Treat bumblefoot with Compound W to avoid surgery?

[Mary Elizabeth Klockeman]

I'm wondering if anyone has tried putting a little compound W or corn removal medicine patch on a bumblefoot, infected area to ease the plug out. I wondered if we could avoid the surgical procedure to cut or tweeze it out and possibly avoid opening up another wound from cutting/tweezing. Is there any harm in this? I'm leaving for vacation in a week, and I don't want to waste time doing silly stuff. I am willing to do the soak and tweeze, if that's in the best interest of my chicken. Thank you.

 

[Eggcessive]

Could you post a picture of the foot pad or where it is located? I would not use that since it designed to burn a wart, and bumble foot is usually a staph infection. There are many methods to treat bumble foot. If it is mild, you could wait until you get back. Usually soaking at first in warm Epsom salts for about 15 minutes a day can be helpful. Other methods are applying Prid salve or a paste made of Betadine (or Equate First Aid Solution) and sugar, and covering with a dressing that is changed every day or two may help. Then if the scab comes off easily, you can squeeze the foot to get a kernel out of it. The final dressing dressing consists of plain antibiotic ointment, 2x2 gauze square , and strips of vet wrap or cohesive dressing. Here is a video of applying a dressing:

 

[azygous]

I applaud you for the innovative thinking. However, warts and staph skin infections are like apples and oranges - not the same. Compound W acts on clumps of live skin cells. Bumblefoot is a combination of a scab of dead skin and a pus pocket of live bacteria. A wart is a formation of abnormal cell growth triggered by a virus.

Bumblefoot surgery isn't really "surgery". In fact, I have never taken a knife to a bumblefoot lesion. I use my thumbnail as a scalpel. First dab a generous amount of undiluted Dawn detergent on the scab. Then use a warm wet compress held to the scab for ten minutes to turn the scab to jelly. Then take a fingernail and scrape the scab off. Often the pus plug will come out attached to the scab. If not, scrape it out. Do not cut into the foot pad. This is not necessary.

Use a rough wash cloth to clean out the wound, rinse, and cover in antibiotic wound ointment. Bandage and check in two days.

 

[Eggcessive]

Good advice from azygous as usual. I only bother with a bumble foot scab if it is swollen and red, and the hen is limping because of it. Small rocks or rough ground can cause small cuts or openings where bacteria can enter the skin. I saw it often in my chickens, but I learned that it didn’t always need treatment.

 

[RoyalChick]

Compound W is salicylic acid which is a skin softener. As such it acts much like Prid or other drawing salves (and indeed the Epsom salt soaks) all of which may make it easier to extract the pus from a bumblefoot.