is this bumble foot or just a scar?

[chickensinthewoods]

hi there,

our whiting hen has a brown raised bump/scar on the bottom of her foot. see pics.

there’s no redness, no heat, no limping, no sign of infection. in fact i never would have known she had the bump if i hadn’t been doing a semi-routine foot check. she seems entirely unbothered about it—running, jumping and scratching the yard vigorously with both feet.

would appreciate advice on what to do. there is a small flap of skin/scar hanging off the bump. should i soak or try to trim? don’t want to create a problem when she isn’t lame.

thanks!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

That is a bad case of bumblefoot.
I would definitely do one or two warm Epsom salt soaks every day. After a couple, try to determine if removing the flap of skin is warranted.
After you get it clean, keep it clean with gauze and wrapping with vet wrap.
Bumblefoot is caused by intrusion of staph bacteria in the environment entering a cut or wound.

 

[chickensinthewoods]

will do, many thanks!

 

[chickensinthewoods]

so just an update. local chicken rescue expert says this isn’t bumblefoot just a scar and that i can create a wound where there isn’t one if i try to dig.

as she is not lame, not limping and showing no sign of infection i am reticent to do much bedsides soaking which seems harmless.

i am nervous i’m going to take a happy active hen and do more damage…

?????

 

[ChickenCanoe]

It sure looks like there is already a wound there. If you search pictures of bumblefoot, the worst cases, look like your bird's foot.
I'm not trying to scare you and I'm basing my advice on what I see in the picture. I had two roosters with bumblefoot caused by a piece of wire on their roost creating a wound. They didn't limp but the bumblefoot continually got worse. I normally don't seek vet care but one was a very important rooster for my breeding program. It turns out the infection affected the bone in his foot and it eventually rotted away and he died.
While feet soaks and TLC can usually alleviate issues, I take bumblefoot very seriously.

 

[chickensinthewoods]

It sure looks like there is already a wound there. If you search pictures of bumblefoot, the worst cases, look like your bird's foot.
I'm not trying to scare you and I'm basing my advice on what I see in the picture. I had two roosters with bumblefoot caused by a piece of wire on their roost creating a wound. They didn't limp but the bumblefoot continually got worse. I normally don't seek vet care but one was a very important rooster for my breeding program. It turns out the infection affected the bone in his foot and it eventually rotted away and he died.
While feet soaks and TLC can usually alleviate issues, I take bumblefoot very seriously.

thanks so much for the assistance. always good to be cautious!

 

[chickensinthewoods]

Latest update: the large flap of skin hanging off Tiger's foot came off on it's own. We soaked her foot with Durvet Epsom Salt Poultice and applied Farnam Wonder Dust Wound Powder. So far it looks better each day. She still is not exhibiting any signs of discomfort or illness--still eating, racing, digging and jumping with the other gals. At this moment, it appears she just has a shallow scab (maybe 1/8" deep) that got discolored by blood and forest sap, which will continue sloughing off. She is not sensitive, and there's no central plug, no hole, no pus, so I'm not going to dig around yet out of fear of introducing a new wound. I will keep updating for better or worse.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Good to hear. I dig in as a last resort as it starts the healing process all over again.