Rooster with Bumblefoot???

[Harun]

Hello, Harun here
Chickens have been doing well, but I'm thinking my rooster Ares might have bumblefoot.
I don't think he's walking abnormally, but the perches in the roosts are really quite high, and one of his middle toes are swollen. Please ket me know what you think, and the procedures I must take if he does indeed have bumblefoot.
Thanks

 

[coach723]

Yes, he has bumblefoot. That dark circle spot on the middle toe is the lesion. The following link is how I generally treat. You will need to soak the foot to soften that up, remove the black lesion/scab, and flush out the area underneath it well. For flushing you can use chlorhexidine (hibiclens), or diluted betadine. There may be pus in there, which may need to be squeezed out or manually removed (chicken pus is firm, not runny, will be creamy or white in color, may come out all in one piece or in chunks), then fill the hole with an antibiotic ointment, cover with a bit of gauze or telfa pad and wrap the foot with vetwrap or cowrap (not too tight, just enough to keep it on and clean and dry). To keep in on you may have to wrap around the ankle a turn or two also. Change the bandage daily, flush or clean again if needed, reapply the ointment and wrap again. Do daily until it's healing well, then you can do every other or every third day as needed. Some bumbles can be very slow to heal, so it may take some time.
http://www.tillysnest.com/2015/12/non-surgical-bumblefoot-treatment.html/?spref=pi

 

[Harun]

Yes, he has bumblefoot. That dark circle spot on the middle toe is the lesion. The following link is how I generally treat. You will need to soak the foot to soften that up, remove the black lesion/scab, and flush out the area underneath it well. For flushing you can use chlorhexidine (hibiclens), or diluted betadine. There may be pus in there, which may need to be squeezed out or manually removed (chicken pus is firm, not runny, will be creamy or white in color, may come out all in one piece or in chunks), then fill the hole with an antibiotic ointment, cover with a bit of gauze or telfa pad and wrap the foot with vetwrap or cowrap (not too tight, just enough to keep it on and clean and dry). To keep in on you may have to wrap around the ankle a turn or two also. Change the bandage daily, flush or clean again if needed, reapply the ointment and wrap again. Do daily until it's healing well, then you can do every other or every third day as needed. Some bumbles can be very slow to heal, so it may take some time.
http://www.tillysnest.com/2015/12/non-surgical-bumblefoot-treatment.html/?spref=pi

Thank you for all of the information. How much time do I have to treat him until it's too late? Are there any long-term effects after the bumblefoot is treated?

 

[coach723]

It's not an emergency, bumblefoot is generally a slow process. But the earlier you treat it, the faster and better it will heal up. Optimally you want to catch them when they are as small as possible. Once it's healed up there really are no long term issues. Some birds are more prone to it (heavier birds often) so you could have a repeat down the road. If it's not treated then the infection can continue to spread and in severe cases can be fatal. If it gets into the bone, it can be very difficult to treat. Any kind of wound, scrape, puncture can let bacteria in that starts bumblefoot. Lowering roosts so that they aren't jumping so far, trying to keep sharp things from their run as much as you can, sanding/painting perches so they don't get splinters, can help reduce it, but the risk will never be zero.

 

[Harun]

It's not an emergency, bumblefoot is generally a slow process. But the earlier you treat it, the faster and better it will heal up. Optimally you want to catch them when they are as small as possible. Once it's healed up there really are no long term issues. Some birds are more prone to it (heavier birds often) so you could have a repeat down the road. If it's not treated then the infection can continue to spread and in severe cases can be fatal. If it gets into the bone, it can be very difficult to treat. Any kind of wound, scrape, puncture can let bacteria in that starts bumblefoot. Lowering roosts so that they aren't jumping so far, trying to keep sharp things from their run as much as you can, sanding/painting perches so they don't get splinters, can help reduce it, but the risk will never be zero.

I've heard that in bumblefoot there is also a kernel. Will I have to sift through his foot and remove it once I remove the black lesion?

