Scab on bottom of hen's foot-Worry?

[Catalina]

My hen Butter has a scab on the bottom of her left foot. The foot is a tiny bit swollen. It doesn't seem too tender, she lets me touch it, but she does occasionally stand with this foot curled up underneath her (at first I just thought she was cold).

I gave her a bath today and afterwards rubbed Neosporin into the bottom of her foot.

Should I worry about this?

 

[rooster-red]

Yes, looks like bumble foot.

Do a search with bumble foot as the keyword, lots of threads about this.

 

[sammi]

agree..
should be treated asap.

 

[SpottedCrow]

Looks like bumblefoot to me too.

 

[lovethechickens]

i vote bumble foot. Treat is NOW!

 

[Catalina]

6 MONTH UPDATE

I took Butter to the Vet in June. It took several phone calls to find a Vet that would see her. I live in an area surrounded by many poultry farms, where culling is the preferred method of treatment. But Butter is a PET.
The "farm animal" Vet agreed to treat her.
He looked at her foot and pushed on the scab. I asked about Bumblefoot and he laughed and said -"No, it's not bumblefoot".
He put ointment and wrapped her foot in a bright pink cast wrap.
He also gave her an antibiotic shot in the chest.

He told me to come back in a week and get the bandage changed.
A week later he changed the bandage - the scab was still there and it hadn't changed in size or shape.
He changed the bandage and told me I didn't need to bring her back again, just to take off the bandage in a week.

His attitude was pretty much -that's all I'm going to do for a chicken.

Now -6 MONTHS LATER-
Butter still has a scab on the bottom of her foot.
She now has a bare, red, feather-less patch on her chest (from the shot?).
And the Vet has $100.

She is happy, healthy and lays eggs.

 

[speckledhen]

The vet doesn't know bumblefoot when he sees it, I'm sorry to say. Why are they so vain/arrogant/embarrassed that they cant say they dont know?

It's bumblefoot. No doubt about it. Take it from someone who has treated many cases of it. A search will tell you how to treat it.

 

[redhen]

wow..six months!..and she still has the scab?...maybe the infection went away then?..and just the scab remains...

...weird...good luck to you and the chickie!

 

[chickNjake]

I dealt with a vet a few months ago who was the same way- "I know what I'm doing...oops that didn't work...$125"

well he didn't SAY all that, but that's what happend, I've learned BYC'ers usually know more than the vet. hope it works out

-Jake