Tricide Neo for Bumblefoot- Still recommended?

[newmarch2014]

I have never tried that but the soaking gives the antibiotic time to really sit and do it's job. Also they heal really quickly so irrigating it would only help for the first week or so as the scab forms, unless you reopen the wound which I only recommend if it is still looking pink and swollen because there is likely still some infection running rampant in the sore. I am so satisfied with the results from soaking in the tricide neo that the frustration of getting them to stand still in the container is worth it.

 

[aldarita]

I want to give you all an update on my 2 hens and rooster with bumble foot, the three of them are clear of any infection and the scabs are gone. They have been fine for several weeks. In my last inspection I found that my three welsummer hens have bumble foot in both feet. It has been raining a lot in south Texas so the ground has been wet and muddy for a long time, since my chickens free range all day, I believe any little cut or puncture in their feet gets infected. I started tricide neo soaks 7 days ago (for 10 minutes each) and I can see a very significant improvement already. One of the hens has a clean foot right now so I am just treating the other foot.

One thing that I never do is to remove any scab. I know some people believe that by removing the scab the infection will come out and the antibiotic will work better. I don't want to have any open wounds on their feet because I will have to wrap them and that is not an option for me because I don't want to cage them and being out in the yard will dirty the wrap right away. So far I have been lucky treating my chickens this way and I strongly believe that catching it early and being patient and consistent with the soaks is the key to success.

So far I have only had one hen that didn't respond to the treatment, the infection in her feet wasn't bad. The vet had to surgically remove the infections in both feet. She couldn't stand the stress of being isolated in a cage and got egg peritonitis. I had the vet put her down.

 

[BriarwoodsFarm]

Long overdue update (from post number 58). The young hen with the really bad looking foot I thought I'd broken did heal fairly quickly. Trooper laid all through the winter even when molting in February (!) but is slowing down now. No more bumblefoot, though after the past week of rain I need to check again.

The older EE took 2 months of treatment with Neosporin and wrapping but has healed, though the scales she lost never seemed to grow back.

Now we have an 11 month old Olive Egger with faint scabs, I didn't pull them off but wrapped with Neosporin a couple of times a week ago, gave up trying to keep it clean and dry this week with constant rain but will be looking at her first of all of them (we have 5 in the coop and 3 1-month old chicks in the house) this weekend.

TN may be the best course if there is no huge hard scab to pull off and it's just the OE affected - she is very docile. Where can I order it?

 

[newmarch2014]

I google it and usually find the best price at Koi Acres.

 

[aldarita]

Koi Acres is where I have been getting mine for almost 3 years. I get the small package because once you open it, it absorbs moisture and I don't know if that will affect it's potency after some time. I have a small scale and make 4 small packages of about a little more than 5g. I dilute one package in distilled water in a glass container which holds a quarter of a gallon, it is good for 7 days. According to the instructions in the Koi Acres website, once the solution is mixed it must be kept in a dark and cool place. It is not necessary to soak the entire foot in the solution, as long as the scab is covered, it should be enough. Most of the bumble foot occurs in the foot pads so one quarter of an inch of solution is enough to treat it.

 

[aldarita]

I forgot to mention that since I always treat my patients in the evenings after they have gone to roost, I prepare the solution in the morning, let it sit in a cool dark place to be used in the evening. TN comes in crystals and it takes a while to get it dissolved in the distilled water

 

[newmarch2014]

I am just adding some recent experience. I have an EE with the worst case I have ever had to deal with. It has been going on for at least 2 mos. She doesn't limp but does have a huge gaping hole in the bottom of her foot that just wont heal. I have been soaking her with tricide at least 3 times a week for at least 2 mos and it was not getting any better. I kept opening it up to drain out more and more puss but no core ever came out. I finally got worried about the infection spreading as she was starting to be more docile and less active so I started her 10 days ago on an oral broad specturm antibiotic along with the tricide neo soaks and finally it is starting to heal over and when I make a little opening in the scab there appears to be no more puss. Moral of the story.....it may take a really long time and may need a little boost if it is an extreme case but I still love the tricide. I have 2 other hens that have a mild case (as well as the same hen having a mild case on the other foot) and just 2 weeks of soaking and they are all looking great and almost entirely healed. No pics this time around which is too bad because I should have documented the really bad one.

 

[julieh]

I am just adding some recent experience. I have an EE with the worst case I have ever had to deal with. It has been going on for at least 2 mos. She doesn't limp but does have a huge gaping hole in the bottom of her foot that just wont heal. I have been soaking her with tricide at least 3 times a week for at least 2 mos and it was not getting any better. I kept opening it up to drain out more and more puss but no core ever came out. I finally got worried about the infection spreading as she was starting to be more docile and less active so I started her 10 days ago on an oral broad specturm antibiotic along with the tricide neo soaks and finally it is starting to heal over and when I make a little opening in the scab there appears to be no more puss. Moral of the story.....it may take a really long time and may need a little boost if it is an extreme case but I still love the tricide. I have 2 other hens that have a mild case (as well as the same hen having a mild case on the other foot) and just 2 weeks of soaking and they are all looking great and almost entirely healed. No pics this time around which is too bad because I should have documented the really bad one. 

 

[julieh]

I'm not sure I can buy Tricide in the UK. Any ideas? Thanks for a great thread by the way. Cost me £87 at the vets today for antibiotics & pain killers for my girls

xxx

 

[KayTee]

jullieh you can get tricide neo from the USA, even if you live in the UK. I live in France and it's not available here either, but I ordered online from the very helpful owner of Pondrx.com. He took my order over the phone, and I received the pack within about 10 days or so.

I don't remember the exact details, but I know that I divided the pack into 4 doses, making one batch of liquid at a time. I filtered and re-used each batch of liquid for at least a week (washing the bird's feet in plain water first before you dip them in the medicated liquid helps to keep the tricide neo clean) and I placed the bottle containing the liquid in a bath of hot water to warm it up before each use.

I have no scientific evidence, but I can assure you that I had tried everything beforehand to no avail, and within 3 weeks of using the tricide neo (every evening, for at least 5 minutes at a time per bird) the bumble on my girl's foot had dried up and fallen out. It left a hole through the foot (like an earring piercing) but it soon healed

It takes a bit of time each day if you have more than one bird to treat, but for me it was well worth the effort.

I haven't read all the thread, so I don't know how many affected birds you have, but if it is a recurring problem then maybe you should look at your perches. I have wide rough boards as perches, but since I placed pieces of old towelling over each perch I haven't had a single case of bumblefoot. The rough, square edges of the boards were no doubt contributing to the problem with my girls.

I remove the towels from the perches each week, soak them in a bowl of hot water and washing up liquid (to kill any red mites that might be nesting in them), then I put them through the washing machine (to clean all the poop and stuff), but that is a small price to pay - I haven't had any bumblefoot in my flock for the last two years, whereas I had it regularly up until then!

Hope this information helps.