Non emergency, growth fell off?

[Mr_chickuns]

Basically for about a month my chicken has been limping slightly, I've been ruling out things like eggboundness, or even worms but the other day I noticed a huge black growth on her foot (just larger than a marble). It looked like a stone/lump of dirty so I got my sister to give it a wiggle (to see if it came off) but it just released the most rancid smell and it didn't come off we we assumed it was apart of her skin that had grown and then blackened. I thought it was bumble foot as she is a Wyandotte and a heavy chicken (apparently the two can often be linked). so we got her into the vets that day and he gave us some anti inflammatory medicine with the idea of reducing the size of it so it would cause less harm when removed the next week however earlier today it just fell off. I cut the "growth" open and I found that it was a claw that had build up chicken poo/mud/small bits of straw and had hardened. there was a little blood in the bit that connected the lump to the foot but it wasn't bleeding. I then washed her foot and found a small break in the skin (no blood).

I'm thinking either she had an ingrown claw in the middle of her foot or she stepped on a broken off claw and then debris just built up around it. I'm still taking her back to the vets in a few days to discuss the surgery which I assume will not longer be occurring so I can ask them but for the meantime I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem?

 

[Glenda Heywoodo]

well I never had a ingrown claw.
But I raised Cornish banrams pure bred.
So had chickens fly ioff the roost and land hard on the floor onadirt clod etd.
causing the bumble foot.
Glenda Heywood IT IS IMPORTANT you do not doctor or touch the chicken with out plastic gloves on, as if you have any kind of cur it will infect you also. If the bird is not important to your chicken group, I would say the kindness thing is to have some one put her out ofer misery. Safer for you also. BESURE AND WORSH WITH CLOROX WATER AND SOAP IN WASHER EVERY TIME YOU HANDLE HER YOUR CLOTHES. safety in healthy situations is a must in sickness situations also.

ARTICLE ON TREATING FOOT SORES

In early stages, administering antibiotics may be all that’s needed. Several registered antibiotics are available for chickens: lincomycin and amoxicillin are two common ones. Many can be purchased at farm stores, or you can ask a veterinarian where to get them. Read and follow the label directions to determine the correct dosage and find out how to administer the antibiotic to birds. You must give the antibiotics for the full time the label directs.

Soaking the foot also helps, especially if the injury has progressed to the hard stage. Put a cup of Epsom salts in a dish pan of hot water — water that feels hot but doesn’t burn your hand. Then hold the chicken’s foot in the pan until the water cools, about 10 to 15 minutes. Don’t let the bird drink any of the water.

The soaking should soften the abscess. Gently remove the scab, and try to open the wound by pulling it apart at the wound edges rather than squeezing it. Rinse the wound with hydrogen peroxide, and try to gently clean out any pus. Then apply an antibiotic ointment that’s safe for birds (ask a vet for a recommendation).

Pad the wound with a clean gauze pad, and wrap it with first-aid tape or vet wrap. The wound should be cleaned, flushed, and rewrapped once a day until it looks like it’s healing. All dressings and soaking fluids will be loaded with bacteria and should be disposed of carefully.

Leave the treatment of such an abscess to a vet if soaking and pulling apart the wound edges doesn’t open the wound so it can drain and be cleaned. Watch birds being treated with antibiotics for diarrhea, which is caused by good bacteria that’s also being destroyed, and add some “digestive health yogurt” to the chicken’s diet to help restore it.

BUMBLE FOOT PERSE:

A limping chicken is no minor issue in a backyard coop. Often, this is a sign of bumblefoot. Bumblefoot is a bacterial infection or abscess of the foot. Treating bumblefoot is simple, but crucial; foot sores can be contagious and an untreated case can cause death.

Bumblefoot generally occurs in heavy roosters, but it can affect other birds as well. It’s caused by a cut or even a small scrape to the bird’s foot that gets contaminated by bacteria, usually staph. Rough perches and wire cage floors are common causes of these cuts and scratches. Large, heavy birds that jump down from high perches also can injure the foot.

•A large swelling on the bottom of the foot or on a toe that may feel soft in early stages and hard later.

•The foot looks red and inflamed and may feel hot to the touch. A black scab usually forms over the sore.

•The bird may limp and refuse to do much walking.

Use gloves to examine or treat birds suspected of having bumblefoot, because the staph or other bacteria that cause the abscess can infect humans. Put the bird in a cage with clean, soft litter such as pine shavings. Isolate the bird from other chickens because the bacteria could infect them too

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi @Mr_chickuns Welcome To BYC

Do you have any photos??

 

[Glenda Heywoodo]

How did the chicken get?

 

[Mr_chickuns]

here are some photos i took yesterday, I don't think it is bumble foot anymore because the growth wasn't made of swelling it was made up of an accumulation of mud/poo around the claw stuck in her foot. and apart from a small scab she has now there didn't seem to be an infection. also she isn't limping anymore so im starting to think the problem has sort of fixed itself. I'm still going to the vet though as the small wound could potentially get infected.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

here are some photos i took yesterday, I don't think it is bumble foot anymore because the growth wasn't made of swelling it was made up of an accumulation of mud/poo around the claw stuck in her foot. and apart from a small scab she has now there didn't seem to be an infection. also she isn't limping anymore so im starting to think the problem has sort of fixed itself. I'm still going to the vet though as the small wound could potentially get infected.

Interesting, thanks for the photos.

Having the vet check it out is a good idea.

Hopefully with some repeated soakings to the foot the scab will come off and pull any infection may be in there.

Keep us posted.