How common is bumblefoot and is this too much?

katelk

Songster
6 Years
May 6, 2013
412
13
111
White Bluff, TN
I had heard of bumblefoot in passing awhile back. I did not think that much of it because I thought it was more a problem with chickens in small runs where they constantly walk in their own poop. My chickens have a large grassy yard and any areas with little grass I rake regularly to keep poop-free.

However, I checked all my birds' feet about a month ago and was dismayed to find that I had 8 chicken feet with scabs. Unfortunately only after I discovered this did I do even more research and found that roosts being too high can cause this. My roost was like 3-4 feet up ugh. I lowered the roost.

My main question is, how common is bumblefoot? I feel terrible that so many feet have it.
Also, does a scab always mean bumblefoot, or might it go away on its own? There are only 1 or two that were swollen at all.

I cut into the most swollen foot and used Vetericyn VF with gauze and vetrap. It seems to be getting better, is just still a little swollen.
I tried pulling off another scab on someone who was not swollen at all, I felt it was just skin deep and it started bleeding and the bird was clearly uncomfortable so I stopped and didn't try cutting any more scabs. I have just been wrapping the feet with Vetericyn VF. Last night I decided to let their feet air out for 24 hours.
I don't really know what to do. I have researched bumblefoot so much, yet am still unsure. When to cut or not cut? If scabs always mean bumblefoot? What if it's not swollen at all? At this point it is just a source of constant stress! Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
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It's pretty common. All of my heavy breeds had it. It's healing now as the surgery went well :)


So you always do the surgery? How bad does it have to look before you decide to do the surgery? Like if it isn't swollen at all, it's just a scab, I feel like there would be nothing inside to clean out?
 
So you always do the surgery? How bad does it have to look before you decide to do the surgery? Like if it isn't swollen at all, it's just a scab, I feel like there would be nothing inside to clean out?

If it doesn't feel really hard and hot, I just opened the wound a little bit and but iodine and sprayed colloidal silver. But when I rescued a chicken it was really bad and needed immediate surgery. I can get you pics of her foot of you want

Pics of your chickens feet?

Yes but if it's not swilled and just a scan leave it. Two of my girls just had scabs and they healed :)
 
If it doesn't feel really hard and hot, I just opened the wound a little bit and but iodine and sprayed colloidal silver. But when I rescued a chicken it was really bad and needed immediate surgery. I can get you pics of her foot of you want

Pics of your chickens feet?

Yes but if it's not swilled and just a scan leave it. Two of my girls just had scabs and they healed :)


Ok you're giving me hope lol. I will take some pics of all their feet tonight when they go to the coop. Maybe some will heal on their own. None of them feel hard and hot. Two of my smaller hens both have it on both feet and all four feet look equally "swollen". They have such tiny feet, I have to cut the vetrap extra thin. I can't tell if theirs are swollen or if their little feet just have a fluffier looking pad than my long and lean girls. The edges of their footpads seem what I would call hard, but it feels like the skin is calloused. Is this what is meant by feeling hard? Or do you mean so swollen it feels hard from being full of pus?

I would love some pics if you have them of what a "easy heal" type bumblefoot is. I have seen the horrifying pics of really bad cases online lol.
 

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