Stubborn, Painful Bumblefoot - No Core

[coach723]

If using essential oils, make sure to do as @BarredRockRoost indicated, and mix them in a carrier oil (the coconut oil). They can be very useful when used correctly, but many of them can be very irritating if they are used full strength, and some of them are very aromatic (tea tree oil for example), which could be irritating to a birds respiratory tract if used full strength or around the face.

 

[WingsysRoost]

so you use essential oils with no bandages needed? I may try that--especially for early stages when padding doesn't seem necessary. Are the amounts you noted per each foot or does it make a large amount I can use multiple times?

I agree that I need to drum up the courage to trim her nails. I'll give her a manicure her next spa day (a very conservative one that will hopefully not hit the quick!). She thankfully does not get muck in the pockets of skin on her feet--at least, nothing too bad that we aren't able to easily remove. I'll definitely keep checking on that.

Thanks so much for your kind and informative response!

Apologies for the late reply! I had it mostly typed out, waiting to be finished, and it appears the internet ate it.

Yes, I just use the oil mixture, no bandages at all. I've done that for even severe infections (including infections that weren't responding well to any other attempted treatments) with success. The amounts that I listed will treat my flock of twelve, both feet for each bird, with a little bit left over. If I know one of them has an injury, I will often use a small amount of the oil mixture as an ointment, too. This mix works well because the essential oils are strong, but it's definitely important to be careful, because some could definitely cause irritation if they get too close to the face at this concentration. (I have done a much more diluted mix of oils on their combs for severe pecking injuries in the past, but I wouldn't do that with this particular strength of mixture.)

I'm glad that she doesn't get too much muck in her feet! I have one that gets it packed in really badly sometimes so I figured it was worth a mention. Best of luck with both the nail trim and treatment! I hope she feels better quickly.

 

[CliftonQuail]

Apologies for the late reply! I had it mostly typed out, waiting to be finished, and it appears the internet ate it.

Yes, I just use the oil mixture, no bandages at all. I've done that for even severe infections (including infections that weren't responding well to any other attempted treatments) with success. The amounts that I listed will treat my flock of twelve, both feet for each bird, with a little bit left over. If I know one of them has an injury, I will often use a small amount of the oil mixture as an ointment, too. This mix works well because the essential oils are strong, but it's definitely important to be careful, because some could definitely cause irritation if they get too close to the face at this concentration. (I have done a much more diluted mix of oils on their combs for severe pecking injuries in the past, but I wouldn't do that with this particular strength of mixture.)

I'm glad that she doesn't get too much muck in her feet! I have one that gets it packed in really badly sometimes so I figured it was worth a mention. Best of luck with both the nail trim and treatment! I hope she feels better quickly.

I'm happy to see someone using essential oils with their birds. Do you know if the concentrations you mentioned in your other post would be OK for quail, or do you think they'd be too strong (7 drops each of Tea Tree, Lavender and Oregano in 42 drops of fractionated coconut)?

 

[bhawk-23]

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My 4 y/o GLW, Drucie, has struggled with bumblefoot on and off for most of her life. Whenever we finally get her to heal up, she always gets it back--and, notably, it always flares up during peak laying season (as if the act of laying causes system-wide inflammation).

Anyway, a couple weeks ago, we noticed she had mild bumblefoot beginning in both foot pads. Her left foot looks like a classic bumble, which has been working its way to the surface for removal. That foot is not bothering her. Her right foot pad, however, is merely inflamed looking--not swollen, but a bit angry and pinkish/purplish/red, with NO CLEAR CORE. Nothing is surfacing that indicates a core and as such, I feel treatment isn't reaching the infection. Also, that foot is clearly bothering her: she retracts it during treatment and tries not to use it to get around (mild limp, often holding it up). There isn't any red streaking or swelling spreading to her leg yet, but she's clearly uncomfortable. She wants so badly to keep up with the others and is still eating/drinking/laying--so the energy is there, she's just limpy.

What are my options? I've been soaking her in chlorhexadine solution and wrapping with a mixture of drawing salve, silver honey, and triple antibiotic. We plan to do this every other day--and I can take pictures the next we re-do her bandages. I've also started her on baytril last night, hoping it might work from the inside, since there isn't a bumble to work with. I worry about a deep infection that might affect her bone, but have no way to access that infection other than hoping my treatment draws it to the surface over time.

