Need Advice - Bumblefoot!

[kip5254]

Hi everyone! I have my first case of bumblefoot and I need a bit of advice. I've done a ton of reading about treating (with surgery and removing the scab) and preventing it for the future but I'm not quite sure what to do with this case and don't want to do it wrong!

So the story: three days ago I noticed Rosemary limping with a swollen foot, so I flip her over and it looks like she has an abscess that is bright red - like a wound - that's not actively bleeding but it is like bloody colored. Of course it's a Sunday and I call our local vets and finally get in to a new vet that does treat chickens (but of course it's Sunday and they're super busy and behind schedule). The vet takes a look at it, says oh yes it's definitely bumblefoot but doesn't do the surgery - she just gives me Equaide and chicken booties and sends me on my way.

Now for the past few days, I've had Rosemary in her own area on fresh, clean bedding every day with her own food and water and I've applied Equaide as the vet told me, but I'm not sure if I still have to do the surgery or not. Today when I went out I tried to get a feel for how it was doing and this is what I could tell. 1. The area is a bit warm but not super red 2. The padding of her foot is pretty soft around the whole area 3. The scab isn't totally black (towards the outside its much more of a yellowish flesh color with some discoloration but towards the middle it's darker) and is quite soft as well
I've attached some photos - any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[azygous]

In fairness to your vet, some bumblefoot wounds do heal without surgery and just topical wound treatment, but I believe your little Rosemary would benefit from wound debridement. Soak first in warm Epsom salt.

After about fifteen minutes, wrap Rosemary securely in a towel to immobilize wings. Have the following items assembled and handy:
-18 to 20 inch length of Vetrap cut to one inch wide
-Gauze non-stick pad cut to one-inch square.
-sharp xacto knife or scalpel
-Vetericyn spray
-Triple antibiotic ointment.
-Clean paper towels and Q-tips

You'll be slicing around the black area, and it may have already lifted up around the edges from soaking. Pull off the entire outside black area if you can. There will likely be cheesy pus under it. Clean out all you can and flush well with saline then dry.

Apply the Vetericyn spray, let dry and apply the ointment. Place the gauze pad over it and bandage well with the Vetrap to secure the wound against dirt. If you wrap it well, you can release Rosemary back into the flock.

Check the wound in two days, and you may want to soak again and remove any pus that has accumulated. Repeat all of the above.

Check every two days, and depending on the rate of healing, it could heal up in a week or take weeks or months. My worst case required two years. Most heal in under two weeks, though.

 

[CyndiD]

I was told to never use triple ointment that has the pain reliever cuz it is toxic to ducks.
I cut my ducks bumble out about 2 weeks ago and the site is completely healed but her leg/joint/foot was hot and swollen but getting better; not completely healed however.
I have applied Bentonite clay to her entire leg each day and filling up my bathtub to the top so she floats and gets weight off her leg.
How long will it take for the warm leg and swelling to go away?
Thanks

 

[CyndiD]

Hi everyone! I have my first case of bumblefoot and I need a bit of advice. I've done a ton of reading about treating (with surgery and removing the scab) and preventing it for the future but I'm not quite sure what to do with this case and don't want to do it wrong!

So the story: three days ago I noticed Rosemary limping with a swollen foot, so I flip her over and it looks like she has an abscess that is bright red - like a wound - that's not actively bleeding but it is like bloody colored. Of course it's a Sunday and I call our local vets and finally get in to a new vet that does treat chickens (but of course it's Sunday and they're super busy and behind schedule). The vet takes a look at it, says oh yes it's definitely bumblefoot but doesn't do the surgery - she just gives me Equaide and chicken booties and sends me on my way.

Now for the past few days, I've had Rosemary in her own area on fresh, clean bedding every day with her own food and water and I've applied Equaide as the vet told me, but I'm not sure if I still have to do the surgery or not. Today when I went out I tried to get a feel for how it was doing and this is what I could tell. 1. The area is a bit warm but not super red 2. The padding of her foot is pretty soft around the whole area 3. The scab isn't totally black (towards the outside its much more of a yellowish flesh color with some discoloration but towards the middle it's darker) and is quite soft as well
I've attached some photos - any help would be greatly appreciated!View attachment 1817229 View attachment 1817230

How is your duck doing? Did you cut the bumble out? It is an awful disease for ducks, huh? How are you doing? This is a lot of work taking care of bumblefoot.

