Topic of the Week - Bumblefoot - Prevention and Treatment

[sumi]

Pic by @BirdIsTheWord
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Bumblefoot is an infection caused by the staphylococcus bacteria, which enters the chicken's system through a cut, scratch, injury or a chafed and irritated area on its foot. The infection creates an abscess full of pus, which is most often treated by minor surgery. This week I would like to hear about you all's experiences and treatments of bumblefoot.

- How can/do you prevent it?
- What do you do to treat/cure it?



For a complete list of our Topic of the Week threads, see here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

 

[ChicKat]

oops topic of the week links back to this post....

ETA - Think I was expecting to have it go to an article about bumblefoot.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

I would like to hear about post-surgery and how much success folks have had removing the bacteria from the bloodstream. Catching it early is key, but once the damage it is done it is hard to turn back a weak bird which it's muscles has become overwhelmed with atrophy. Something we are currently experiencing.

 

[black_dove2]

When I first read about it on BYC I was glad I cleaned the run of all Palo Verde debri and thorns on trunk. It's a daily chore cleaning all the small sticks and stems especially when we gave high winds.

Thee thornes on these trees are huge and have an irritant that aggravates the pain. Smaller thorns hurt just as much. I don't want my girls stepping on them and have bumble foot develope.

 

[casportpony]

I found this interesting:

https://hari.ca/avian-care/health-monitoring/symptoms-treatment-bumblefoot-parrots/

 

[Dawnclucks22]

I have experience with a very minor form of bumblefoot. I gave each chicken a wellness check and there were one or two with what appeared to be bumblefoot. I took the first to the garage, turned the sink on warm (but not hot, of course) and massaged the place where the scab was until eventually I could pull it off. Then to make sure the healthy tissue underneath wouldn't get infected I put some neosporin on the spot and bandaged it. I repeated the same steps with the other and checked back the next day. There were new, healthy scabs and the treatment went successfully. Granted, though, I had caught it early and did not have to do anything too drastic. Just goes to show that you should give your birds check-ups now and then.
@casportpony that's an interesting chart, although I don't know if I could classify what I experienced on it. Maybe it's a generalization.

 

[casportpony]

I have experience with a very minor form of bumblefoot. I gave each chicken a wellness check and there were one or two with what appeared to be bumblefoot. I took the first to the garage, turned the sink on warm (but not hot, of course) and massaged the place where the scab was until eventually I could pull it off. Then to make sure the healthy tissue underneath wouldn't get infected I put some neosporin on the spot and bandaged it. I repeated the same steps with the other and checked back the next day. There were new, healthy scabs and the treatment went successfully. Granted, though, I had caught it early and did not have to do anything too drastic. Just goes to show that you should give your birds check-ups now and then.
@casportpony that's an interesting chart, although I don't know if I could classify what I experienced on it. Maybe it's a generalization.

Grade 3 maybe?

 

[casportpony]

I would like to hear about post-surgery and how much success folks have had removing the bacteria from the bloodstream. Catching it early is key, but once the damage it is done it is hard to turn back a weak bird which it's muscles has become overwhelmed with atrophy. Something we are currently experiencing.

This is a good thread.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/detailed-vet-trip-for-duck-with-bumblefoot.1070739/

 

[Dawnclucks22]

Grade 3 maybe?

That looks possible

 

[Lazy Farmer]

This is a good thread.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/detailed-vet-trip-for-duck-with-bumblefoot.1070739/

We completed the surgery successfully a month ago. It healed up really fine but shortly after she lost use of her legs so we used penicillin injectable...versus the the antibiotics Trimethoprim Sulfa noted in the thread you linked. She is still a special needs bird and cannot become mobile. We are on the edge of culling her for Humane reasons. It's a shame because she's such a young and beautiful bird.