Severe bumblefoot

[KurochkaRyaba]

Hello all,

We managed to get Misty through her last major debacle with your help. Unfortunately she now has a bad case of bumblefoot. I don’t know how I didn’t notice sooner - shameful.

I don’t know if I’m doing what I need to be doing… so far I’ve made an incision on the top and an incision on the bottom. I also pulled the scab off and see if I could find a “corn” but there really wasn’t, I even cut into that a little too without finding much so I then made an incision in her pad where the swelling was the worst. Poor girl has handled the scalpel work very well but I know it’s awful for her.

I did manage to get a bit of pus from top and bottom and a few grains of hard yellow stuff but mostly blood.

I’ve been giving her epsom salt soaks, followed with a flush of chlorohexadine, flush of iodine, then slathered in antibiotic ointment - gauze - and wrapped with vet wrap. Shes in a crate inside with us and I’ve added enrofloxacin to her water.

I’m not thrilled with doing the incisions but felt like it needed to be done - I just don’t know what else I could or should do.

Suppose I’ll order PRID.

I know the bumblefoot threads are like ad-nauseum and I have read a lot but as always - I appreciate your help.

 

[KurochkaRyaba]

My sweet Misty

 

[KurochkaRyaba]

The iodine certainly makes it look worse but her foot had gotten more swollen. I decided I’m probably done with epsom salt baths. I rinsed with chlorohexadine followed by iodine and then slathered with neosporin and then bandaged.

Not sure what else I can do.

She is drinking the baytril water…

 

[alinas2010]

Oh no I’m so sorry about your hen. Is vet care an option for you?

Idk much about going the surgical route to treat bumblefoot, but I know it can take a while to draw pus out once you have removed a scab when you go the non surgical route. Like days to weeks. It’s a slow process, usually. I imagine it could be similar trying to draw pus out through those openings.

Why don’t you want to do soaks anymore? Just curious. I would think it would help to draw out infection.

Let me call on some help, I’m not sure what the best advice would be for you if you cannot get vet care. I’m glad you have an antibiotic on hand, though, and have started it.

@azygous @Eggcessive @Wyorp Rock

 

[KurochkaRyaba]

Oh no I’m so sorry about your hen. Is vet care an option for you?

Idk much about going the surgical route to treat bumblefoot, but I know it can take a while to draw pus out once you have removed a scab when you go the non surgical route. Like days to weeks. It’s a slow process, usually. I imagine it could be similar trying to draw pus out through those openings.

Why don’t you want to do soaks anymore? Just curious. I would think it would help to draw out infection.

Let me call on some help, I’m not sure what the best advice would be for you if you cannot get vet care. I’m glad you have an antibiotic on hand, though, and have started it.

@azygous @Eggcessive @Wyorp Rock

Thank you. I hate that I didn’t catch this sooner and its gotten so bad.

I guess I feel like at this point I’ve probably done what I can to extract the pus and I feel like letting it scab over might be the better option vs daily baths that soften everything up. Kind of just hoping antibiotics work at this point. I am questioning if I shouldn’t switch to doxycycline though… I have some powder and just ordered liquid.

There are a few vets within an hour drive that see chickens, I’m thinking I may reach out tomorrow to see what their schedule and level of care is like before this gets any worse. My last chicken vet appointment was difficult to get (and ultimately fruitless) but I’ve since found some more vets that see chickens.

As always, I appreciate the advice.

 

[KurochkaRyaba]

Also, if relevant - Misty does have wonky sideways toes on both feet.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would continue with a daily soak to her feet in the Epsom salts for a few more days.. I haven’t done it myself, but any future cases of bumblefoot, I will try sugardine dressings. It consists of adding sugar to a few drops of Betadine or povidone iodine, and making a thick paste to store in a small container. Add some to a 2x2 pad and apply to the bumblefoot, and apply strips of vet wrap (not too tight) around the toes and foot. Change it daily. Betadine can be found at WalMart in the first aid aisle as Equate First Aid Antiseptic under $10. Some use Prid as instead. It sounds like you got out as much pus as you could, so I would concentrate on getting it to heal. The antibiotic may help.

 

[azygous]

Please do as @Eggcessive has suggested. Advanced bumblefoot is treatable, but it can be very stubborn. Therefore, treatment can be grueling hard work. It is also very resistant to oral antibiotics. The antibiotic you want to use is good for respiratory bacteria, but you are dealing with staph bacteria which prefers to live in skin tissue where an oral antibiotic finds it hard to fight. Using topical antibiotics is far more effective. Triple antibiotic ointment, very inexpensive, is the best.

Fighting staph is more efficient if you remove new bacteria that has accumulated each day. It means less bacteria for the chicken's body to have to fight. Letting the wound scab over makes it easy for bacteria to hide and multiply, preventing new tissue growth. Daily soaks and keeping the antibacterial ointment on the wound speeds up healing. Wrapping the foot to keep out dirt also helps a lot.

It's work. But it's doable. You can do this.

 

[KurochkaRyaba]

Okay, I will continue the baths and bandage changes. Misty and I are sitting at the vet’s office now, waiting. We’ll see what she can offer.

I very much appreciate the advice, it’s definitely stressful trying to keep this girl healthy and it helps having some reassurance. Thank you all.

 

[KurochkaRyaba]