Second opinion of Bumblefoot

[paradisepentacoop]

Aloha all,
I have a year old Olive egger who has been limping around for about two weeks. Today I snagged her to take a look at her feet. I'm almost certain she has Bumblefoot, but I wanted to get confirmation before I try any at home treatment. There are no poultry vets where I live, though I will be contacting farm supply stores to see if they know something I don't.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Looks like Bumblefoot to me. Since she's limping, you'll want to address it.

I would suggest using a Non-Surgical approach.

https://www.tillysnest.com/2015/12/non-surgical-bumblefoot-treatment-html/

 

[rosemarythyme]

Yes that's bumblefoot, and I usually opt to soak in epsom salt and then remove the plug, unless it's very small.

 

[paradisepentacoop]

Looks like Bumblefoot to me. Since she's limping, you'll want to address it.

I would suggest using a Non-Surgical approach.

https://www.tillysnest.com/2015/12/non-surgical-bumblefoot-treatment-html/

Excellent source, thank you. I will try this once I can get a small area set aside for her to be separated from the rest of the flock. I will update with progress.

 

[paradisepentacoop]

Hey all, follow up.
I soaked her foot for a half hour, checking on the sore edge every 10 minutes. After that time, I gently tried dislodging it with my fingers, with no result. I soaked her foot more and then attempted to very gently prod the scab with tweezers and saw some movement.

I spent the next 45 minutes soaking and proding it, slowly removing about 1.5mm of dead flesh from the top of the scab. I was able to get to a point where I saw what appeared to be white fluid. However, when I attempted to investigate it, it appeared to be stringy(?) white pus? with no discernible smell over wet feathers. I kept soaking and proding and exploring the white area to the relative discomfort of the hen until I saw a hint of blood. I stopped the procedure and applied Vetericyn, gauze, and vet wrap to let her rest.

Thoughts on if I should keep on at it? She definitely still has a swollen and hard foot pad. There was no solid eschar like tillysnest suggested from what I could discern. She is separated with fresh bedding in a dog crate in my garage for further observation and potential treatment.

Mahalo for your time.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I would do daily epsom salt soaks, then neosporin and re-wrap to keep the wound clean. The goal is to let the wound close up as cleanly as possible and then reassess whether or not any scabbing needs to be removed. Best case scenario is it'll heal up enough that you can leave it alone to finish healing after a week or two.

Note that I don't separate birds that are being treated since I don't want to reintegrate them into the flock, as long as the bandage can stay mostly dry on whatever litter they're on it's good enough. So something to consider, depending on your set up.

 

[paradisepentacoop]

I would do daily epsom salt soaks, then neosporin and re-wrap to keep the wound clean. The goal is to let the wound close up as cleanly as possible and then reassess whether or not any scabbing needs to be removed. Best case scenario is it'll heal up enough that you can leave it alone to finish healing after a week or two.

Note that I don't separate birds that are being treated since I don't want to reintegrate them into the flock, as long as the bandage can stay mostly dry on whatever litter they're on it's good enough. So something to consider, depending on your set up.

The problem with letting her stay with the flock is two fold. One is I can't guarantee dry litter, as the open air nature of the coop lets rain in the center area. Second is the roosts are about 5' off the ground.
I'll see how her foot looks today and assess more.

 

[Eggcessive]

I think you got most of the infection. It just wasn’t so bad that a hard kernel of pus has formed yet. I would just apply neosporin and bandage the foot daily for a week until it is healing. To keep the bandage from getting too wet, you can put a little duct tape on it. I always have left mine with the flock to free range. It usually heals pretty fast. You can soak the foot if you like, and that may aid in healing, but I always just have bandaged and left it alone after treating.

 

[talkinboutchickens]

Hello! My favorite chicken YouTuber, Welcome To Chickenlandia, suggests putting PRID (a drawing salve) on their foot. She has had a lot of success using it.
Here's the vid:

(you can skip to 8:46 if you'd like.)

 

[Eggcessive]

Many also use sugardine, a combination of betadine povidone iodine and sugar, made into a paste, and put on the foot with dressing daily. There are many methods to treating bumble foot.