Swollen foot, is it bumblefoot???

[bock]

Our poor standard bronze turkey has had a swollen foot for a while. I posted before but didn't get much of a response. I have separated him from the rest of our birds (and the chicken wire), and his chest feathers are growing back because he is no longer rubbing them off. We upped his protein (hard-boiled eggs and totw dog food) as well. I really started researching the foot thing today, and I am starting to think he may have bumblefoot. We plan to move him onto the lawn and start him on a general antibiotic for his water. I have read that we should soak his foot in epsom salt and pull the plug. Hopefully this will allow the pus to leak out that's on the other side of his foot. The plug is btwn two of his toes and the "pus pocket" is sticking out the other side. I hope this will help him, and we will wrap it too. Does anyone have any experience with this who could lend some advice? I just want him to be happy and healthy again. Thank you!

 

[chickenzoo]

Sounds like bumble foot. Yes get him on an antibiotic, bumble foot is a staph infection from an injury to the foot. The puss will be a firm cottage cheese type puss, fowl puss tends to turn into a think gunk. It takes a good effort to clean it all out... Get tweezers, a Xacto knife, iodine wash, cotton balls etc. I would give a few days of antibiotic before removeal as I have had a bird die once while in the process due to it entering the blood stream.... So try and get the infection under control.
You can apply some drawling sav and then wrap in vet wrap

 

[KristinMarie]

I recommend putting Vetricyn on it and wrap it with gauze and medical wrap while it is healing. It will help it heal faster and keep it from getting infected (more than it already is). It can be bought online or at most feed stores. I use it on my chickens, turkeys, dogs, and even myself. I don't have any experience with bumblefoot in turkeys but I know of a wonderful blog that explains how to fix it step by step (pictures included) in chickens and it has helped me in the past. It is pretty much the same thing, just on a larger scale. I'm just not sure if the turkeys will be worse about messing with the bandage than chickens are. Good luck!

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/search/label/bumblefoot causes and treatment

 

[bock]

We washed it thoroughly, and I was able to just pull off the lump between his toes. It smelled pretty disgusting, and inside is just a lot of cottage cheese looking stuff, like you said. We scraped it out, and did the same for a lump on the side of his foot. Also, his middle toe on his other foot has this too, and on the bottom of each of his feet he has a "plug" as well. However, I was unsure of what I was doing, and just stuck with his toes for now. We wrapped his foot, and put a neosporin/honey mixture in both wounds. We also added duramycin (sp?) to his water. The package doesn't give a dosage for his condition though, so we just used about 1.5 tablespoons per gallon.

Poor guy, I feel so terrible! Both of his feet just seem completely infected, and I just didn't know what to do for so long. I thought they were just swollen from his weight. Also, I just noticed that he has a round scab right under his crop, about 1.5 inches in diameter, that I couldn't see before. Is it possible to get staph there too? I have no clue what to do for that. I feel like maybe it's time to put the poor guy out of his misery, but he is my sister's and she really want to try to save him.

I will be doing a lot more research, and fingers crossed it all works out. ETA, I will def. check into the Vetricyn. Oh, and just wondering, is it possible for this to spread to the ducks and chickens? Thank you both!

 

[chickenzoo]

It can spread but not common. They typically get it on their own. The scab on his chest is probably a pressure sore from laying down a lot. I have a roo with two badly swollen feet from bumble foot. There was no way to get the puss out in his case. I put him on an antibiotic and feet an eye on his feet. He's been alive for years. I'm sure he gets a little painfully, but he still walks around, still crows and shows off for the girls, still eats and drinks and has a otherwise normal life. Vetricyn is good stuff too. It is suppose do kill staph I believe.

 

[bock]

Thank you so much! We will pick up some Vetricyn, more neosporine, and some epsom salt ASAP. He is in a shady area on the grass for now. At this point, I think cutting his feet more would only make it worse. Maybe we will just soak and wrap them, in plus the vetricyn and antibiotics.

His chest is pretty bad. I had absolutely no clue that was even there! If we hadn't lifted him up, I would probably have never even noticed. I feel absolutely terrible that I have been letting him suffer like this. I reached under him and took a picture today so I could see it better. It actually looks like it is a few centimeters deep, and a smaller one just like it is forming behind the larger one.

Should I just put neosporine on that too? I hope flies don't find it

, maybe I should spray around it with fly spray? Oh goodness, this is quickly becoming a very big problem, poor guy.

 

[chickenzoo]

Clean it up, I like to put blue kote on wounds like that, and fly spray wouldn't hurt. Just keep him on a soft area. As he feels better and walks more it should go away...

 

[KristinMarie]

Vetericyn should work on the chest sore too. It is supposed to kill staph, even MRSA, along with a bunch of other things. You should check their website for the full list. It only stings a bit (personal experience as I use it on myself when I get cuts and stuff around the homestead) so they don't seem to mind it much. I have a hen that has a really torn up back. One of the roos gave her entirely too much attention. I have been putting it on her every evening and it is healing wonderfully! There is a gel and a liquid. Both come in a spray bottle. I prefer the gel because it stays put. I hope he gets better! It sounds like he is feeling pretty rough.

 

[myfinefeatheredfriends]

Due to their size, turkeys are unfortunately prone to Bumblefoot, especially toms.

 

[bock]

I am pretty sure we are going to have to put him down.

It just seems like the most humane thing to do. His feet don't seem to be getting any better, and I am still beating myself up about not noticing his chest sore. He still manages to seem so happy through all this, but it just isn't fair for him. Thank you for all the advice.