Ugh bumblefoot

[rosemarythyme]

Run is dry. It’s full sand, but they do go out into the yard which is mixed terrain. Dirt, grass, weeds, plants, pine cones. None of our hens are overweight at all, I keep track to make sure.

What treatment do you follow? Do you always treat?

Sounds like your set up is pretty good for avoiding it so I'd clean up pine cones if possible, otherwise I don't see anything obvious that seems like an issue.

For me it mostly pops up now and then in my heavier birds. I do allow my flock some access to gravel plus my roosts could probably be lower, and we have a wet climate here with a lot of wood chips in the run, so I just try to stay on top of it. So far I've not had anything worse than medium size bumbles with mild swelling.

I always treat unless it's a super tiny bumble (which often go away by themselves). I soak in epsom salts to soften up the scab, dig it out, flush out the wound as best I can, then vet wrap snugly but not tightly, and soak again daily until I see good clean scabbing and no swelling. As soon as I'm done they're back with the flock. I've not had an issue with birds not healing up from doing it that way.

 

[charlotte-and-the-bees]

Sounds like your set up is pretty good for avoiding it so I'd clean up pine cones if possible, otherwise I don't see anything obvious that seems like an issue.

For me it mostly pops up now and then in my heavier birds. I do allow my flock some access to gravel plus my roosts could probably be lower, and we have a wet climate here with a lot of wood chips in the run, so I just try to stay on top of it. So far I've not had anything worse than medium size bumbles with mild swelling.

I always treat unless it's a super tiny bumble (which often go away by themselves). I soak in epsom salts to soften up the scab, dig it out, flush out the wound as best I can, then vet wrap snugly but not tightly, and soak again daily until I see good clean scabbing and no swelling. As soon as I'm done they're back with the flock. I've not had an issue with birds not healing up from doing it that way.

Thank you! Going to clean it up and hopefully stays okay. We're in the same area (PNW) so I'm with you on the wetness. We do sand in the run but keep it as dry as possible.

As far as bumble size goes, how would say the pics I posted are in severity? I removed the scab from two of them, haven't been able to from the other yet but have been soaking daily, applying Vetericyn and PRID. One looks like it's healing, the other is still a bit dark and may have to remove again. Bonus pic of the one who loves the spa.

 

[rosemarythyme]

From the current photos: The first photo looks really good. Second one, it's not severe as there's not a lot of swelling, but that's a pretty decent sized scab.

From the original set of photos: The first was the biggest and the one I'd prioritize treatment on, followed by 2nd and then 3rd (which I assume is the one that looks like it's healing well now?)

With bigger scabs sometimes, I remove them but don't dig around too much, then let them heal as much as possible, and then they end up with a smaller scab which I assume is any remaining infection being pushed out. After removing the smaller secondary scab it should heal up completely from there.

 

[charlotte-and-the-bees]

From the current photos: The first photo looks really good. Second one, it's not severe as there's not a lot of swelling, but that's a pretty decent sized scab.

From the original set of photos: The first was the biggest and the one I'd prioritize treatment on, followed by 2nd and then 3rd (which I assume is the one that looks like it's healing well now?)

With bigger scabs sometimes, I remove them but don't dig around too much, then let them heal as much as possible, and then they end up with a smaller scab which I assume is any remaining infection being pushed out. After removing the smaller secondary scab it should heal up completely from there.

Awesome, super helpful. Thank you! That was the order I ranked them as well and the original set's worst is the first photo of the current. Seems like it's healing pretty well already.

 

[charlotte-and-the-bees]

From the current photos: The first photo looks really good. Second one, it's not severe as there's not a lot of swelling, but that's a pretty decent sized scab.

From the original set of photos: The first was the biggest and the one I'd prioritize treatment on, followed by 2nd and then 3rd (which I assume is the one that looks like it's healing well now?)

With bigger scabs sometimes, I remove them but don't dig around too much, then let them heal as much as possible, and then they end up with a smaller scab which I assume is any remaining infection being pushed out. After removing the smaller secondary scab it should heal up completely from there.

@rosemarythyme I got the scab off of the second one and it doesn't look like fresh tissue underneath, but it's also not disconnecting from skin at all if it's unhealthy. Does this look like part of the infection? I soaked for awhile longer and tried again, but ultimately just re-wrapped and let her take a break to reassess tomorrow.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Looks like tissue starting to scab over already. I assume it feels a little hard compared to the normal tissue but not as hard as the scab that was there before? That may just continue to heal up from there, or if there's anything underneath, it'll form another (and usually smaller) scab.

 

[charlotte-and-the-bees]

Looks like tissue starting to scab over already. I assume it feels a little hard compared to the normal tissue but not as hard as the scab that was there before? That may just continue to heal up from there, or if there's anything underneath, it'll form another (and usually smaller) scab.

Awesome, thank you! Just wanted to make sure it wasn’t a kernel.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Awesome, thank you! Just wanted to make sure it wasn’t a kernel.

I don't seem to get a lot of kernels in my bumblefoot cases. Nor do I get ones with puss or a web of infected material that I read about in some cases. Most of mine look like yours.

 

[Vickischics]

@rosemarythyme I got the scab off of the second one and it doesn't look like fresh tissue underneath, but it's also not disconnecting from skin at all if it's unhealthy. Does this look like part of the infection? I soaked for awhile longer and tried again, but ultimately just re-wrapped and let her take a break to reassess tomorrow.

View attachment 2809209

She has one on her other foot too.
I'm guessing it's perch issue. One, the roost is too high and the other is the roost itself.
You have heavy girls. Make sure your using a 2x4. Sand it smooth and sand the sharp corners. Sand it smooth enough to run your bare hand over it back and forth.
Allow your girls to roost on the 4" side of the 2x4 board. Chickens like to sit on their feet.
Hope you can correct your bumblefoot issue. Also check your ramp. Again, it needs to be smooth enough for your hand.

 

[rosemarythyme]

She has one on her other foot too.

Yes, but the second one is small, and I find those often clear up with just soaking and not much else. I used to try and clean those out but it really didn't seem to make a big difference.