PLEASE HELP! Chick feet disease?

[Jessmanriquez]

Hello, I am desperately in need of help. I have a 5-month-old chick that has black patches at the bottom of her feet. She lays down most of the time (as they appear to be painful). She is eating fine and we took her to the vet about a month ago and she got diagnosed with pressure ulcers due to possible infection and got given antibiotics (Baytril). She finished the treatment and has been isolated from the rest but her feet have only gotten worse and are now beginning to swell from the top of her feet. I have done research on bumblefoot but it looks a bit different.

 

[azygous]

This might be called bumblefoot if it was just a single lesion on each foot. What is happening here, in my own opinion and I could easily be wrong, is a massive bacterial infection often caused by poop buildup on the soil and filthy conditions harboring bacterial growth to an alarming extent. You are at risk and also your children if you come into contact with this by perhaps going barefoot over this ground or handling this chick with bare hands especially if any cuts or abrasions are present.

In order to save this chicken, it will require intense wound care, topical antibiotics and an oral antibiotic. You may be dealing with a very virulent strain of Staphylococcus, but it could be E. coli, perhaps in addition to the Staph.

Treatment would involve Epsom salt soaks daily, debriding, and applications of antibacterial ointment. Had you done any physical wound care previously while this chicken was being treated with Baytril?

Have you examined your other chickens to see if any others are affected? If it's just this one individual, you might consider euthanasia in lieu of a lengthy and arduous wound treatment program.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Do you have photos when this bird was young.. also where do you live please a picture of the coop will help

 

[BarredRockMom]

Is there any chance that you could administer the above treatment and look after her as suggested??

I agree that this is not a case of bumblefoot. It almost looks like burns. Given that, in combination with what azygous said, it could be from the feet coming into contact with chicken waste, which can be caustic. It will be labor intensive but I hope that you try. No judgement either way, you know your situation and her condition best.

 

[Kat2141]

I would almost bet that it is gout. I had one with feet very similar and had tried all types of treatments. Just about the time that it seemed like she was actually moving better, she passed away. She was very thin, tho, she was very afraid of people right from the day she hatched and I think that the extra stress of being handled didn't help, even though she did eventually get used to being handled and would actually come to me near the end. (We did have her in the house the last bit, due to below 0 temps outside.)

 

[Jessmanriquez]

thank you for your advice! She has taken and finished a course of oral baytril antibiotic as prescribed by the vet. We have been soaking her feet in warm water with soap but we will add epsom salt and apply topical antibiotics as you recommended. As far as the coop concerns, it gets cleaned daily and they get brought in daily to sleep inside since its winter and a bit cold (we live in Southern California). We only have three hens and the other two do not have this issue.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Looks more like necrosis, or gang-green of the flesh like Necroticing Fasciitis AKA flesh eating bacteria.

 

[----------]

could it ne frostbite

 

[Eggcessive]

It is called pododermatitis, or foot pad dermatitis. It is burns created by damp bedding and may be due to bacterial or a high pH in the droppings. Here is some information to read about possible causes:
https://www.farmhealthonline.com/US/disease-management/poultry-diseases/footpad-dermatitis/

https://thepoultrysite.com/disease-guide/contact-dermatitis-hock-burn-pododermatitis