I have several hens with bumblefoot

[gumpsgirl]

I'm not certain how many just yet, but I do know that 3 of them have it for certain.

This is the plan: We (I will have 2 assistants - one to hold and console the hen, while the other assists me in handing things to me) will wrap the hen in a towel, so she won't be able to wiggle to much and won't hurt herself or us. We will then attempt to remove the plug.

Once removed, I will flush the wound / hole out with peroxide using a syringe and then wipe out with betadine. I will then pack the wound with a mixture of Terramycin and triple antibiotic ointment that I will have made a paste out of before the procedure begins. After that is applied, I will cover the wound with a sterile gauze pad and wrap the foot with vet wrap.

Wish us luck!

 

[vermontgal]

What's vet wrap and where do you get it? This sounds useful.

 

[gritsar]

Luck!

I've only had to deal with one case of bumblefoot * knock on wood*

For three nights in a row I brought the hen inside and with the help of my DH attempted a warm water soak to soften the plug. However, the hen in question was not one that is handled often and I could tell by her behavior and her wild eyed look that we were stressing her more than helping her.
I left her alone for a week and the bumblefoot got no worse.
Then I brought her in (again at night) had my DH hold her while I used a pair of tweezers with sharp points to pull the plug out. I then applied a bandaid coated with drawing salve (ichthammol ointment). I wrapped the foot in a long strip made out of old clean tube socks.
By the next evening the foot looked as good as new.

 

[redhen]

Good luck! The getting the plug out is what scares me..

 

[ruth]

I've sewn up ripped open hens, operated on hens, and worked on bumblefoot on many, many chickens working all alone. Trick is to lay them on their side and cover their head with a towel. I can walk around the "operating room" getting things I need and they never move. It stays nice and quiet in there and they just seem to go to sleep.

As far as the bumblefoot procedure, all sounds good - remember it takes lots and lots of soaking in very warm salt water, as well as a lot of mashing, digging, and prodding sometimes to get it all out, especially the plug. I then fill the hole with regular Neosporin. I would NOT recommend triple antibiotic because a lot them contain a "..cain" indgredient and it seems that is toxic to chickens - just use the regular Neosporin. I then wrap with thin strips of vet wrap, isolate the bird for about three days, remove the vetwrap and the foot is usually healed and they go on their way. I've never had a reoccurence of one I've removed and I don't give antibiotics. I think it's just important to get all the infection, cheesy stuff and the core out. I think lots of soaking in the warm salt water (heavily salted) between cutting and digging in the pad is what really helps the most.

Good luck.

 

[scubaforlife]

can someone point me to a thread on bumblefoot so I can see what it looks like. I have a hen with a swollen foot.

 

[speckledhen]

Monique, most antibiotic ointments do not have any "caine" ingredients in them as the pain reliever. The one I use is a Walmart brand and has Pramoxine Hydrochloride as the pain killer. I use it all the time with no problem. And I had better success with one of my chronic girls mixing Terramycin powder right into the ointment and packing the opening after the plug was out than I've had with just the ointment alone. It's the only thing that Terramycin seems to be good for, but put into the wound, not given orally.
Here is a picture of one way it presents on my poor Violet, whose had it more times than I can remember.

 

[gumpsgirl]

Well, the surgery's went well. I did a total of 5 feet.

I've never, ever had an issue with this and then all of a sudden it hit.

My sons leghorn was the worst and I had a terrible time getting / digging the stuff out of her foot. I'm really hoping in 3 days time, she will be cured as well as the other ones.

Cyn - Thank you so much for all of your advice and help with this!

Monique - I sure wish I would have know about covering the hens head. Towards the end, my helpers were getting tired of holding the hens down. I will have to remember this secret for future purposes!

 

[vermontgal]

Thanks for the input that it's 3 days as an appropriate isolation treatment. Can someone tell me about vet wrap and where to get it? Otherwise, guess it's time to butcher a sock.

 

[gumpsgirl]

Vet wrap is usually found in the horse supply section of your feed store. It is stretchy and sticks to itself so you don't need to use any tape. It's great stuff!

Here's a link to a website that sells it so you can get an idea as to what it is. Your local TSC should have it though. http://www.horsetackco.com/vet-wrap.html