This is going to be a long one, but bear with me. I want to be sure to include every ounce of information that I can in order to figure out what the heck is going on!!!!
Okay. So, I came across information about bumblefoot ages ago when trying to figure out what was wrong with one of our chickens. About a week later I happened to notice a large bumblefoot scab on the foot of our Rhode Island Red. Naturally I freaked out because I had read that it can be fatal if left untreated, so I checked the rest of the flock and found one other chicken (Barred Rock) with a small/medium size scab on one foot and a tiny little scab on her other foot.
I got everything I needed to soak their feet at Tractor Supply, including Erythromycin that I got from a pet supply store that is intended to be used for fish ulcers. I'd read about Tricide Neo but the price tag was a bit high at that point for me to justify.
After probably 2 weeks of soaking every other day, spraying the scabs with Banixx, and wrapping them up with neosporin, gauze, and vetwrap, there wasn't a TON of improvement with either chicken. The tiny scab on the Barred Rock had migrated off of the foot, and I was satisfied that it was healed, but other than that there was no noticeable changes.
As for the behavior of the chickens, neither of them were limping or sitting for long periods of time, and there were absolutely no physical symptoms other than the scab to be seen with either of them (and there still aren't any, although it is bitter cold now so they don't elect to go out of the coop very much).
After 3 weeks, we decided to bite the bullet and actually perform the removal surgery on our RIR because her scab is quite large and there was a boil-like bump that was beginning to form on the top of her foot. It was horrible and I felt so guilty for taking a scalpel to her foot, and in the end we couldn't find a kernel. It was just healthy pink flesh underneath the skin and not the cheesy/waxy substance that most people report. I tried to gently poke around, but there was some blood that was making it hard for me to see what was going on, and I really didn't want to prolong things any more than I had to, so we slathered the wound with neosporin and wrapped it well.
She was limping a tiny tiny bit for the rest of the day, and for the next day, which is to be expected, but she was still scratching at the dirt and walking around as she always does so we figured that she was alright. We continued to bring her inside to soak her foot and change her bandage every other day, but we're basically back to square one at this point.
My mom bought some Tricide Neo because we're really at our wits end, and we're day 4 into soaking her foot in that, but there is again no discernible difference. The boil-like thing in between her toes looks like a really gnarly pimple at this point, and there has been a white spot that has only gotten more and more pronounced. It's kind of hard, but looks sensitive.
My mom talked to a vet that she works with, and she recommended that we perform the surgery (which is why we did just that, but that didn't quite pan out) and we don't have an avian vet or farm vet near us, so we're just stumped. The chicken is eating normally, behaving normally, and has no limp. The scab on the bottom of the foot isn't super hot, and isn't super red which I would expect to find if it was infected.
I have seen a mite or 2 crawling on her leg, and I've added a dust bath with a bit of diatomaceous earth and I haven't seen a mite in probably 3 weeks or so, so I'm not sure that the issues are related. I just need to get a better understanding of what exactly is going on, and what (if anything) we should do. I've added all the pictures I have below, and I've dated them so you can see the progression. I have photos of what I removed with the surgery, so I've included that as well.
No idea is a bad idea, and I'm sure anything will be helpful at this point. I just want to make sure she is alright, and I'm nervous that I'm over-treating a problem and putting her through something that she doesn't need to be subjected to
Day 1: October 24; This was before we soaked her foot, so it's really dirty (oops). This is the gnarliest scab of the bunch by a pretty wide margin.
October 25; after soaking in epsom salt and warm water and wrapping the scab with neosporin. Obviously no difference in appearance, apart from the fact that it is cleaner and I was able to take a better picture.
This is her other foot on the same day.
November 7; We had been repeating the process of soaking her feet in Erithromycin and warm water and wrapping them with neosporin for about 2 weeks at this point, and decided to do the surgery. Unfortunately I haven't been the best with keeping up with photo documentation, and was very nervous to actually perform the surgery so it totally slipped my mind to take photos of her foot before and after. But this is essentially just the scab that we removed. like I said, there was absolutely no kernel to be found, and it was just your typical pink healthy footpad flesh underneath.
We were trying to press down on the boil-like bump between her toes to see if anything was going to pop out and come through to the bottom of the foot, but there was nothing.
November 20; Day 1 of Tricide Neo treatment. This is after the surgery, but her foot looks the same as the very first day. Urgh.
This is the bump on the top of her foot.
I'll update with pictures tomorrow, we're now on day 3 of the Tricide Neo soaks (we skipped on Thanksgiving) and it really doesn't look much different than what you see here.
She has gotten used to the process for the most part, and will sit calmly with her feet in the solution as we feed her snacks. Even so, I don't want to keep dislodging her from the perch every evening to soak her feet if there is no need.