 

[CyndiD]

In fairness to your vet, some bumblefoot wounds do heal without surgery and just topical wound treatment, but I believe your little Rosemary would benefit from wound debridement. Soak first in warm Epsom salt.

After about fifteen minutes, wrap Rosemary securely in a towel to immobilize wings. Have the following items assembled and handy:
-18 to 20 inch length of Vetrap cut to one inch wide
-Gauze non-stick pad cut to one-inch square.
-sharp xacto knife or scalpel
-Vetericyn spray
-Triple antibiotic ointment.
-Clean paper towels and Q-tips

You'll be slicing around the black area, and it may have already lifted up around the edges from soaking. Pull off the entire outside black area if you can. There will likely be cheesy pus under it. Clean out all you can and flush well with saline then dry.

Apply the Vetericyn spray, let dry and apply the ointment. Place the gauze pad over it and bandage well with the Vetrap to secure the wound against dirt. If you wrap it well, you can release Rosemary back into the flock.

Check the wound in two days, and you may want to soak again and remove any pus that has accumulated. Repeat all of the above.

Check every two days, and depending on the rate of healing, it could heal up in a week or take weeks or months. My worst case required two years. Most heal in under two weeks, though.

I don’t know how to tag you, so I just replied on a separate post.

 

[azygous]

@CyndiD when you were told never to use triple antibiotic ointment on a duck, were you given a reason why?

Your clay treatment is a very good one. Clay is a natural antibacterial agent and clay poultices is something I've used on myself with great success.

 

[hugitnotnugget]

I

Hi everyone! I have my first case of bumblefoot and I need a bit of advice. I've done a ton of reading about treating (with surgery and removing the scab) and preventing it for the future but I'm not quite sure what to do with this case and don't want to do it wrong!

So the story: three days ago I noticed Rosemary limping with a swollen foot, so I flip her over and it looks like she has an abscess that is bright red - like a wound - that's not actively bleeding but it is like bloody colored. Of course it's a Sunday and I call our local vets and finally get in to a new vet that does treat chickens (but of course it's Sunday and they're super busy and behind schedule). The vet takes a look at it, says oh yes it's definitely bumblefoot but doesn't do the surgery - she just gives me Equaide and chicken booties and sends me on my way.

Now for the past few days, I've had Rosemary in her own area on fresh, clean bedding every day with her own food and water and I've applied Equaide as the vet told me, but I'm not sure if I still have to do the surgery or not. Today when I went out I tried to get a feel for how it was doing and this is what I could tell. 1. The area is a bit warm but not super red 2. The padding of her foot is pretty soft around the whole area 3. The scab isn't totally black (towards the outside its much more of a yellowish flesh color with some discoloration but towards the middle it's darker) and is quite soft as well
I've attached some photos - any help would be greatly appreciated!View attachment 1817229 View attachment 1817230

I wouldn’t cut it. I tried to do it with my rooster once but then decided it wasn’t worth the pain to them. I soaked him in warm salt water and then one with some bleach. It’s what my vet told me to do. He gave me drops to put on it too. His was much worse than that and was limping bad before we found it. He made a full recovery without surgery and never had a problem with it again! best of luck!

 

[CyndiD]

@CyndiD when you were told never to use triple antibiotic ointment on a duck, were you given a reason why?

Your clay treatment is a very good one. Clay is a natural antibacterial agent and clay poultices is something I've used on myself with great success.

Someone said that it is toxic to ducks; the pain med, I guess?

 

[CyndiD]

I

I wouldn’t cut it. I tried to do it with my rooster once but then decided it wasn’t worth the pain to them. I soaked him in warm salt water and then one with some bleach. It’s what my vet told me to do. He gave me drops to put on it too. His was much worse than that and was limping bad before we found it. He made a full recovery without surgery and never had a problem with it again! best of luck!

What drops did your vet give you?

 

[azygous]

Someone said that it is toxic to ducks; the pain med, I guess?

Oh, yes! Of course! Ordinary triple antibiotic ointment is perfectly safe for all poultry. However, triple antibiotic ointment that includes a pain reliever should never be used on ducks or chickens as the pain reliever is toxic, not the antibiotic ointment.