I need advise on bumble foot.

[chickenboy190]

I'm pretty sure my chicken has bumble foot. I just wanted to know how to treat it and about it and such. Will bumble foot be really bad for my chicken?

 

[TwoCrows]

It would help if you post a picture to be sure it is bumblefoot and how bad it is. Some pokes in the feet can heal on their own, some only require some neosporin and bandaging for a week or two, and some need surgery to get the infection out.

Bumblefoot is a term for an infection in the foot pad caused from a puncture wound, bruising or the pad wearing down enough that dirt and bacteria enter into the pad. It can progress enough to kill them eventually if it got bad enough.

 

[BantamLover21]

Could you post a photo of the foot, just to be sure bumblefoot is what it is? If it is bumblefoot, the treatment could include injecting the foot with Penicillin, soaking it in epsom salts, or even removing the pus core surgically.

 

[TwoCrows]

Could you post a photo of the foot, just to be sure bumblefoot is what it is? If it is bumblefoot, the treatment could include injecting the foot with Penicillin, soaking it in epsom salts, or even removing the pus core surgically.

You are correct about the soaking and removing the pus.

Penicillin does not work that well on Bumblefoot. Things like Baytril, Doxycylcine and Cephalexin are far better and faster acting on soft tissue infections. Penicillin is best injected into the breast muscle for it to work properly. It needs to be processed by the body to work. Injecting antibiotics at the site of infection does not make it work better or faster.

Lincomycin works on contact and is great to flush the surgery hole with, allowing it to soak into the tissues. I find that filling the hole after surgery with Lincomycin knocks out the infection in a few days to a week, depending on the severity.

 

[chickenboy190]

Okay thanks everyone for responses. I'll get a pic tomorrow.

 

[SillyMissLily]

This site helped me ID and then treat several of my chickens when they got bumblefoot. Treating sooner than later seems to be key to speedy recovery and less damage to the foot.

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2011/07/bumblefoot-causes-treatment-warning.html

 

[myfinefeatheredfriends]

I treated this a few times on my own. I didn't want to do it surgically with no pain meds for the poor bird, so cutting it wasn't really an option. Instead I took tweezers and removed the dead skin from the area (the black stuff). Once that was off it is very easy to see the open scab. Sometimes they had puss, sometimes not, depending upon how bad it was. If it has puss you will feel a hard lump or see it once the dead skin is removed. It is yellow. If it is just pink or red then there is no puss-filled core to remove and you simply need to wrap it up in clean gauze or VET WRAP and change the bandage every few days, packing the wound with ointment when you do. If it does have a yellow core you must remove it. Again using the tweezers I remove it piece by piece. It may bleed but that's ok... just put pressure on it til it clots. Make sure everything you use is sterile and discard the pieces of the wound... don't leave them laying around since Bumblefoot IS contagious. Also wear gloves when you work. Be sure the foot is healed before leaving it unwrapped or they could get it again. I have used this method successfully several times on both chickens and ducks. If done right they don't even seem to feel it or flinch much while you do it. You may have to remove the dead skin a couple more times when changing the bandage if the wound isn't completely healed (if it is still black). It should however be smaller this time and there should be no yellow core.

 

[chickenboy190]

Wow. Thanks for all the info and such. I know I said that I would get a pic yesterday but I just haven't got time yet. It's going to get really cold again and I have been working on the coop and such.

 

[Flybybirds]

Hobbyfarms.com had a great article this year about bumble foot. Maybe you can find it on the internet.

 

[chickenboy190]

Well I checked my chicken today and it looks all better!