Post Bumblefoot Issues

[LuvRchix]

I have a chicken that I had treated for bumble foot three weeks ago. Vet removed the plug and gave her a small dose of penicillin. Her foot seemed tender and she was hesitant to walk for a few days but then got better and was up and moving around. The last few days she seems to have gone back downhill. Foot looks fine, it seems to have healed, but she is terribly off balance when attempting to stand and won’t walk. Her appetite and spirits are fine, she’s eager to eat a variety of food and drinks. She is panting frequently though so I am keeping her segregated from the flock and actually in a space in the house where it’s cool. Idon’t know what could be wrong. She’s only a year and a half old. She is not laying either. I’m at a loss. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Blue Raptor]

I have a chicken that I had treated for bumble foot three weeks ago. Vet removed the plug and gave her a small dose of penicillin. Her foot seemed tender and she was hesitant to walk for a few days but then got better and was up and moving around. The last few days she seems to have gone back downhill. Foot looks fine, it seems to have healed, but she is terribly off balance when attempting to stand and won’t walk. Her appetite and spirits are fine, she’s eager to eat a variety of food and drinks. She is panting frequently though so I am keeping her segregated from the flock and actually in a space in the house where it’s cool. Idon’t know what could be wrong. She’s only a year and a half old. She is not laying either. I’m at a loss. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

How does the spot of surgery look?

 

[Sarahh_Janeyy]

Foot could still be infected- just because you removed the plug doesn't mean it's all out. We were treating our hens (we ended up with FOUR of them getting it at almost a year old!! We definitely changed anything in their environment that might have been causing it) every day for a few weeks, then every other day, then weekly, then every 2 weeks. And it took FOREVER. We brought them for a shot of penecilin once- but another vet said there's actually very little evidence that it works on them but there's not a lot of better options. At any rate, some things we tried: Tricide-Neo (it's made for koi fish, we made a foot soak and tried it for 2 weeks), warm water with epsom salt and betadine soak for 20 mins or so, prid drawing salve, antibiotic ointment, cover with sterile pad and vetrap to make a "shoe" to keep out the dirt. We did some combination of these things over the time period described. We pulled off scabs when they were loose enough. And the scabs came back a few times- it wasn't over after the first one. I tried hard not to cut parts out of the foot- seemed awful. A few times it bled from pulling off the scab- apply pressure until it stops. But easiest to keep soaking and not remove surgically. Basically help your chicken heal itself with supportive care and cleaning the wound regularly.

This post might help? https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/bumblefoot-information-in-progress.1388301/#post-22795137

Also generally searching this forum, there is so much good info here, I got a lot of my ideas from backyard chicken (aside from doing surgery, just seemed unpleasant for everyone).