Recurring Bumblefoot (Graphic Pictures)

[CurlyQuail]

Where do you get the Bentonite Clay?

I ordered it from amazon, I attached a picture of the bag

Tell us a bit more about how you are using both the clay and drawing salve

I soak a piece of gauze in very VERY wet clay in the morning, and in the afternoon I wash her feet and put the drawing salve on instead (just scoop a bit onto her foot and cover with gauze). I had originally been using just the clay, since it was working so well with one foot, but it dries out and makes it hard for her to walk so she only has it on for about 9 hours a day.

Are you wrapping feet and changing daily or ??

I’m rewrapping her foot twice a day, once at 8am and again at 5pm. I’ve perfected my system for her boots so I’ll include some pictures below.

1. Put the gauze on the bottom of their foot
2. Sandwich their foot and the gauze between two squares of athletic tape (bought at the dollar store, sticks to itself and keeps poop out)
3. Cut a thin strip of athletic tapeand wrap around the leg, attaching the beginning and end of the strip to the square of tape
4. Cover the top and bottom with another square of tape
5. Cut off any excess

Quail feet are tiny, so the tape and gauze last a long time. Both can be found at the dollar store and Rite Aid (and I’m sure other places but that’s where I’ve seen it).

 

[Aunt Angus]

Thanks for this update! I'm so glad Happy is on the mend!

I may give the clay a try. I have a hen who is having recurring bumblefoot infections.

Did the vet say why Happy is having such a hard time with this (and not your other quail)? I'm curious. You'd thought maybe she's just more susceptible. I wonder if that's true.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I ordered it from amazon, I attached a picture of the bag

I soak a piece of gauze in very VERY wet clay in the morning, and in the afternoon I wash her feet and put the drawing salve on instead (just scoop a bit onto her foot and cover with gauze). I had originally been using just the clay, since it was working so well with one foot, but it dries out and makes it hard for her to walk so she only has it on for about 9 hours a day.

I’m rewrapping her foot twice a day, once at 8am and again at 5pm. I’ve perfected my system for her boots so I’ll include some pictures below.

1. Put the gauze on the bottom of their foot
2. Sandwich their foot and the gauze between two squares of athletic tape (bought at the dollar store, sticks to itself and keeps poop out)
3. Cut a thin strip of athletic tapeand wrap around the leg, attaching the beginning and end of the strip to the square of tape
4. Cover the top and bottom with another square of tape
5. Cut off any excess

Quail feet are tiny, so the tape and gauze last a long time. Both can be found at the dollar store and Rite Aid (and I’m sure other places but that’s where I’ve seen it).

This is great!
Once they heal up and all seems well, you may want to write an article - include your photos as a tutorial. This will be helpful for others when they are searching for solutions/bumblefoot treatment.

 

[CurlyQuail]

Thanks for this update! I'm so glad Happy is on the mend!

I may give the clay a try. I have a hen who is having recurring bumblefoot infections.

Did the vet say why Happy is having such a hard time with this (and not your other quail)? I'm curious. You'd thought maybe she's just more susceptible. I wonder if that's true.

Her blood tests should be coming back today and the vet is hoping to confirm that she’s more susceptible. If it’s not something along those lines, the vet said she probably gets scrapes/cuts and doesn’t “nurse” it (limping, staying in one spot, not putting the foot down, etc) so she would get more foreign bodies stuck inside

 

[CurlyQuail]

She’s staying overnight, but I got an email about her bloodwork. She’s slightly Vitamin A deficienct, enough time affect her feet but not enough to cause splayed legs, and she also seems to have a compromised immune system but I don’t really want to shell out hundreds of dollars to figure out what it is.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She’s staying overnight, but I got an email about her bloodwork. She’s slightly Vitamin A deficienct, enough time affect her feet but not enough to cause splayed legs, and she also seems to have a compromised immune system but I don’t really want to shell out hundreds of dollars to figure out what it is.

Good to know about the vitamins, you should be able to correct that.
Compromised immune system - I agree, it's probably expensive for more testing, but ask questions. Could it be due to the Bumblefoot infection? Just thinking.

 

[CurlyQuail]

Good to know about the vitamins, you should be able to correct that.
Compromised immune system - I agree, it's probably expensive for more testing, but ask questions. Could it be due to the Bumblefoot infection? Just thinking.

I would guess it’s related to the bumblefoot, she’s never been sick or had any health issues before

 

[CurlyQuail]

Happy is back from her surgical adventure at the vet’s! Hopefully we’re onto the recovery stage from here!

The surgery went very well for the damage that had been done! Her entire pad had to be removed and a piece of the kernel had been moving towards her leg bone but all pieces have been removed Her foot is not likely to heal to the point that it looks normal and she might limp but at least the infection is gone!

The vet believes there’s too low of a white blood cell count for it to be solely from the bumblefoot but that it’s likely contributing. Since I now know about her vitamin A deficiency, she’ll be getting Chick Boost Probiotics in her water. The vet said raw and/or red toes and pads would mean she still has the deficiency and she’s likely to develop bumblefoot again, so I will be checking her daily instead of the weekly check I do for everyone else. The vet also approved the ichthammol drawing salve to be used twice daily when I change her bandages to make sure nothing new gets in while she’s healing.

If she was one of my layers and not one of my pets I’m not sure I would’ve gone through all this trouble but I’m glad I did!

 

[Stablecoop]

This is so helpful, thank you for sharing. The photos and embedded descriptions were on point, thanks again!!

 

[CurlyQuail]

Wow Vitamin A deficiency is no joke the first picture is Happy’s foot this morning and the second is from an hour ago. You can already see how much redder it’s getting... time to give her some extra vitamin a supplements. On the bright side, I woke up to find she had laid her first egg in three weeks! I guess she must be feeling better! The foot she has surgery on is healing very very slowly but I guess that’s to be expected when the whole pad is removed...