Is this bumble foot on a 4 wk chick?

2ndTink

Free Ranging
Premium Feather Member
Aug 23, 2020
3,515
16,160
726
I noticed earlier today that one of the little BA chicks had something stuck to her foot, I caught her and tried to take a look as she was flailing her feet, and noticed that things didn't look right. She had little bumps under her feet and these thin fingery things sticking out of her soles. I checked the others and she is the only one like this.

I wasn't sure what to do so I soaked her feet in warm water, cleaned them up, I got three little poop type bits picked off from 3 of the worst spots, exposing more of this fingery flesh. I put antibiotic ointment on it for tonight and jumped on here to see if anyone can identify this. I tried to get some photos, sorry they aren't the best. She isn't very tame and is very squirmy.

She has been out on the screen porch, concrete floor, and in the brooder box with shavings. I have 3 BA's from the same hatch and their feet are fine, as are the other 11 chicks who are 7 weeks old. They've all been raised in the exact same conditions together.

I feel so bad for her and want to get her fixed up.
 

Attachments

  • 20210411_202438.jpg
    20210411_202438.jpg
    174.7 KB · Views: 60
  • 20210411_202456.jpg
    20210411_202456.jpg
    178.2 KB · Views: 31
  • 20210411_202504.jpg
    20210411_202504.jpg
    161.5 KB · Views: 32
  • 20210411_202535.jpg
    20210411_202535.jpg
    187.6 KB · Views: 34
  • 20210411_202539.jpg
    20210411_202539.jpg
    172 KB · Views: 31
  • 20210411_202546.jpg
    20210411_202546.jpg
    173.9 KB · Views: 29
  • 20210411_202556.jpg
    20210411_202556.jpg
    161.5 KB · Views: 26
  • 20210411_202605.jpg
    20210411_202605.jpg
    138.1 KB · Views: 25
  • 20210411_202611.jpg
    20210411_202611.jpg
    221.2 KB · Views: 23
  • 20210411_202617.jpg
    20210411_202617.jpg
    191.3 KB · Views: 30
Could be irritation from poop being stuck to the toe and it staying damp. Pododermatitis.
Try to keep the brooder and area dry. I would continue to care for the foot like you are doing.
Thanks so much, I'll keep doing foot soaks and ointment every day until they are healed. She's definitely not impressed with this soaking business. I'm glad it's only one and not all of them!
 
I'm not sure if much progress is being made, I was thinking that maybe it was a touch better, but she has one spot on the back toe of her right foot that looks worse. I had put the ointment on, let her go then decided to take photos, hence the shine and some fuzz sticking to her feet. I've been doing an Epsom salt soak in the morning then 2x / day with antibiotic ointment and yesterday I did a noon application of vetericyn.

It's really strange looking, it's like spikes growing out of her feet. The last photo is her left foot.
 

Attachments

  • 20210413_195842.jpg
    20210413_195842.jpg
    221.7 KB · Views: 29
  • 20210413_195833.jpg
    20210413_195833.jpg
    211.1 KB · Views: 28
  • 20210413_195806.jpg
    20210413_195806.jpg
    203.9 KB · Views: 28
  • 20210413_195757.jpg
    20210413_195757.jpg
    110 KB · Views: 29
Can you get a photos of where she's kept?

I think I would clean the foot really well, let the foot dry then apply triple antibiotic ointment to just the troublesome spots, then wrap the foot. Keep the feet dry and the wrapping on for a couple of days. Then check to see if it's healing. Could be that moisture is still causing some issues, so cutting down the soaks may help.
 
Can you get a photos of where she's kept?

I think I would clean the foot really well, let the foot dry then apply triple antibiotic ointment to just the troublesome spots, then wrap the foot. Keep the feet dry and the wrapping on for a couple of days. Then check to see if it's healing. Could be that moisture is still causing some issues, so cutting down the soaks may help.
A week ago we moved them out to the screen porch, its about 14'x26' concrete and then they have about 24 sqft inside the boxes with shavings. It is not at all what we had planned when we got them and it's temporary, we just had something come up and we are in limbo for a few more weeks. They have the heat lamp at night and only the 3 youngest BA's use it, all the others roost around the edges of the box or on the 2x4, we are still in the 40s at night, so I am figuring on using the lamp for another week or so.

I skipped the soak today and tried bag balm, but since it's so gooey the shavings stuck really bad to her feet so I'm thinking that wasn't such a good idea. I'm going to clean her feet up again at lunch and use Vetericyn instead.

This chick is the one that has constantly cried since I got her at 2 or 3 days old. I checked her numerous times and could never figure out what was wrong with her. Since I've been working on her feet on Sunday she seems much quieter. I'm wondering if it's something she's had going on since she was hatched?
 

Attachments

  • 20210414_060639.jpg
    20210414_060639.jpg
    425.9 KB · Views: 25
  • 20210414_060946.jpg
    20210414_060946.jpg
    380.5 KB · Views: 23
  • 20210414_060653.jpg
    20210414_060653.jpg
    238.1 KB · Views: 28
I could have been something going on for a while if she was constantly crying after hatch.
All you can do is try to keep the feet dry and tend to the eruptions and see what happens, hopefully she will heal soon.
 
