Dealing with mites and bumblefoot. Now confused.

[Phillip204]

I have a cuckoo marans who has been broody the past few weeks so I haven't seen her off the nest lately. The other day she was off the nest and I noticed her not being able to walk around well and noticed her backside was dirty and missing feathers, which I recognized as a sign of chicken mites. I've done the things I need to do to address the mites, in the coop and with the chickens, but additionally she is not using one of her legs. While bathing and cleaning her up last night I noticed a black scab on the bottom of her foot. I've never had to deal with bumblefoot before, but I did my research, and today got all the supplies I need to prepare for surgery. I soaked her foot in an epson salt bath for 15 minutes and was able to work the scab loose without cutting. It came off cleanly, but there was no kernal attached. In fact, underneath the scab appears to be healthy tissue. Now I'm confused. Do I need to cut into the foot where the scab was, or will she heal on her own? I also noticed that above her bad leg is red and irritated. Does this mean the infection has spread?

 

[nchls school]

I have a cuckoo marans who has been broody the past few weeks so I haven't seen her off the nest lately. The other day she was off the nest and I noticed her not being able to walk around well and noticed her backside was dirty and missing feathers, which I recognized as a sign of chicken mites. I've done the things I need to do to address the mites, in the coop and with the chickens, but additionally she is not using one of her legs. While bathing and cleaning her up last night I noticed a black scab on the bottom of her foot. I've never had to deal with bumblefoot before, but I did my research, and today got all the supplies I need to prepare for surgery. I soaked her foot in an epson salt bath for 15 minutes and was able to work the scab loose without cutting. It came off cleanly, but there was no kernal attached. In fact, underneath the scab appears to be healthy tissue. Now I'm confused. Do I need to cut into the foot where the scab was, or will she heal on her own?Since the tissue is healthy I would think it would heal on its own. I also noticed that above her bad leg is red and irritated. Does this mean the infection has spread? Possibly. I'd just check on it daily to see if it improves on its own. The area may just be irritated from the mites. Should the area get worse immediate action is required; antibiotics-antibiotic cream.