Is this bumblefoot?

[Mamatomany123]

First time owning chickens. My older ones are around 27 weeks old. Went to check them over and saw this on one of my EEs. Shes a big girl so not sure if that makes a difference. If it is bumblefoot how do I treat it? I've read to soak in order to remove scab, put on neosporin without pain relief, and wrap? Is that correct?

 

[MilesFluffybutt]

Yup, that's bumblefoot. Good article on it and treatment options here.

It can take a while to heal because it heals from the inside out. It'll require multiple soaks and daily wrap changes. Through the soaks and the Neo, the scab will naturally loosen and then you can try to remove it and the attached core. The core is the hardened infection.

Some people use antibiotics - like Baytril or Clavamox - and an anti-inflammatory - like Metacam. But soaking and wrapping should take care of it so just be patient. It's a gnarly infection.

 

[Mamatomany123]

It can be an uncomfortable condition - much like a plantar's wart in a person. If the roosts are high, it can hurt getting up and down. If it's round, it may hurt her toes, given where the scab is located.

If possible, try to keep her off the poop board or clean it more frequently. Standing in it could soak through her bandage and worsen the infection.

It's good that you checked her foot. Have you checked your other chickens for it?

I have a roo with chronic bumblefoot (heavy breed meets rocky soil/poorly cleaned up construction tear-down site) and it is no fun. It took five or six weeks, two vet visits, a month in the house, daily antibiotics, pain meds, foot soaks and flushing/draining to clear up. I suspect he has arthritis in his foot now.

I clean the poop boards every morning so they are clean when they go in at night. My other EE has a small one so I'm treating her as well. The 5 production blues and 4 sexlinks are clear. I have them on 2x4s with the wide side up for the roost. Shes also not standing on the poop boards, shes laying on them. I'm put her on the roost a few times but I dont know if she moves back down in the night. I plan on cleaning it twice a day, first thing in the morning in case she stands in poo and then before bed so its clean for the night.

 

[Mamatomany123]

Shes on the roost tonight. I wonder if the padding from the wrap is giving her some relief.

 

[Mamatomany123]

My TSC doesn't carry antibiotics per state law so I have to get them from the vet. My vet usually gives Baytril or Clavamox. You may be able to purchase online without a script. However, there are egg withdrawal periods for antibiotics.

If Neo stops working you can switch it up with PRID or an Epsom Salt Poultice. I use silver sulfadiazine cream from the vet when neo loses its effectiveness.

Ok,I'm going to soak in warm water with Epsom salt. Hopefully that with the neosporin will do the trick. I do have PRID. If it gets bad we do have an aviary vet. Hopefully it doesnt come down to that.

 

[Mamatomany123]

Bumblefoot is probably the most common injury in chickens. A lot of things factor into it - type of bedding and roost, the toughness of the individual's foot and their weight, their local environment, like is it wet all the time.

We're in west texas so pretty dry. I use pine shavings and the roost are 2x4s. My EEs are pretty big though, bigger than my production blues. I'm wondering if their size is factoring into it. The bigger scab came off today. I made sure to add plenty of neosporin and wrap it pretty well to keep dirt out.

 

[Mamatomany123]

It's probably their size and the toughness of their feet. Glad to hear the scab came off. Was there anything attached to the back of it? Did anything (blood, pus) drain?

There was a small corn like thing attached. It bled a little. Not much pus that I saw.

 

[MilesFluffybutt]

That's great! Glad to hear the core came out. Next time you clean it, consider flushing the opening with a saline solution to get any pus or stray bits of the core out.

 

[Mamatomany123]

If the hole left by the scab is deep, I'd flush it with a syringe full of warm water if no saline is available. I don't know if contact solution is straight saline or if it has additives.

I put my more spirited chickens in the tub and pull the curtain closed. My boys seem to settle down better that way.

I flushed them out with warm water after the epsom bath. The EE I originally posted about is doing a great job, letting me wash her feet, flush them out, and leaving the wrap on afterwards. My other EE fights me the whole time and tears the wraps off less than 5 minutes after being loose. Is there a trick to this or am I just stuck with a stubborn bird? I'm wrapping the same on both and 1 girl cant get them off so I'm confused on what to do.

 

[MilesFluffybutt]

If you have help, someone could try holding her while standing up so her feet dangle. You could work from below to bandage her feet.