 

[coach723]

Every foot is a little different. Some will have a kernal, some won't. Once you remove the lesion/scab, then you will see what's underneath. Once it's softened, do some manipulating and remove it slowly, try to get as much as will come out in one peice. Sometimes there is just tissue under the lesion, sometimes there is a pocket of pus and infection (a kernal). The pus will be firm and white or creamy in color. Depending on size and depth you may have to do a fair amount of squeezing to get it all out, some tweezers may be useful, or cotton swabs may help. Again depending on depth and size it may bleed a little, or not at all. You do want to remove all the pus in there, if any remains it will regenerate rather than heal. If soaking doesn't soften it enough, or if he won't tolerate soaking, you can apply decolorized iodine (not the same as betadine, most pharmacies have it in the first aid section) to the lesion and wrap it overnight, that will usually soften it up well.

 

[TXKukupantsKoop]

Yes, he has bumblefoot. That dark circle spot on the middle toe is the lesion. The following link is how I generally treat. You will need to soak the foot to soften that up, remove the black lesion/scab, and flush out the area underneath it well. For flushing you can use chlorhexidine (hibiclens), or diluted betadine. There may be pus in there, which may need to be squeezed out or manually removed (chicken pus is firm, not runny, will be creamy or white in color, may come out all in one piece or in chunks), then fill the hole with an antibiotic ointment, cover with a bit of gauze or telfa pad and wrap the foot with vetwrap or cowrap (not too tight, just enough to keep it on and clean and dry). To keep in on you may have to wrap around the ankle a turn or two also. Change the bandage daily, flush or clean again if needed, reapply the ointment and wrap again. Do daily until it's healing well, then you can do every other or every third day as needed. Some bumbles can be very slow to heal, so it may take some time.
http://www.tillysnest.com/2015/12/non-surgical-bumblefoot-treatment.html/?spref=pi

Thanks so much for this. We had our first run in with bumblefoot today and I found this thread. Worked great and she had it on both feet! We caught it really early so it was not too scary. The hardest part was wrapping her feet properly. We had to start over 3x before she walked normally. It's amazing how quickly she adapted.

 

[Harun]

Thanks so much for this. We had our first run in with bumblefoot today and I found this thread. Worked great and she had it on both feet! We caught it really early so it was not too scary. The hardest part was wrapping her feet properly. We had to start over 3x before she walked normally. It's amazing how quickly she adapted.

That’s excellent to hear! Gives me more hope that the procedure will work on my rooster. I’m currently getting the correct supplies for it, and am wondering how it went for you. Was it hard removing the lesion or easy? How long did you have to soak her until the toepad was softened up?

 

[TXKukupantsKoop]

That’s excellent to hear! Gives me more hope that the procedure will work on my rooster. I’m currently getting the correct supplies for it, and am wondering how it went for you. Was it hard removing the lesion or easy? How long did you have to soak her until the toepad was softened up?

We soaked her feet for about 12 minutes and then started taking that top layer off. Soaked it again for about 5 minutes to makes it softer. She was so good the whole time. She flinched a few times as the lesion came out. It wasn't well developed yet so it wasn't deep. I think that it was harder on me than Zimmy. You really do need two ppl though. Idk how you could do it with just one. Just make sure he can walk normally with the bandages. Zimmy literally pecked at it twice and then went back to normal functioning. Animals are amazing at adapting to new things.

 

[Harun]

So, I tried my hand at the procedure yesterday and didn't have much luck. I soaked Ares' foot for about 15 minutes, and tried to work the lesion out, but was unsuccessful. Then I soaked it for about 10 more minutes and tried again, but still couldn't get it out. Finally, I tried one last time, and while it was softening more and more, I still couldn't get it out. Seems like it's pretty well-developed for him. Are they any tips you guys have for me besides being more patient with the soak? Yesterday I didn't have much time, so I'm definitely going to try it again.