Thanks so much for reading! I know this was a long one, and I really appreciate any tips or bits of insight that you may have to provide!
Okay. So, I came across information about bumblefoot ages ago when trying to figure out what was wrong with one of our chickens. About a week later I happened to notice a large bumblefoot scab on the foot of our Rhode Island Red. Naturally I freaked out because I had read that it can be fatal if left untreated, so I checked the rest of the flock and found one other chicken (Barred Rock) with a small/medium size scab on one foot and a tiny little scab on her other foot.
I got everything I needed to soak their feet at Tractor Supply, including Erythromycin that I got from a pet supply store that is intended to be used for fish ulcers. I'd read about Tricide Neo but the price tag was a bit high at that point for me to justify.
After probably 2 weeks of soaking every other day, spraying the scabs with Banixx, and wrapping them up with neosporin, gauze, and vetwrap, there wasn't a TON of improvement with either chicken. The tiny scab on the Barred Rock had migrated off of the foot, and I was satisfied that it was healed, but other than that there was no noticeable changes.
As for the behavior of the chickens, neither of them were limping or sitting for long periods of time, and there were absolutely no physical symptoms other than the scab to be seen with either of them (and there still aren't any, although it is bitter cold now so they don't elect to go out of the coop very much).
After 3 weeks, we decided to bite the bullet and actually perform the removal surgery on our RIR because her scab is quite large and there was a boil-like bump that was beginning to form on the top of her foot. It was horrible and I felt so guilty for taking a scalpel to her foot, and in the end we couldn't find a kernel. It was just healthy pink flesh underneath the skin and not the cheesy/waxy substance that most people report. I tried to gently poke around, but there was some blood that was making it hard for me to see what was going on, and I really didn't want to prolong things any more than I had to, so we slathered the wound with neosporin and wrapped it well.
She was limping a tiny tiny bit for the rest of the day, and for the next day, which is to be expected, but she was still scratching at the dirt and walking around as she always does so we figured that she was alright. We continued to bring her inside to soak her foot and change her bandage every other day, but we're basically back to square one at this point.
My mom bought some Tricide Neo because we're really at our wits end, and we're day 4 into soaking her foot in that, but there is again no discernible difference. The boil-like thing in between her toes looks like a really gnarly pimple at this point, and there has been a white spot that has only gotten more and more pronounced. It's kind of hard, but looks sensitive.
My mom talked to a vet that she works with, and she recommended that we perform the surgery (which is why we did just that, but that didn't quite pan out) and we don't have an avian vet or farm vet near us, so we're just stumped. The chicken is eating normally, behaving normally, and has no limp. The scab on the bottom of the foot isn't super hot, and isn't super red which I would expect to find if it was infected.
I have seen a mite or 2 crawling on her leg, and I've added a dust bath with a bit of diatomaceous earth and I haven't seen a mite in probably 3 weeks or so, so I'm not sure that the issues are related. I just need to get a better understanding of what exactly is going on, and what (if anything) we should do. I've added all the pictures I have below, and I've dated them so you can see the progression. I have photos of what I removed with the surgery, so I've included that as well.
No idea is a bad idea, and I'm sure anything will be helpful at this point. I just want to make sure she is alright, and I'm nervous that I'm over-treating a problem and putting her through something that she doesn't need to be subjected to
Day 1: October 24; This was before we soaked her foot, so it's really dirty (oops). This is the gnarliest scab of the bunch by a pretty wide margin.
October 25; after soaking in epsom salt and warm water and wrapping the scab with neosporin. Obviously no difference in appearance, apart from the fact that it is cleaner and I was able to take a better picture.
This is her other foot on the same day.
November 7; We had been repeating the process of soaking her feet in Erithromycin and warm water and wrapping them with neosporin for about 2 weeks at this point, and decided to do the surgery. Unfortunately I haven't been the best with keeping up with photo documentation, and was very nervous to actually perform the surgery so it totally slipped my mind to take photos of her foot before and after. But this is essentially just the scab that we removed. like I said, there was absolutely no kernel to be found, and it was just your typical pink healthy footpad flesh underneath.
We were trying to press down on the boil-like bump between her toes to see if anything was going to pop out and come through to the bottom of the foot, but there was nothing.
November 20; Day 1 of Tricide Neo treatment. This is after the surgery, but her foot looks the same as the very first day. Urgh.
This is the bump on the top of her foot.
I'll update with pictures tomorrow, we're now on day 3 of the Tricide Neo soaks (we skipped on Thanksgiving) and it really doesn't look much different than what you see here.
She has gotten used to the process for the most part, and will sit calmly with her feet in the solution as we feed her snacks. Even so, I don't want to keep dislodging her from the perch every evening to soak her feet if there is no need.
Thanks so much for reading! I know this was a long one, and I really appreciate any tips or bits of insight that you may have to provide!
