Bumblefoot galore! What went wrong?

[Katakornchicks]

Hi there. I've had my flock for a few years now and bumblefoot cases have been far and few between. Today I went and checked my birds, and I probably have like 5-6 with it now! What did I do wrong? I try to keep the coop clean, it's usually not muddy (unless excess rain, and it's very large! I find performing bumblefoot surgery very stressful (tho I have done it before) and I'm not eager to do it on so many birds; some of which have it in both feet. I have a duck that has it too now! And I've never done it on a duck. Help! Is there any helpful alternatives to slicing who knows how many feet open? Should I make shoes for all my chickens? And how serious is bumblefoot really? All of my birds seem healthy, happy, and active otherwise. (Tho I know chickens hide injuries well)

 

[chickennugget6]

bumblefoot is caused by infections, so the chickens and the duck might have had a small graze, cut, or any open wound. It would then get infected. If you want to make the bumble foot a little better or get rid of it, i recommend getting a spray, just search up chicken bumble foot spray and you should find one, the price is usually about 15 dollars. I did this for my chicken, i didn't perform surgery, just sprayed this for a a week or two and it healed. Hope this helps!

 

[Mason Farm and Ranch]

Hi there. I've had my flock for a few years now and bumblefoot cases have been far and few between. Today I went and checked my birds, and I probably have like 5-6 with it now! What did I do wrong? I try to keep the coop clean, it's usually not muddy (unless excess rain, and it's very large! I find performing bumblefoot surgery very stressful (tho I have done it before) and I'm not eager to do it on so many birds; some of which have it in both feet. I have a duck that has it too now! And I've never done it on a duck. Help! Is there any helpful alternatives to slicing who knows how many feet open? Should I make shoes for all my chickens? And how serious is bumblefoot really? All of my birds seem healthy, happy, and active otherwise. (Tho I know chickens hide injuries well)

Bumblefoot is a staph infection. If left untreated and they're immune system doesn't fight it off, it can kill them.

I'm not a fan of cutting either. Try removing the scabs. Soak for 30 minutes in Epsom Salt. Pull out any infection readily visible and apply antibiotic cream and a drawing salve. Wrap it up. Give it 2 days and check them again.

It's probably nothing you did or didn't do. Staph gets in the cracks and crevices and occasionally causes serious infections.

 

[Katakornchicks]

bumblefoot is caused by infections, so the chickens and the duck might have had a small graze, cut, or any open wound. It would then get infected. If you want to make the bumble foot a little better or get rid of it, i recommend getting a spray, just search up chicken bumble foot spray and you should find one, the price is usually about 15 dollars. I did this for my chicken, i didn't perform surgery, just sprayed this for a a week or two and it healed. Hope this helps!

Never heard of a spray that gets rid of it! I'll look into it

 

[Katakornchicks]

Bumblefoot is a staph infection. If left untreated and they're immune system doesn't fight it off, it can kill them.

I'm not a fan of cutting either. Try removing the scabs. Soak for 30 minutes in Epsom Salt. Pull out any infection readily visible and apply antibiotic cream and a drawing salve. Wrap it up. Give it 2 days and check them again.

It's probably nothing you did or didn't do. Staph gets in the cracks and crevices and occasionally causes serious infections.

Ok this sounds a lot more doable. Thank you! Is blu kote a good antibiotic? That's what I usually use. And I just ordered some prid drawing salve!

 

[Mason Farm and Ranch]

Never heard of a spray that gets rid of it! I'll look into it

There isn't.

 

[dawg53]

I've dealt with bumblefoot many times. Minor surgery is always best. It occurs when the skin is penetrated by something such as a splinter, then infection occurs, much like a splinter in your finger if not removed.
However, surgery isnt needed if there isnt any redness nor swelling of the footpad. There might be a scab on the footpad without the redness and swelling. Then, no surgery is needed, the scab will eventually fall off or go away on its own.

Sanding down roosts and lowering roosts will help prevent bumblefoot. A couple of swipes with sandpaper on the roosts eliminates splinters and burrs. If you have pine cones in your yard, rake them up and dispose of them, same with gumballs.
Lowering roosts cuts back on bumblefoot issues as well.

Sprays and salves wont eliminate staph infections, the infection must be removed. Once the infection makes it to the legbone, there's no amount of antibiotics that will stop the infection from spreading throughout the body and it will kill the chicken.

There is one treatment that does not require surgery and I've used the product and it works, Tricide Neo. Here's a link on how to use it. See post #2 in this link:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/treating-bumblefoot-with-tricide-neo.513183/

Here's where you can buy it:
https://koiacres.com/products/tricide-neo

 

[coach723]

Pictures of the feet would be helpful. Sometimes smaller ones can just have the scab removed, flushed out, antibiotic ointment applied as needed, wrapped and they will slowly heal. Larger ones usually need to be removed, sometimes you don't necessarily need to cut, it really depends on the foot. I've done it all those ways in different cases, it just depends.
For really stubborn ones I've used sugardine with good results. This thread, post #8 explains that:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/bumblefoot-not-healing.1443809/#post-23973555

 

[chickennugget6]

There isn't.

i used a poultry mite spray, and my chickens bumbelefoot healed in 2 weeks

 

[Mason Farm and Ranch]

i used a poultry mite spray, and my chickens bumbelefoot healed in 2 weeks

A parasitic treated a staph infection? What is the name of this spray?