Is this bumblefoot almost healed? Anything else I should do?

[Pearlescent]

My one year old female heritage turkey, Chicken Nugget, has had bumblefoot for roughly two months now. I started soaking it in epsom salts around a month ago. I soaked it every other day-daily, but never had any luck getting a “kernel” out of her foot. All that happened if I picked off the scab was bleeding, there was nothing else, although I could feel how hard her toe was.

As you can see in this picture, she had it in three toes on her right foot. The side ones are healed now, but the middle one is still visibly swollen. The swelling has greatly decreased from when I first noticed it, but it hasn’t gone away.

She hasn’t seemed in pain at all throughout this, and has been very tolerant of me messing with her. She’s been getting a soak every few days, but recently I’ve stopped, as it’s achieving nothing as far as I can tell.

I love Chicken Nugget, she’s a pet, and I don’t want her to be uncomfortable at all. Will it just finish healing on its own? Should I try to pick/cut it open again? Will the kernel magically appear for me to remove or something lol

Here’s a picture from before I started trying to treat it.
it got worse halfway through, but I don’t have any pictures of that.

More of an afterthought, but when will she stop spreading the staph infection around? I’m too scared to reintroduce my mama turkey and her poults because I’m worried they’ll get bumblefoot, is that an irrational worry?

I also have a chicken with it, but hers isn’t going away as fast as Nuggets, so I decided it made more sense to ask about Nugget, as the chicken will be to this point soon enough. (I’ve had no luck getting a kernel out of the chickens foot either.)

 

[Eggcessive]

Staph is pretty much everywhere. It is on our skin. She can’t spread the infection to other poults. I think her toe pads look to be healing well, and you have done a good job. Just watch it. I would put her back with others. The swelling may go down in time. I would just work to prevent bumblefoot by providing dry and fresh bedding and if any roosts are rough or have splinters, then consider sanding them smooth or padding. If you deal with bumblefoot in the future, check out treatments with either a sugardine dressing or Prid drawing salve. Sugardine is Betadine or povidone iodine added to sugar to make a paste.

 

[Pearlescent]

Staph is pretty much everywhere. It is on our skin. She can’t spread the infection to other poults. I think her toe pads look to be healing well, and you have done a good job. Just watch it. I would put her back with others. The swelling may go down in time. I would just work to prevent bumblefoot by providing dry and fresh bedding and if any roosts are rough or have splinters, then consider sanding them smooth or padding. If you deal with bumblefoot in the future, check out treatments with either a sugardine dressing or Prid drawing salve. Sugardine is Betadine or povidone iodine added to sugar to make a paste.

Thank you. I did a deep clean of the coop and run yesterday. The adult birds don’t currently have access to the coop, because they don’t need it, so there’s no dirty bedding.

They aren’t in the coop because that’s where I’m keeping the mama, but my two old chickens have a nesting box and there’s adequate shelter and perches (none of the birds really go in the coop, they prefer the outer perches.)

So she can’t spread the infection? Is she just past the point that she could do that, or could she never? I knew that staph was everywhere, which is part of why bumblefoot confused me so much. It’s not something I would’ve considered “contagious” but everything I read said it could infect others through foot wounds.

 

[Eggcessive]

Well germs are everywhere in the dirt, grass, bedding and chickens poop everywhere. No, bumblefoot is not contagious. It is caused by the chicken suffering a small cut or scrape from something rough, where any bacteria can get in through the skin. Many chickens may have small bumbles that don’t cause problems. It is always a good thing to examine foot pads occasionally just as it is to look them over for any weight loss, soiled vents, or lice and mites. Or if one is limping for no apparent reason, it is good to check for bumblefoot. But there is no reason to separate a chicken recovering from bumblefoot. I always recommend keeping chickens together so that they maintain the pecking order.

 

[ChickyCh00k]

So she can’t spread the infection? Is she just past the point that she could do that, or could she never? I knew that staph was everywhere, which is part of why bumblefoot confused me so much. It’s not something I would’ve considered “contagious” but everything I read said it could infect others through foot wounds.

While bumblefoot itself is not contagious to the other birds, humans can contract staph infection from it. Please protect yourself with gloves while treating/handling the foot.