Can Bumblefoot be on the LEG, not the foot? Help please.

[ThePolishPrincess]

I won a pair of Silver Penciled Rock bantams from the NYS fair last weekend and upon further inspection, the hen seems to have something wrong with her leg. I don't have a picture right now, but I can get one if necessary. I'm not sure how old she is.

Her leg seems to have these two hard calluses toward the back, in the shape of 'bumps'. They look a little red. They don't feel hot. She also has a small, black dot, for lack of better word, that is kind of shrivled. It's really small and just looks like dried blood or dirt. Bumblefoot came to mind first, but the title says it all. Can it be on the leg? Her foot seems fine. I'm kind of afraid to handle her so much. The skin that has these masses (bumps) is really, really tough. The hen doesn't seem to be bothered by it at all, and she puts weight on it. She's eating and, although I haven't witnessed it, I'm sure she's drinking. Her rooster seems to be okay, leg-wise.

Both birds had mites upon inspection (I don't understand how the show-superintendent giving away birds to 4Hers-as a prize for first place Showmanship!-could not be bothered to check the birds they were rehoming!!!) but no leg-mites, only on the body. I checked before we brought them home but I didn't see any. When the birds were more cooperative at home I got a better look. Surprise! I dusted them with Sevin yesterday. And yes, they're being quarantined, of course. I'm so disgusted. I know I can hardly be blamed for not giving them a very thorough checkup but they looked fine close up. I'm regretting accepting them. But they're my responsibility now, so I'm helping them. Better with me than an irresponsible owner.

Can anyone help me out? Thanks in advance.

 

[SandyK]

Today I noticed my Cochin rooster with one of his toes all swollen. He has been limping around and I should have looked around more, I checked the bottom of his feet back some, but didn't think it could be his toe. Anyway, about 1 1/2 hours worth of digging and pulling and cleaning, I finally wrapped it up and let him back in the run. Went down to check on him 1/2 hr later and he had pulled the dressing off. So back up to the sink we went, found some more and even his poor toenail came off. There is a big hole all the way through the toe. He was a good boy through the whole thing. I wrapped it up through the toes this time. I hope it will heal ok, this one looks really nasty. I'm wondering if I should take him to the vet.

Reading all the posts when I did a search for Bumble Foot really helped me know what I was looking for. There is even a great video. Thanks everyone for sharing your information.

I would soak the leg in the Epsom Salts and hot water for a while, get it nice and clean and then see what you have. Poke around with some sharp little scissors and see if there is a hard core that you can get out. Follow the directions that the posts give you.

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

Thank you. I read a post this morning about home-surgery for Bumblefoot and that and this advice sound very similar. I'll try soaking her foot and leg. What I'm really worried about is that if I go 'digging around' in her leg, I might hit a tendon or vein of some sort. I'd have little issue if this was on the foot pad, like every other case has been, but this is located in an area where I could do some damage. I'll try to be careful.

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

Well, I soaked the hen's foot. The only eventful thing that happened was that the 'dot' on her leg rubbed off, at least that's what it looked like, and now she just has these calluses. But I now have a new problem.

I cleaned up after drying off the hen's legs and went outside and curiously started flipping my birds over and looking at their legs. All clear. Suddenly, I flip over my Polish and what do I see?

Alot of dirt stuck to the bottom of both of her feet! I clean them off, and she puts up a big fight about it, but in the end, I see two black/dark red circular scabs! Her feet are not even remotely swollen, this was just done at random. I guess I'll be making a new post about this soon...