infection setting in? PIC

[CMV]

What's the verdict?

 

[holyhart]

We were just finishing soaking and taking more pics. I'll defer to your experience, but it looks to me like it might be a healing scab where the skin was broken when it was shut in the door. But here are the pics.


that is a scab you can see on the inside of the toe



side of foot



top of toe



bottom of foot



So what do you think? Is it bumblefoot? It appears that the swelling is more top and side of toe than bottom of toe/foot.

 

[CMV]

I think it's too close to call. I see some minor redness, but that is to be expected from the healing wounds and probable fracture. I am not seeing anything indicative of bumblefoot aside from the swelling, which can be explained by the original injury.

I think I would give it some more time to heal. I don't think I would start cutting on the foot unless there was more concrete evidence. I also don't think I would start an antibiotic either. Chickens' bodies tend to compartmentalize infections (thus the prevalence of abscesses in poultry), so you have some time to make a decision on how you want to proceed.

There are some non-surgical methods of dealing with bumblefoot you may want to explore before you make a decision. I am not really familiar with them, but a search through the archives should give you the info you need. It involves soaking the foot in medication designed for use in fish aquariums, I believe. The reports of success using this method of treatment are numerous.


Here's the link to that info:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...for-non-invasive-bumblefoot-cure#post_3725441

 

[holyhart]

I would prefere not to do antibiotics unless necessary. I will also probably hold off on cutting into as bumblefoot treatment and see if it starts healing on it's own, unless others say otherwise. I will take more pics in a day or two and we'll see how it is progressing.

Thanks for the help!

 

[ChicknThief]

Edited because I didn't realize there was a second page lol.

I agree that does not look like bumblefoot. Just a swollen healing break. Hopefully the little guy heals up quickly.

Bon chance

 

[holyhart]

Updates on Mary's foot. Here are the new pictures 3 days later. I can't tell if it is getting better, staying the same, or getting worse. It is still quite swollen, and she is still limping on it. I don't think it is bumblefoot though.

Top


Side


inside where the scab is


bottom

 

[pips&peeps]

Looks like bumble foot to me. You have to get that scab off of the inside of that toe. That is where the infection started. Hopefully someone else can chime in to give you directions to clean that out.

I would also say that it looks like it may just pop out once you get the toe opened up.

 

[CMV]

I, too, would try to remove that last scab. If it doesn't come off easily like the others then I would assume that it is indeed the bumble.

 

[holyhart]

So I did my first bumblefoot surgery today with my 9 year old daughter as my assistant. Bleck!

Really hope not to do this again anytime soon...or worse in a few days if I didn't remove it all.

How will I know I got it all? I cut the scab off, removed what I could from that side, but found I needed to also cut into the outside of the toe. I actually had better luck removing from that side. I got some cottage cheesey stuff, and some small pieces of hard stuff. Finally I got two fairly big pieces (one of which, my daugter and I actually cheered when we got it out), about the size of small baby peas. I also found blood clots that I ended up removing, and of course the expected puss and such. I could still feel something hard in there, but I *think* it was the base of the toe nail.I was really near the the spot where her toe gets skinny, and that seemed to freak her out when I would dig too much there.

I worked on her for roughly an hour. For the most part, she was a good girl, panicked a couple times, even with the towel wrapped around her and draped over her head. Packed it with antibiotic cream and wrapped it as best I could, then put her in the coop for the night.

Let's just say there is not enough wine in the house for what I just did!

So what are the chances that I actually removed it all in one shot, and how will I know?

Thanks to all of you who have helped me this far!

 

[sharol]

I feel your pain. When my adult daughter and I did the surgery on my EE last year, I about passed out -- light headed and weak-- and nothing makes me faint. I guess it was the idea of cutting into that poor helpless hen. I agree, not enough wine in the store!!