Silkie foot injury

[ChickenLord33]

I've seen bumblefoot before but usually I catch it pretty early. This injury, on the other hand, I only noticed today after the silkie is limping pretty badly. Usually with bumblefoot I can soak the foot in epsom salts and then tweezer out the infected "plug", bandage it up and continue cleaning for awhile and it clears up.

But this injury almost looks like she got cut in between her toes and it developed into an infection? (not bumblefoot?)

Any idea how I could go about treating this? I was going to soak it epson salt/warm water then put antiseptic and antibiotics on it then wrap it, wait a few days, clean and repeat but I'm not sure if that will be enough. I dont think tweezing it or cutting it would be wise though.

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi,

I agree that doesn't actually look like bumblefoot, but that doesn't mean it's not.

I would soak that foot for about 15-20 minutes in warm Epsom salt water. That may draw out a little of what that is.

Better than Epsom salts for this would be Hibiclens/iodine as they are both antiseptic agents used for skin cleansing and wound care. Hibiclens binds safely to the skin, leaving a layer of protection (without sticky residue), after it is rinsed off. Regardless of what you use, try to soak it two or three times a day.

Then I'd put triple antibiotic ointment (without painkiller in it) on it and keep her off of it for a couple of days to see how she does. If you get to the black scab stage it might need more than this done.

I always give mine a vitamin boost if they're ever looking down or get even a tiny injury somewhere. We use Poultry Cell here. She's maybe got an infection in there and vitamins help her body fight it.

 

[Eggcessive]

The crater like area could have been a bumble between the toes that has abscessed or been pecked open. But sometimes those crater like lesions can be skin cancers, so I would try something like Betadine and sugar paste (also called sugardine) or Prid, and a foot dressing changed daily or every other. Here is a good post 4 about sugardine from coach723:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/its-like-bumblefoot-but-with-no-scab-what-is-it.1575847/

 

[ChickenLord33]

Hi,

I agree that doesn't actually look like bumblefoot, but that doesn't mean it's not.

I would soak that foot for about 15-20 minutes in warm Epsom salt water. That may draw out a little of what that is.

Better than Epsom salts for this would be Hibiclens/iodine as they are both antiseptic agents used for skin cleansing and wound care. Hibiclens binds safely to the skin, leaving a layer of protection (without sticky residue), after it is rinsed off. Regardless of what you use, try to soak it two or three times a day.

Then I'd put triple antibiotic ointment (without painkiller in it) on it and keep her off of it for a couple of days to see how she does. If you get to the black scab stage it might need more than this done.

I always give mine a vitamin boost if they're ever looking down or get even a tiny injury somewhere. We use Poultry Cell here. She's maybe got an infection in there and vitamins help her body fight it.

The crater like area could have been a bumble between the toes that has abscessed or been pecked open. But sometimes those crater like lesions can be skin cancers, so I would try something like Betadine and sugar paste (also called sugardine) or Prid, and a foot dressing changed daily or every other. Here is a good post 4 about sugardine from coach723:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/its-like-bumblefoot-but-with-no-scab-what-is-it.1575847/

Thanks guys, I wanted to reply sooner but I've been busy. I took your advice and kept the wound clean, applied antibiotics, and kept it wrapped. I bought the Prid Salve, but didn't get a chance to use it so I will have it for next time! I actually didn't have to replace the bandage that many times, but after a few weeks the sore consolidated outward into a large chunk until it became hard and I was able to peel it off/pull it out from between her toes. I then rinsed her feet off again and put more antibiotics and finished her off with some bandages.

She's been doing better and better and should have her last bandages off in another week or two!! Thank you!