Multiple hens have bumblefoot!!

[ChickyMomm]

3 or 4 of my hens have bumblefoot and I don't know what to do. The only vet it the area that looks at chickens charges $105 per bird JUST to be examined, and we don't have that money. I've heard you can do the surgery at home, but my hands aren't steady enough to perform at-home chicken surgery, and I'm just too worried about accidentally injuring them. We don't even have anywhere to put the hens in quarantine when if the surgery happens successfully. Does anyone know what to do?? I'm so low on options and I can't bear the thought of losing my ladies!!

 

[Pyxis]

If you have caught it early enough you could treat it with tricide neo instead.

 

[ChickyMomm]

No, they're all more serious version of the infection with big brown scabs. I looked at a few other forums but they say if it gets to the point where there's big brown scabs, you have to do surgery.

 

[KayTee]

First of all, don't panic. Yes, bumblefoot is an infection, and yes, if left untreated for a long time it can eventually be fatal, but it is not an immediately life-threatening condition.

Many people don't feel up to bumblefoot surgery - I'm one of them - but there are other options to treat it.

The one that worked for me was a daily footbath of 'tricide neo' fish antibiotic. (You can buy it online from most fish supply stores in the USA).
It helped to shrink the bumble, and eventually it fell out, leaving a little hole (a bit like a large ear piercing), which eventually closed up. The downside to this treatment is that you have to keep each bird in the footbath for at least 5 minutes per day - difficult if you've got several birds to treat.

The other treatment that I have heard good things about, but which I have never tried, is a sugar and betadine poultice. If you look online you will find lots of people who swear by them (my sister uses them on her horses!).

Good luck with treating your girls.

 

[Pyxis]

Well then, short of the surgery, there's not much you can do. You could try the tricide neo and see if it helps, but really they'll need the surgery if it doesn't. It's not hard to do, and if you bundle the bird in a towel they don't move. You don't need to quarantine afterwards, just bandage them up. After surgery they act like nothing's happened. I've done it multiple times before, it's not too hard. But I am a vet student, so things like this don't bother me, lol. Is there someone else you could get to do it? If the tricide neo doesn't work without the surgery they'll probably get very sick and die, and it would be better to cull them at that point

 

[KayTee]

No, they're all more serious version of the infection with big brown scabs. I looked at a few other forums but they say if it gets to the point where there's big brown scabs, you have to do surgery.

Don't believe everything you read on the internet - my girl had big brown scabs on both feet, but they cleared up without surgery. It took a while, but the tricide neo worked wonderfully.

 

[ChickyMomm]

Oh... How would I go about getting the stuff then? Do they sell it at pet stores? I saw it's something for fish??

 

[Pyxis]

Oh... How would I go about getting the stuff then? Do they sell it at pet stores? I saw it's something for fish??

You might find it in local fish stores/pet stores, or you can order it here: https://www.pondrx.com/products/16166.html

Good luck! Hope it works and you can skip the surgery!

 

[KayTee]

I got mine from PondRx as well - their service was great, and delivery really quick, even though I was getting it posted from the US to France!