Is this bumblefoot?

[Hilltop Flock]

I noticed a hen today with a little swelling between her toes and the slightest limp.This picture is after I soaked the foot in epsom salt. This is bumblefoot, right? What is the reddish coloring to the side? I just wanted a little advice before I started pulling away the plug, which I think is the little hole right in the middle of the darker spot.

 

[Coops Dad]

I put warm water and epsom salt in a plastic tote just big enough for the chicken and cut a hole in the lid (for her head to stick out) the second time one of my hens got a bumble. She stood in an inch of salted water, soaking, while I watched TV and petted her to keep her calm. The plug got super soft and came out easily. I put her back into the water and the epsom salt seemed to draw out more gunk over the next half hour.

I put Neosporin on a gauze pad and used first aid tape to hold it on her foot and changed it every day. It healed perfectly.

The first bumble I treated was like a wrestling match. I had to work the pus out and there was blood and feathers... It worked out ok but the chicken soaker was the better way.

 

[burdisthewurd]

Should I just try to make an incision near the middle for the pus to escape through as opposed to working out a plug?

i would not make an incision, you dont want to potentially drive anything deeper and that waxy stuff is often infected material ( sometimes granulation tissue can look similar but you likely wont see any granulation tissues until further healing starts to occur)
soak her with warm epsom water and try to work off the scab/ plug slowly starting from the edges..soaking again as you go if needed.

 

[burdisthewurd]

Why do you recommend tea tree (maleluca) oil? Have you used it before?

From what I understand it it a very volitile oil and will cause potentially fatal neurological issues when used on poultry, cats and even dogs.

i appreciate your concern. yes i have used it for years. the reason i felt extr safe using it to begin with is because it is 1 topical and 2 underneath a bandage that is monitored so the chance of ingestion is extremely low.. also extremely unlikely to get on their feathers thus disrupting the preening oils.
i understand that there is alot of controversy around essential oils/ tea tree..and caution should always be used when takinf advice from others.. i m a big proponent of doing your own diligence/ research and deciding what is best for your situation.. i also deply value community support and tips from said community from thwir experience.

i personally have never seen ill effect from using tea tree oil how i outlined above. i have found it to be a powerful ally in combating staph..

ps. i suppose i should have mentioned to only use a few drops as with any essential oil for any purpose and hopefully obviously, not to pour a ton in the mix.

thanks for looking out though!

 

[Weeg]

Tea tree oil is toxic to dogs and cats, even when not consumed. Dogs can get Tea Tree poisoning from just breathing the oil, or having it on their skin. I'm not sure if this is a concern to birds, or if its still toxic to them, but I would at the very least dilute the oil before applying. I'm pro Tea Tree, I love the natural antibacterial properties, you just have to make sure you don't cause any harm first.

Just found this on Google, not sure I would use it on my own birds. Below is an article about Tea Tree oil toxicity in dogs and cats, and how they can contract it.
https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/is-tea-tree-oil-safe-for-dogs/

 

[KauaiChickenMama]

I will give her a good coat of vaseline to keep her little legs from getting dry! I am going to give her another good long soak tonight and see how easily the plug is removed. If it seems like she is too stressed or it will be a blood batch, I might try the blue koat method—she is also molting right now, so I want to stress her as little as possible—even if it might take a little longer. I have a few things on hand to use—blue koat, argile clay, vetericyn, triple antibiotic cream, tea tree oiL, and an exacto knife. I’m gonna play it a bit by ear! But I feel I have options! Thank you!

You’re very welcome. And yes, I’m glad to hear that you plan on moisturizing her legs with Vaseline after the soaks because while the epsom salt is great for cleaning and drawing out the infection, it is also very drying on their legs. And if she’s molting, their feathers tend to be quite sensitive from what I understand, which can cause stress/pain when you touch and hold them. Just be aware of that and handle her carefully.

There are many, MANY ways that folks attempt to tackle bumblefoot. Some are more invasive than others. I’ve researched this topic extensively in an effort to explore all of the options. I’ve tried many of them. I initially thought the only way to properly get rid of bumblefoot was to remove the bumble/infection which involved more invasive measures such as digging it out. But I found it strange that those same individuals reported that the infection returned after all of the bloody digging they did. I was actually surprised when the treatment I explained to you worked so much better than any of the other methods. I share this method with you (and others reading this) only because it was very effective for me and it was a fairly simple process. And it never came back.

Whatever you decide to do, please keep us posted! And good luck with helping your sweet girl.

 

[Hilltop Flock]

Just an update! We used a mixture of methods.
The weather was really rainy for a couple of days, so I wanted to avoid bandages at first.

We started by soaking her feet and spraying them with blue kote for the first 2 days. The bumbles started to pull away from the edges but I didn’t pull at them.

On the third day the weather cleared up. I pulled bumbles out of both of her feet. One was very superficial. The other was pretty deep and there was a little blood. She was very calm!

I applied triple antibiotic cream to the wounds and cleaned with iodine and a shot of blue kote.

I’ve changed the bandages once and her feet are doing really well. One is pretty much healed, but I rebandaged it.

 

[burdisthewurd]

once you get it cleaned up you may consider using icthamol drawing salve or a mixture of clay with colloidal silver, tea tree oil, manuka honey, and crytolepsis sanguinolenta tincture if you can find it is aweaome against staph. you want a kind of paste consistency if using the clay pack.

spray with vetericyn first then dab the icthamol or clay ( they both have drawing powers) onto a clean gauze.
place gauze with drawing "salve" onto bumble area and wrap with vet wrap.

it may take several times doing the whole process from soaking, removing bumble, and wrapping. ideally change wrappings etc every day or 2.

blessings and godspeed in healing

 

[burdisthewurd]

yes, that is probably part of the bumble.
there isnt always a plug per se but a cheesy substance anywhere from slime to waxy can occur underneath: the waxy stuff can act kind of like a shell at the surface and sometimes can be quite thick kinda like a "plug".. its important to get the medicine underneath. soaking really helps soften everything up. we lay our chickens on their side and have 2 people: one holding, one working. scalpels are ideal but weve used a brand new razor blade ( very carefully) that we sanitize in a pinch..

ive worked plenty that dont bleed but had a few that bled .. it is possible that the minimal bleeding actually helped flush out some of the yucky pussy stuff when its there but it is far far better when you soak long enough to soften enough where bleeding is unlikely. it sometimes just takes alonger soak than you might think.

 

[burdisthewurd]

also, some are more surface infections
than others.