How is Drucie doing?

 

[BethTank]

The corn pads are a good idea, I've used homemade ones on occasion (made from pool noodles or craft foam from the dollar store), they can help take the pressure off the area.
I have a roo that has had a couple of really nasty bouts with bumblefoot that is the stringy/ribbony kind, so I know how difficult that is. His first bout took about a year to resolve. At one point I was concerned about osteomyelitis, I lanced what I thought was a pus pocket and hit bone. I did a long round of a combination of clindamycin and SMZ-TMP, dosing was my guess based on lots of research, and I adjusted it several times. I would watch his droppings and if they changed, I would change the dose, until he was tolerating it well. Second time I used sugardine, since nothing else was working. Because, yes, it is really hard to clean that kind of bumblefoot out and get it all. It was that, or euthanize as I'd decided that enough was enough and I wasn't going to cut into his poor feet again. So I cleaned it out as well as I could, and packed it with sugardine (which is not expensive and is easy to do) and I repacked it every day, cleaning out any visible pus each time and flushing. It took awhile, but it slowly started to heal up. This thread has a picture, and explains what I did, post #8 in this link: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/bumblefoot-not-healing.1443809/#post-23973555
He is still with me (He's 8 years old now) and has not had another bout since I got the last one cleared up, and it's been several years. Knock on wood! I check his feet regularly since he has a history of issues.

I really appreciate this! I was planning to try something similar with the pool noodle/pipe insulation donuts to cushion her foot pad. This seems similar, and perhaps, easier.
I'd not been soaking until her recent flare-up, and then, only 1x weekly with new wraps (unless she got wet). Since she started the limp a few days ago, I've gone back to once every other day--if only so that we can keep an eye on it and re-do her bandages/dressings more frequently. Is that too much?

Also, thanks for the vitamin A suggestion. What's a good source for getting that in her?

I really appreciate this! I was planning to try something similar with the pool noodle/pipe insulation donuts to cushion her foot pad. This seems similar, and perhaps, easier.
I'd not been soaking until her recent flare-up, and then, only 1x weekly with new wraps (unless she got wet). Since she started the limp a few days ago, I've gone back to once every other day--if only so that we can keep an eye on it and re-do her bandages/dressings more frequently. Is that too much?

Also, thanks for the vitamin A suggestion. What's a good source for getting that in her?

I just happened to see this post. We've been working with our young hen for more than a month. It seems the more we work the more infection I see we had her on some oral antibiotics, but I recently got some omnicef. She is just not healing like i want. I soak and repack her foot every other day and put drawing salve & every antibiotic in the hole. Still seeing strings of infection inside the hole.

 

[coach723]

Try the sugardine, I linked to my post. It really does work. I know it's not the traditional treatment, but I have had very good success with it, particularly with really stubborn ones. It's not expensive, and not complicated, and nothing will be lost by trying. Pack the foot, as much as you can get in there, with it daily after removing obvious pus and flushing. The duoderm bandages are very helpful in keeping it in and keeping it moist. It may take a week or two, but you will start to see the pus generation slow down and then stop. Then go to every other or every third day, as the foot seems to require. You will slowly start to see healthy looking tissue and healing. It also helps allow it to heal from the inside out, so you don't have pockets of infection sealed in.
Here is the link again, post #8 : https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/bumblefoot-not-healing.1443809/#post-23973555

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

I just happened to see this post. We've been working with our young hen for more than a month. It seems the more we work the more infection I see we had her on some oral antibiotics, but I recently got some omnicef. She is just not healing like i want. I soak and repack her foot every other day and put drawing salve & every antibiotic in the hole. Still seeing strings of infection inside the hole.

@coach723 Has a great recommendation in response to your post (if you havent seen it). I've not tried sugardine yet but have heard good things. It's definitely on my list of next steps should I need additional measures.

So far using corn pads positioned so that the hole is over the bumble has been working wonders. I soak in chlorhexadine solution, then gently scrub the affected foot pads with chlorhexadine and a toothbrush, then dry and apply the ointments so that they go right iver the hole (in my case triple antibiotic, silver honey, and drawing salve). I use medical tape and vetwrap to secure and only need to change it a couple times a week (or if it gets wet). I'm actually seeing better results waiting lo ger between soaks/rewraps than doing it daily.