Happy to help others out there. Bumble foot occurs mostly in heavier breeds, that might be exposed to moist ground on regular basis but sometimes it just happens from soft foot pads getting damaged and allows bacterial infection underneath skin. (Staph infection). You might notice your hens limping, favoring one foot, or heavily preening at a foot pad.
For treatment, soak foot in warm epsom salt solution (2TBS epsom salt to a gallon water) for 5-10 min, sterilize with vetrycin spray or chlorhexidine. This softens black cap of granuloma which can be pulled off gently with tweezers. There will be a white to yellow mass of cheesy pus (dead skin cells) that also needs to be gently flushed or tweezed out. I use an orthodontic syringe like what i use to flush dental abscess for my elderly rabbit. It’s best to not dig too deep, but try to remove as much dead tissue as possible without causing stress to your bird. They do bleed a lot from foot pad area. It helps to hold them tightly yet gently in a comfortable position, I don’t agree with wrapped in towels on their backs…I just get them to sit and hold them on my lap like a football and gently extend leg in question out behind them so I may inspect it. Extra clean towels are good to have on hand. So, cleanse again with vetrycin spray, apply pressure if bleeding for a couple minutes, pat dry and generously apply Vaseline over open sore. Finally, wrap with stretchy vet gauze, but never too tightly. I try to do the procedure in late afternoon or before their bedtime so I know they will leave their bandage alone overnight. I check first thing in morning. If the bandage has fallen off, check wound and repeat the cleansing and wrapping as needed. It takes about 3-4 days before healed enough to remove bandages. Never leave a dirty bandage wrapped on your bird. Once wound has mostly closed, it’s just maintenance and keeping foot clean from debris. And ensuring coop/run stay dry & clean. I don’t have a photo of bumble foot but here’s 2 of my bigger hens that recovered fully. Daisy (Buff Brahama) & Princess Buttercup (White Cochin). Hope this helps.
For treatment, soak foot in warm epsom salt solution (2TBS epsom salt to a gallon water) for 5-10 min, sterilize with vetrycin spray or chlorhexidine. This softens black cap of granuloma which can be pulled off gently with tweezers. There will be a white to yellow mass of cheesy pus (dead skin cells) that also needs to be gently flushed or tweezed out. I use an orthodontic syringe like what i use to flush dental abscess for my elderly rabbit. It’s best to not dig too deep, but try to remove as much dead tissue as possible without causing stress to your bird. They do bleed a lot from foot pad area. It helps to hold them tightly yet gently in a comfortable position, I don’t agree with wrapped in towels on their backs…I just get them to sit and hold them on my lap like a football and gently extend leg in question out behind them so I may inspect it. Extra clean towels are good to have on hand. So, cleanse again with vetrycin spray, apply pressure if bleeding for a couple minutes, pat dry and generously apply Vaseline over open sore. Finally, wrap with stretchy vet gauze, but never too tightly. I try to do the procedure in late afternoon or before their bedtime so I know they will leave their bandage alone overnight. I check first thing in morning. If the bandage has fallen off, check wound and repeat the cleansing and wrapping as needed. It takes about 3-4 days before healed enough to remove bandages. Never leave a dirty bandage wrapped on your bird. Once wound has mostly closed, it’s just maintenance and keeping foot clean from debris. And ensuring coop/run stay dry & clean. I don’t have a photo of bumble foot but here’s 2 of my bigger hens that recovered fully. Daisy (Buff Brahama) & Princess Buttercup (White Cochin). Hope this helps.
