Vet suggestion for non-invasive bumblefoot cure

[daytonfarm]

Somewhere it says to keep it covered and in a cool area, i'm not sure about refrigerated (I didn't refrigerate) and you can use it for a week, as long as you wash and dry their feet before you put them in. If it gets dirty your supposed to start fresh. Only make about a quart at a time.

 

[Chez Poulet]

Success with bumblefoot treatment on two chooks in a row . . .

The first hen was limping and her bumble seemed to be infected. We were worried about staph. Try to use implements on the chook that you can throw away as it is nearly impossible to kill staph and you don't want to transfer it to another chicken or yourself. Use disposable gloves when picking at or touching the bumble if it seems infected or oozing. I was obsessing that if one had it, maybe others did too, so I found only one other with it, but no infection.

Keeping the chook inside the house in a dog kennel with Rosebud pine shavings and a little simulated nest box on the floor of the kennel, we soaked the chook's foot in epsom salts and warm water, then put a Bactine soaked pad and tender tape around the foot so the Bactine could not be ingested. Each night, we'd take the dressing and pad off and we were able to flake some of the loose/softened bumble off, kind of like removing a bit of a big corn on one's foot. After doing this for about 2 days, we switched from Bactine to Neosporin ointment with the pad and tender tape. We didn't force the whole bumble off. After reading so many stories of cutting into the foot, etc, slicing and dicing should be left for the vet, so we tried the soaking method. A couple times I had to hold the chook on her back by myself, so wrapping her up like a burrito in a towel with her her head sticking out kept her from struggling and getting away from me.

After about a week and a half, we took the pad off and let her stay in the cage for almost another week. The bumble dried up and fell off. Her foot was like new pink chick's skin, like nothing happened. The dried bumble looks like a dogs toe nail. It must have hurt terribly, like us having a 2 inch stone embeded in our own foot.

I think keeping her inside, keeping her clean and not able to jump around cured her. It wasn't too much trouble keeping her and then the other one in the house. They seemed to like it. I think letting them hang out with their flock in the all grass run for a 1/2 hour a day helped keep them from upsetting the pecking order when they were put back in after treatment.

We lowered the sleeping perches and nest boxes so they wouldn't have far to jump down onto the coop floor. I think that will help.

 

[WolfShadow1]

I don't know if this will help anyone, but my Sophie has bumblefoot on one foot. I cleaned it really good and put Ich on it, wrapped with vet tape and put a pair of duck boots on her. The boots are like a dream....easy to put on and Sophie doesn't pay it much attention. If anyone is interested, I got these boots from "Indoor Ducks". They have to make them (they're all handmade and come in a variety of colors). I like purple, so Sophie is now running around with a pair of purple duck boots on. I did pull her pool up, however, because I was warned that the boots would fill with water. Besides, it wouldn't do much for a staph infection to be in dirty water. I will keep changing the dressing each day and hope for the best!

 

[Miss Lydia]

What is ICH?

 

[Kazzandra]

Hey Guys!

Been a year and three months since I first discovered bumblefoot. With the help of multiple pairs of boots from Indoorducks, daily to twice weekly soakings for a month with Tricode-Neo and applications of triple-antibiotic when I didn't have time for a soak (more for my rooster with really serious issues), and fixing my perch scheme so no one was ever not sitting one the proper sized perch, my bumblefoot problems are currently naught. Currently, everyone who originally had it has no boots on, even, except my rooster, who needs CONSTANT monitoring for remission. One foot has been completely healed for a good amount of time, the other will revert if I mess up the environment or otherwise put undue stress on the rooster. So that's that! Good luck guys.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Great news Kazz, always good to hear a good report..

 

[artsyrobin]

glad i found this thread! going to try ichthamal and prep h alternating, got to thinking its my cochin girls that are getting it, wonder if when i put the creams on if i tape a sock on her, would that work to keep it clean? i need to order the Tricide-Neo

 

[Chez Poulet]

I've cleared up several cases of bumblefoot, but the most important thing and what stopped further episodes is: Lower your roosting perches and nest boxes so that they aren't jumping down hard (any little splinter or the action of jamming the foot down onto the ground all the time can trigger the infection) and second, make sure the litter is dense so that they have cushion to jump down onto. Chickens naturally want to roost as high as possible, but once we didn't give them the choice, the bumble foot literally stopped happening.

To treat, and from advice I gleaned from this forum, I soaked in epsom salts for about 10 - 20 minutes. Usually the bird will relax and enjoy standing in warm water. Make sure the foot is scrubbed clean and throw away the scrubber. I used a sanitized toothbrush. Always wear gloves when handling the bumble as it will more than likely have the strep bacteria. If you can gently pick the pad off, do it, but if it won't budge, don't hurt the bird or make her bleed. Rub Neosporin ointment or really any kind of oily salve onto the area (nothing minty or anything that will cause stinging or the surrounding area to become irritated), then put on a dollop of the salve and put a small piece of gauze pad on the foot pad. Wrap it with thin self-stick stretch gauze then surgical tape to keep the gauze in place and keep the front and back toes sticking out so she can walk. Change the dressings and add more Neosporin or whatever you're using daily. Keep her in a clean environment for about a week (time depends on how deep the bumble is). The bumble will usually be really soft after several days and you might be able to lift it off, again, don't pull it off it's not ready. Even when the bumble has come off, the area will need to dry. Just treat it as you would a big ugly scab on your own body. If you are keeping the bird in a clean/caged environment (mine were in a kennel with pine shavings) you can take the dressing off after several days and the bumble will actually dry up and fall out. Remember, you can't keep it clean enough, you are treating an infection.

Good luck!
Lori

 

[dawg53]

I have done many bumblefoot surgeries, all successful. If they limp or the footpad is reddish and/or swollen (or other areas on their feet)...it is best to soak in epsom salts for about 20 minutes, then go in after the bumble whether the scab has fallen off or not. The reason you want to get it right away is if it's a deep infection, it means the staph infection is closer to the legbone, and once it gets to the bone...it's usually too late and the staph infection invades the chickens system and no amount of antibiotics will save the chicken. Death is inevitable.
I have lowered the roosts and nests, sanded them down abit and havnt had anymore bumblefoot problems. I have used tricide neo and it works. It works especially well on smaller bumblefoot infections. It seems to take much longer to work on larger infections.

 

[mdbokc]

I like the Tricide Neo for the early infections as well. It clears up in a matter of days. We increased the cushion, depth of shavings, and have not had another episode in a year now.