don't think it's bumblefoot, but what could it be?

[Leah S]

hey there. put my girls in tonight and saw one of my girls (she is a ancona, 1 year)has a swollen toe! checked out bumblefoot, and that does not seem like it. she is walking, roosting fine. no limping. It's her outter most toe, at the first joint down from the pad of her foot. it's swollen and red. any ideas?
thanks!
Leah S
ps cannot really get a pic as she is sleeping and don't want to bother them

 

[teach1rusl]

Gosh...that could really be anything. Bee sting, injured her toe (like a sprain) when getting down from the roost, etc. That's definitely a plus if she's not limping...

 

[Leah S]

checked on her this AM while letting them out for the day. She is walking just fine but the area is still super swollen. Hoping to get her and take a better look. she is rather flighty and will have to have help getting her. She has a roost that is about 5 feet up and she made it up and down from there seemly fine. hoping that it's just a sting or scratch. if it does not seem to be bothering her, should I do anyhting? thinking that less is more.

 

[teach1rusl]

Your best bet on catching a flighty bird without stressing her is late evening, when she's on the roost for the night. You can pluck her right off the roost and bring her in the house to get a close look. You could soak the foot by holding her in the sink or a small plastic dishpan of warm water/epsom salts for about 10 minutes???

 

[Leah S]

thanks! it can be stressful for everyone involved . i will keep an eye one her today and get her when she goes in. I will only try to catch her if it's clear that she is in pain. but like I said earlier, she is scratching, walking and hoping over stuff just fine. Would not have noticed it if I did not look at her foot.

 

[Leah S]

took a look at her and turns out it is bumble foot . Hubby and I did a quick "operation" to remove that black scabby thing and a bunch of cheesy crud too. poured hydrogen peroxide on the foot, slathered anti bacterial ointment on it and put a few bandaids around the hole (it's all we have). think i got most, if not all of it out. does this heal on it's own once that crud is out? will have to repeat this again tomorrow?

 

[PoultryPedia]

There is some info on treating Bumblefoot on the Poultry Podiatry page on my website. You can look & see if it can help.

 

[Leah S]

great site! she looks good this AM. her foot is not as swollen. she seems a bit mad at me as she scooted by without her normal cluck to me but it is for the better! she is one of my favorite ladies (well, they all are, really).

 

[PoultryPedia]

Glad to hear!