Suspected bumblefoot

[MN Chicken Mom]

Hi there!
I just noticed one of my hen's possibly has bumblefoot so I searched online on how to treat. Sounds like soaking it in salt water, then applying an ointment to treat the infection and wrapping in gauze is best. For now, I soaked her foot (a minute or two) and wrapped in gauze but plan to head to the store to find an ointment. What would WalMart or PetSmart have, if any? Would you soak/clean daily then re-do steps?

Thanks for the help!

 

[azygous]

Your research didn't turn up the most important step in treating bumblefoot. You need to debride the wound, removing the pus plug under the scab after soaking in Epsom salt water to soften the tissue.

When picking up some antibiotic ointment such as Neosporin, stop by the feed store and get some Vetericyn wound spray or gel. It will be in the horse first aid supplies.

After cleaning and scraping out all the pus, flush liberally with saline or clean water. Spray with Vetericyn, then let dry. Apply the ointment and bandage, using nonstick gauze pads and Vetrap, so no dirt can get into the wound. Be sure not to wrap so tightly that circulation is affected. Wait two days and unwrap and check the wound. If it's still wet and pus is present, resoak and repeat the above routine.

Some cases heal in less than a week while very stubborn ones can take a year or even longer.

 

[slordaz]

it's more like a 10-15 minute soak not a 1-2 minute soak, until you can get the scab softened enough to take it off without tearing up their foot, then you have to get all of the hard puss and seed out, before continuing on.

also you may be doing this soak part 2-3 times or even more depending on how stubborn it is

 

[MN Chicken Mom]

Thanks for your help on this! I went ahead and did the soak for at least 20 min and removed the scab but did not realize that there would possibly be pus following that. I feel that most of the scab came out but didn't squeeze or dig enough for the pus. Here's a photo of what it looked like before I sprayed with Vetericyn, applied Neosporin, then bandaged up. Do you think I should repeat the process of digging deeper per say? Or wait and see if it starts healing up?

 

[azygous]

Wait and see how it looks in two days.

 

[MN Chicken Mom]

Wait and see how it looks in two days.

Thanks for all of your help! I really appreciate it!

 

[azygous]

That appears to be a very early case. It should heal in a flash. Good job!

 

[MN Chicken Mom]

So we checked the foot again today and appears to be healing well. It has a flat scab over the hole but no swelling so am assuming it's healing.

Then we noticed her other foot and had the beginning of bumblefoot. So we did the same thing- soaked in Epsom salt water, attempted to remove the built in scab with a tweezers but did not find a seed. Wondering if we didn't dig far enough. This is the hardest part for me. We dug until it bled and did not pus. We sprayed with Vetercyin, applied Neosporin and then used gauze with Vet wrap.Hoping this did the trick.

I've read others isolating their bird from the rest of the flock mainly so they don't peck at her and ours haven't been but she hasn't appeared sick yet. They say for them to not roost with their wounds but our roosts are thicker boards, more like 2x4 so are nice and flat on their feet. Do you think this matters? Just wondering why this happened to her other foot.

Any input is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

 

[slordaz]

don't know what would have caused the other, but says a lot that you were checking and noticed it, the soon you start the treatment less likely to get infected as bad

 

[MN Chicken Mom]

don't know what would have caused the other, but says a lot that you were checking and noticed it, the soon you start the treatment less likely to get infected as bad

Do you think not finding the seed is bad or maybe it wasn't developed enough yet?