Bumblefoot with no pus??

[fiddleleaffarm]

I regrettably don’t have any photos but here’s what I’m dealing with.

Two LF hens with what looks like a classic case of bumblefoot. I didn’t notice any limping, but I did a quick exam and took action as soon as I saw the bumblefoot. No swelling, but pretty good size black callous/scab on both feet of both hens.

Hen 1 - right foot, I felt like I didn’t get much out but the scab seemed to be gone. Poked around a bit and squeezed and got NO pus. Foot pad was not hard. No swelling on ankle or upper leg. Left foot, scab came out whole and skin underneath was pink and clean, absolutely no pus.

Hen 2 - almost the same thing, but both feet the scab didn’t come off whole, just kind of broke up. A little pus on one foot, none on the other.

Did the recommended epsom salt soak, pick out scab, Vetericyn, antibiotic ointment, gauze, vet wrap. They both walked off and went right back to grazing.

I absolutely squeezed the hell out of their feet/legs and there was truly no pus or kernel. Is it possible that I caught this early and there’s not advanced infection? I’ve seen some photos of other bumblefoot surgeries and mine was nothing like them.

I’ve seen folks recommend changing it every few days, but I think I’ll take them off tomorrow and take a peek again to make sure it’s looking okay.

Also, I’m pretty confident this is a result of my roosting bars being too narrow and some of their pasture having some sharp rocks/dry brush. Changing out their roosts to 2x4 asap. Any other recommendations for prevention are welcome too!

 

[azygous]

Bumblefoot is much more than a flat black scab. Very often a chicken or duck will get a scrape on the foot pad and it will heal over with a thin scab without getting infected, which is what bumblefoot is - a staph infection. There is always a solid pus plug under the scab with a staph infection, and the pus is solid like bees wax, not runny so it normally doesn't squeeze out, but usually comes out attached to the black scab.

Bumblefoot infection can start out as a cut or scrape that gets contaminated by staphylococcus bacteria which is everywhere. It can also start with bruising and then become inflamed by staph bacteria just walking around. Jumping down from a perch onto a hard surface not adequately cushioned is a very common way that chickens get bumblefoot. A perch that is too rough and full of splinters can do it.

 

[fiddleleaffarm]

Bumblefoot is much more than a flat black scab. Very often a chicken or duck will get a scrape on the foot pad and it will heal over with a thin scab without getting infected, which is what bumblefoot is - a staph infection. There is always a solid pus plug under the scab with a staph infection, and the pus is solid like bees wax, not runny so it normally doesn't squeeze out, but usually comes out attached to the black scab.

Bumblefoot infection can start out as a cut or scrape that gets contaminated by staphylococcus bacteria which is everywhere. It can also start with bruising and then become inflamed by staph bacteria just walking around. Jumping down from a perch onto a hard surface not adequately cushioned is a very common way that chickens get bumblefoot. A perch that is too rough and full of splinters can do it.

Ohhh got it, so the scabs can be present without bumblefoot? I guess it’s much more specific than I envisioned! There was no hard pus attached to the scab, so perhaps this is not a case of bumblefoot like I imagined! I’ll keep the feet wrapped until they’re healed and treat the same way.

I’m also realizing now that they jump over a fence quite a bit and land on harder ground. I’m sure that contributed to this.

 

[sherridavis]

BUMBLEFOOT WITHOUT SCABS BUT LIMPING BADLY

 

[Chickengirl209]

Do scabs without infection heal on their own?

 

[Carm Jean]

I have a couple of hens who also have these dark scabs. No pus, no swelling, no limping. I have decided to treat with the scab attached to see if they will heal. One of the hens has a scab that is half way off and the skin under neath looks healthy and clean. I'm putting a mixture of castor oil and colloidal silver on it every night. I will monitor it every day to see if the scabs come off on their own or I need to take action and remove them.

 

[azygous]

From my experience, a thin, flat, tan or brown scab will heal on its own. Bumblefoot is a thicker black scab, slightly raised due to infection. There often is swelling around the scab due to pus formation caused by staph bacteria getting into the wound.

In the case of a black swollen scab, it must be removed in order to remove the pus kernel under it. Pus on a chicken is solid and waxy, but that's where the bacteria is. Once the pus with bacteria is removed, then the wound will commence to heal.

Any wound on the pads of the feet, more often than not, indicates a perch that is too high for that chicken or coop bedding that is insufficient to cushion jumping down from the perch. That must be addressed or you will have continuing injuries, and they may be worse than bumblefoot.