Gangrene after bumblefoot treatment?

[Hensofthehill]

Hello everyone, I would really appreciate some expert advice. My hen had bumble foot on both feet and I decided to help her out by removing them.

No it almost looks like the beginning stage of gangrene started on both feet, is that a possibility? How do I help her?

I used a sterile scalpel when I was doing the Bumblefoot removal and sprayed it with antibacterial liquid and then put antibiotic and wrapped it, its been a week and this started. I have some antibiotics (azithromycin for birds)but I’m not sure if that would help her?

Does anybody have a clue what could be happening? How to help her?

Thank you so much in advance!!!

 

[Hensofthehill]

Some of the toe tips are looking abnormal, they used to be a different color before.

 

[Eggcessive]

It could be that the dressing was too tight and interrupted the circulation in the toes. I would be tempted to do some warm Epsom salts or Betadine soaks to the foot daily. There might be a chance of losing toes. Sometimes it takes time to know if that will happen or not. It can be similar to frostbite, where the dark parts may self amputate. I hope that doesn’t happen.

 

[WingsysRoost]

That definitely does not look comfortable at all for her. Poor girl. Can she stand/walk on them?

You said you wrapped her feet. Is it possible they were wrapped a bit too tight to the point where it could cut off circulation?

I might start doing Epsom salt soaks with warm water once or twice a day for 15 or 20 minutes, just like I would when treating a bumblefoot infection.

 

[Hensofthehill]

It could be that the dressing was too tight and interrupted the circulation in the toes. I would be tempted to do some warm Epsom salts or Betadine soaks to the foot daily. There might be a chance of losing toes. Sometimes it takes time to know if that will happen or not. It can be similar to frostbite, where the dark parts may self amputate. I hope that doesn’t happen.

Thank you so much for your reply @Eggcessive and @BarredRockRoost ! You always are so helpful, realistic and kind. I dont know if that could have been too tight or how to measure. I just checked the rooster that I removed bumblefoot from and he has somewhat similar situation on one foot i am devastated! How did i put it on too tight? i used 1 inch vet wrap, non stick gause underneath with some triple antibiotic, no pain relief in it. Should I start the antibiotic course along with the epsom baths?

It’s unfortunate timing as we are in low 20s for the season, dropping even lower soon… i am new to poultry and homesteading, 1 year new. Still learning and want the best for my birds… I really dont know how I couldve messed up here with those 2

 

[Eggcessive]

Don’t blame yourself. You are only trying to help them. Hopefully, it is just bruising, and it is not going to end up in loss of toes. Just a warning, vet wrap can slip and become too tight, so it is good to check the bandage and circulation. Here is a good picture of a bumblefoot dressing, and I have had no problems when copying this method. Also, I don’t do bumblefoot surgery anymore. I found that most of it could be ignored, unless the chicken was limping, or the foot was swollen and abscessed. Make sure that your coop has ventilation for humidity from breathing can get out. Prevent direct cold drafts. Have wide roosts where they can cover their feet while sleeping.

 

[Hensofthehill]

Don’t blame yourself. You are only trying to help them. Hopefully, it is just bruising, and it is not going to end up in loss of toes. Just a warning, vet wrap can slip and become too tight, so it is good to check the bandage and circulation. Here is a good picture of a bumblefoot dressing, and I have had no problems when copying this method. Also, I don’t do bumblefoot surgery anymore. I found that most of it could be ignored, unless the chicken was limping, or the foot was swollen and abscessed. Make sure that your coop has ventilation for humidity from breathing can get out. Prevent direct cold drafts. Have wide roosts where they can cover their feet while sleeping.

View attachment 3320211

Thank you so much for your kind words and wisdom, I really appreciate this. Where did you get the instructions to wrap foot from? Here is how mine were wrapped. Started soaking and then betadine solution, hopefully she is better in few days? How long does it take for tem to heal from something like this?

Thank you so much everyone!

 

[WingsysRoost]

These things happen sometimes. You were just trying to help them. The most important thing is that you've realized there's an issue, so now you can figure out how to fix it. I can tell that you really do care about your birds.

If the rest of the leg looks fine, I would continue with the antibiotic ointment directly on the foot (or any other treatment you've been doing if it seems to be working so far).

To be honest, I don't wrap feet when treating bumblefoot. I tried, at the beginning, but I could never get it to stay on. I just soak, pull the scab and get out as much infection as I can, put the foot in the soak again if I did actually manage to get the scab open, and then apply ointment (homemade in my case; antibiotic ointment will also work for this if you have one you've been using with success). I let them go back out with the flock after. If the scab won't come off after twenty minutes, or isn't coming off easily, I apply the ointment and let them go. For more severe infections, I repeat this a few times per day. For mild infections, I can usually get away with one soak per day and perhaps a second application of ointment without soaking if I'm concerned that it could get worse. I personally have not had any issues with this method, but that’s my own experience.

How long bumblefoot will take to heal really depends on a lot of things. Usually, if the treatment is working, I would expect to see progress within a week at most, but some will have such subtle progress that it can be hard to see at first. I'm unsure about the rest of the foot as I've never dealt with something like that before.

Best of luck with your birds.

 

[Eggcessive]

Thank you so much for your kind words and wisdom, I really appreciate this. Where did you get the instructions to wrap foot from? Here is how mine were wrapped. Started soaking and then betadine solution, hopefully she is better in few days? How long does it take for tem to heal from something like this?

Thank you so much everyone!

Here is the link where I got the dressing picture:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/bumblefoot-causes-treatment-warning/

The darkened skin could be frostbite instead of damage from the bumblefoot dressings. We get a lot of threads from Minnesotans about frostbite, but usually they are in Dec through Feb. If it is frostbite you may see the darker skin dry up and become black and shrunken. I probably would stop soaking the feet if they are going to be outside in the coop.
The picture below is a chicken with early frostbite damage, and it eventually lost most of the toes over about 6-8 weeks.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/content/type/61/id/6088894/width/350/height/700

 

[Hensofthehill]

Here is the link where I got the dressing picture:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/bumblefoot-causes-treatment-warning/

The darkened skin could be frostbite instead of damage from the bumblefoot dressings. We get a lot of threads from Minnesotans about frostbite, but usually they are in Dec through Feb. If it is frostbite you may see the darker skin dry up and become black and shrunken. I probably would stop soaking the feet if they are going to be outside in the coop.
The picture below is a chicken with early frostbite damage, and it eventually lost most of the toes over about 6-8 weeks.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/content/type/61/id/6088894/width/350/height/700

Thank you so much for sharing the resource with me. I had to put the hen down. Most of her toes became rock solid one morning, black… gangrene took over even with antibiotic treatment and soaking daily and keeping her in the warm basement. Still not giving up on my rooster… hoping to
Make a posting why not to use vet wrap but rather use duct tape gently wrapping around non sticking pad on the food. I’ve learned. Thank you so much for your help everyone! Love this forum!