recurrent bumble foot! help please!

[iPeanut1990]

My poor little RIR has been battling bumble foot in both of her feet since I think January. I can't figure out what's going on. My other 2 chickens are fine so I have no idea what she's been stepping on. I don't like the idea of separating her because I know it's very on hard on them. Because of this I'm also hesitant to put her on antibiotics because I'll have to separate her so we know which eggs are hers. I'll do whatever I need to do I need to do to get her healthy though. We can't eat her eggs while she's on antibiotics, correct? What can I do?

The foot on the left is the one we just did again last week. I think it's looking much better. I soaked it in Epsom salts and Betadine and bandaged her back up after this picture was taken. I put Veterycin, Betadine and Neosporin on it before I wrapped it back up. I'm hoping we got it this time because it looks better than it did last time at this point. Her other foot appears a bit discolored. It's like it blew up overnight. I've been keeping a close eye on it and it got bad again really quickly. I'll be taking care of it tomorrow. Do they make chicken shoes?

 

[emmaie892000]

She probably isn't injuring her foot again, it's just a hard infection to get rid of.
It sounds like you're doing the right thing, just keep removing the scabs and plugs if they show up, keep it wrapped if you can, and try you absolute best to keep it clean.
And as far as what she hurt her foot on, it could have been anything. A tiny cut can get infected, then it can spread throughout the foot.

 

[iPeanut1990]

Thank you! I'm just at a loss for what to do because I'm leaving on vacation on Sept 12 and I don't want the chicken sitter to have to be changing bandages.

 

[fangaddict]

U need to soak those feet in tricide neo dip. It works. Half tablespoon per 2 quarts. There are other threads on here about it

 

[lovemy6hens]

How is she doing?

Crazy K Farm makes the Birdy Bootie. They're awesome! http://crazykfarm.mybigcommerce.com/birdy-bootie-hand-made-in-the-usa/

 

[wyomingmaryland]

I read somewhere, I think it was the official bumblefoot guide on this site, that you should take off the bandage after like 3-6 days, which seems right to me with my red star who has it.... ahem... still has it, i think.... how hard is it to actually kick this stuff... it seems like it just keeps coming back.

 

[Naomi142]

I took my girl to the vet and had surgery done on both of her feet for bumble foot. The vet can do a much better job at removing that from the core that way they can sedate her because it is painful to dig their feet out she will be given ointment and the bandages need to be wrapped daily also she does need to be on an antibiotic. It took my girl about three months to heal her feet look great now before you take her just figure out which egg is hers and write her name on it and compare their eggs you pick to that one

 

[wyomingmaryland]

I took my girl to the vet and had surgery done on both of her feet for bumble foot. The vet can do a much better job at removing that from the core that way they can sedate her because it is painful to dig their feet out she will be given ointment and the bandages need to be wrapped daily also she does need to be on an antibiotic. It took my girl about three months to heal her feet look great now before you take her just figure out which egg is hers and write her name on it and compare their eggs you pick to that one

Oh, i see. I did feel like I wasnt getting EVERYTHING out, still some liquid puss, not hardened.... dont suppose i can attempt anesthesia, although the abx should be obtainable... how much did it cost? Did you watch?

cool trick with the egg... will her eggs look different even from her sisters? curious- is this b/c of high dosing of abx as opposed to a lower prophylactic use as in commercial production?

 

[Naomi142]

Hi, Well it did cost me about 500.00 to have her feet done but that includes the antibiotics which are different than the ones you can purchase in the store. Your vet may be cheaper but make sure he does avian/poultry medicine. She will need a specific antibiotic for her condition. And only certain ones can be used on birds. She should only be on them for only so long so you don't want to put her on something that is not going to work. I actually brought my girl in every night to pill her and wrap her feet then I would let her out each morning and just repeat the process. You don't want her jumping down from roosts that makes it worse that's why you bring her in each night I had a large rabbit cage setup. Also every 2 weeks or so you can drive her back to the vet he/she will remove the scab and check her progress. The scab is a sign of healing but needs to be removed or the foot will actually stop healing. Weird huh? Chickens take a long time to heal like reptiles so about 3 months time is what you are looking at.
As far as the egg goes it does not look any different I happened to get lucky and she layed an egg in recovery after surgery at the vet. So I wrote her name on it and compared any eggs l gathered to that one because you do not want to consume her eggs for 1 month after she takes her last dose of antibiotics. Hope this helps!