sylvester017]

Re: antibacterial salve question ~ After our vet did surgery on our first bumblefoot hen he gave us antibacterial ointment to put on the wound & wrap daily. There naturally was blood on his surgical wraps of her feet but it was healing well after that first bandage change & we applied ointment once every day keeping a cottonball over the wound then bandaged the feet. Epsom soak, dry w/paper towel, apply antibacterial ointment w/cottonball (later years we switched to flat round cotton makeup pads), & wrap ~ next day repeat, next day etc. We were so new to bumblefoot & had visions of "losing" her but she healed so well.

I wish I had experience w/pus infected bumblefoot but we never had a case like your hen w/ the white swollen infection so I don't want to mis-advise but it seems logical that an infection not only needs topical treatment but oral antibiotics also for any infection entering the bloodstream? At that point I probably would bite the bullet & pay the vet fee for the proper treatment & prescriptions. Only cuz I wouldnt know what to do at that point.

And yes, it's a shame breeders are formulating hybrid layers or hybrid meat birds w/ shortened lifespans & health problems. Makes me so mad
but I digress !

Anyway, I just wanted to say prayers for you (& your birdies) & bless you for caring & loving on these precious hens