I could have been something going on for a while if she was constantly crying after hatch.
All you can do is try to keep the feet dry and tend to the eruptions and see what happens, hopefully she will heal soon.
I'm planning to keep using some ointment 2x/day for at least for another 5 - 7 days, since it's not really inflammation/ swelling I'm thinking it may be slow to heal. It almost seems that the spikes would need to slough off, but we'll see.

Is there anything I could be doing with a vitamin / supplement? I used to use different herbs (Silver Lining Herbs) with my horses, but I'm just not sure of herbs impact on chickens. I think I have some Immune Support and an infection fighter blend, it would be easy to put a pinch of the powder on some feed with water. Would this be worth a shot?
 
I'm planning to keep using some ointment 2x/day for at least for another 5 - 7 days, since it's not really inflammation/ swelling I'm thinking it may be slow to heal. It almost seems that the spikes would need to slough off, but we'll see.

Is there anything I could be doing with a vitamin / supplement? I used to use different herbs (Silver Lining Herbs) with my horses, but I'm just not sure of herbs impact on chickens. I think I have some Immune Support and an infection fighter blend, it would be easy to put a pinch of the powder on some feed with water. Would this be worth a shot?
I don't know anything about herbs. @Hen Pen Jem may be able to help you with those.

You can give a poultry vitamin like Poultry Cell 1-2 times a week if you wish.
 
Greetings 2ndTink,

Your bird's feet appear to be suffering from bumblefoot and hyperkeratosis. Below is an excerpt from an article that discusses foot problems. The bumblefoot and hyperkeratosis may be a genetic issue. I've had birds with a predisposition to foot problems. These birds will require a lot of foot care for the first year or two. But, healing is possible with proper care and treatment.

Hyperplasia of foot-pad epidermis.

lesions on the foot-pads are similar irrespective of the cause and consist of horny proliferation of the epidermis

This type of lesion has been associated with biotin deficiency (Patricke?al, 1942; Harms and Simpson, 1975; Harms et al, 1977; Frigg and Torhorst, 1980) and wet litter (Harms and Simpson, 1975; Martland, 1984, 1985) in chickens and turkeys. Similar lesions are also associated with rough, or excessively smooth, perches and concrete flooring (personal observations) and dietary factors other than biotin, in particular methionine deficiency


Here is the link to the article.
The pathology of the avian integument

I agree with Wyorp Rock, besides the cleanings and antibiotic ointment, you need to wrap the feet. The feet will not heal if they are continually exposed to the harsh flooring. And the ointment and cleanings go to waste without the protection of a proper foot wrap. The litter contains bacteria that contaminate the open sores on the feet. Litter also absorbs and removes any antibiotic ointment that you apply. Wood shavings/litter is a double edged sword. It provides a soft flooring for the birds to walk, and rest on. But, it also becomes a medium for bacteria from all the poop. I'm not saying you shouldn't use wood shavings, I use wood shavings too. But, this particular bird cannot walk on the litter bare footed, until her feet are healed.

The treatment
The typical treatment for bumblefoot should be followed. Foot washings and/or soaks, topical antibiotic, and foot wrapping. Once healing is complete, you can't stop there. I recommend that you also treat the bird's feet with "Tuf-Foot". The Tuf-Foot product will toughen the foot pad.
Tuf-foot.jpg


Other Treatment Options:
If the typical bumblefoot treatment doesn't work, you may want to try other topical treatments. Colloidal Silver, can be applied to lesions and sores. I've had good results using colloidal silver on bumblefoot. Colloidal silver can be used to treat many types of injuries and illnesses.

I like to use Povidone Iodine on stubborn bumblefoot. Infections that are deep into the skin may need a cleaning with Povidone Iodine. Be sure to use Povidone Iodine and not regular iodine. If you use Povidone Iodine you should not use it to clean the lesion/sore more two time, initially. You should think of Povidone Iodine as a scalpel. It will go deep below the skin to kill infection. But, if over used, it can inhibit the renewal of skin cells.

Herbal treatment:
I mentioned you have used an herbal preparation on your horses. I too, use herbal treatments on my flock. However, when using herbal treatments on chickens, you must be sure that the herb is not toxic to birds. The issue with herbal preparations, such as Silver Linings, is that they are highly concentrated for use on horses, and are a combination of many different herbs.

I am also very cautious about using herbal preparations on chicks. It is best to use a single herb at a time for chicks. And in very small doses. You must be vigilant for adverse reactions, such as diarrhea, when using an herb the first time. I only administer herbal remedies orally, to treat internal illness, such as digestive illness, pain, or for organ support etc.

A topical application of herbal remedy is more appropriate for bumblefoot. I have used Comfrey poultice for foot and leg problems with good results. But here again, caution must be used with this herb. Comfrey should not be used on open sores, abrasions, injuries, etc.

These are my thoughts on your chick's foot problem. I hope I have been helpful.

God's blessings to your flock for good health. :)
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom