Severe Bumblefoot

[Jeehaw]

got a flock of 41 and noticing some swollen feet, one in particular i brought in, cleaned, and photographed. how bad is this bumblefoot in the attached pictures? this is my first time dealing with bumblefoot. i dont have epsom salt is regular salt water good? i can clean and bandaid easily and routinely. i am willing to lance. any suggestions? it is quite swollen tbh. whats the best way to solve this?

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

Looks to me like she's been treated for bumblefoot before. The swollen pad might indicated there is still infection inside or it might just be inflammation from the trauma. If she's not limping or anything I'd would monitor for a while before trying anything more than the occasional foot soak. (Epsom salt baths are a popular home remedy for reducing inflammation and easing muscles, and with 41 chickens you;ll probably want to get a bag at some point, but a warm salt water soak is also fine.) Lancing isn't useful for bumblefoot--the pus is solid and won't come out through a needle prick and you risk making a new spot for infection to take hold. Sometimes the infection is in weird "strings" in the pad so you'd have to really cut up the whole pad to find it, which I do not recommend. You might try a drawing salve like sugardine to see if that helps. That's usually used when there is a scab or cut through which to draw out the infection, but I think I remember a thread on here where someone used it to successfully treat a infection with no break in the skin. But I really would just monitor it first to see if it's getting better or worse on its own because treating foot infections is not only time consuming and stressful (for you and the bird) but also because there is no foolproof way to cure it and you might just do more harm then good.

 

[TxChris]

got a flock of 41 and noticing some swollen feet, one in particular i brought in, cleaned, and photographed. how bad is this bumblefoot in the attached pictures? this is my first time dealing with bumblefoot. i dont have epsom salt is regular salt water good? i can clean and bandaid easily and routinely. i am willing to lance. any suggestions? it is quite swollen tbh. whats the best way to solve this?

It doesn't look like bumble to me.
Is there a hard, dark "scab"?

Hard to tell how swollen it is with no comparison at the same angles/lighting.

The red spot looks irritated, or perhaps an old scab that's healed?
How is she walking?

It's hard to prevent digging injuries, but any of the main items should be looked over.
I'd check the roosts first. I run my bare hands all over my bars to ensure there are no rough spots, jags, splinters, etc. And really anywhere else they routinely walk/hop/perch.

I nice soak and maybe use sports tape to fashion a cotton ball cushion underfoot could offer her relief, is she appears uncomfortable.

I would NOT go cutting, poking, lancing.

They have an amazing ability to heal when we just let them.

Keep us posted!

 

[Jeehaw]

Looks to me like she's been treated for bumblefoot before. The swollen pad might indicated there is still infection inside or it might just be inflammation from the trauma. If she's not limping or anything I'd would monitor for a while before trying anything more than the occasional foot soak. (Epsom salt baths are a popular home remedy for reducing inflammation and easing muscles, and with 41 chickens you;ll probably want to get a bag at some point, but a warm salt water soak is also fine.) Lancing isn't useful for bumblefoot--the pus is solid and won't come out through a needle prick and you risk making a new spot for infection to take hold. Sometimes the infection is in weird "strings" in the pad so you'd have to really cut up the whole pad to find it, which I do not recommend. You might try a drawing salve like sugardine to see if that helps. That's usually used when there is a scab or cut through which to draw out the infection, but I think I remember a thread on here where someone used it to successfully treat a infection with no break in the skin. But I really would just monitor it first to see if it's getting better or worse on its own because treating foot infections is not only time consuming and stressful (for you and the bird) but also because there is no foolproof way to cure it and you might just do more harm then good.

thanks for the evaluation, ill clean her 2 times a day and keep a close eye, shes about 3.5 yrs old and moving fine. ill look for epsom salt sounds like a worthwhile investment

It doesn't look like bumble to me.
Is there a hard, dark "scab"?

Hard to tell how swollen it is with no comparison at the same angles/lighting.

The red spot looks irritated, or perhaps an old scab that's healed?
How is she walking?

It's hard to prevent digging injuries, but any of the main items should be looked over.
I'd check the roosts first. I run my bare hands all over my bars to ensure there are no rough spots, jags, splinters, etc. And really anywhere else they routinely walk/hop/perch.

I nice soak and maybe use sports tape to fashion a cotton ball cushion underfoot could offer her relief, is she appears uncomfortable.

I would NOT go cutting, poking, lancing.

They have an amazing ability to heal when we just let them.

Keep us posted!

thanks for the heads up. found a small cactus in the run, removed it so it is possible they were pricked.

she is walking fine, i will try to get another picture of her walking. it looks like a small bulge half a grape size

 

[Jeehaw]

its on her right foot. she is very calm with me cleaning it. perhaps she has been treated before

 

[Wyorp Rock]

got a flock of 41 and noticing some swollen feet, one in particular i brought in, cleaned, and photographed. how bad is this bumblefoot in the attached pictures? this is my first time dealing with bumblefoot. i dont have epsom salt is regular salt water good? i can clean and bandaid easily and routinely. i am willing to lance. any suggestions? it is quite swollen tbh. whats the best way to solve this?

What have your temperatures been like?

 

[Jeehaw]

What have your temperatures been like?

its been as low as 15 F in the early morning and gets to 40 - 55 F by day.

the coop is shut at night with a small opening for circulation, it is able to maintain the heat at night with 41 chickens breathing and pooping they stay quite comfortable at night huddled even at frigid temps (below 0 F).

 

[Wyorp Rock]

its been as low as 15 F in the early morning and gets to 40 - 55 F by day.

the coop is shut at night with a small opening for circulation, it is able to maintain the heat at night with 41 chickens breathing and pooping they stay quite comfortable at night huddled even at frigid temps (below 0 F).

Is there a way to get more photos of the feet, tops and bottoms that are clear and well lit?

I'd almost lean toward Frostbite.
I certainly wouldn't be attempting to cut into feet unless I was absolutely sure I was dealing with Bumblefoot.