Why do some say to leave mild bumblefoot alone?

[Fluffy_Feathers]

I've seen a few times on threads where people will advise to leave early bumblefoot alone. Having dealt with bumblefoot myself twice but am obviously not super experienced, I am confused me as to why you would leave it alone. Here's my personal reasoning:

Bumblefoot is a bacterial infection that can be comprised of E. Coli, Pseudomonas, and, most notably, Staphylococcus. As far as I know, these can be pretty nasty bacteria that when left untreated, can get a lot worse. I've seen people suggest that if there's no reddening or swelling, to not do anything. But why would you wait for that to happen? The longer you wait, the harder it will be for the infection to be eradicated, especially since most people treat at home. I'm sure sometimes it will simply go away- in fact I've seen people say it happened with their chickens and their experiences are valid- but based on my personal experience I'd be afraid of waiting to find out.

I had a hen who had very early bumblefoot. No reddening, no swelling, nothing but the little scab that didn't seem that deep or very fully formed. It really didn't seem that concerning at all.


I did not treat it for a few days while I awaited some topical antibiotics to come in the mail (I was dealing with another chicken with more severe bumblefoot so I figured I'd get some stronger stuff). In just 3 days, it had progressed to this. Now, that's still not bad at all and was easy to treat, but how fast it got worse is something to be noted.


I tried to get away with treating it non-invasively to save her some unnecessary pain since it was so mild, but realized I wasn't making very good progress and ended up removing the scab. At this point, taking the scab off and treating it was causing more pain and stress than leaving it alone. However, if I did nothing, she probably would be in more pain and stress from the infection getting worse down the road, and it would be more painful to treat. Her bumblefoot is gone, has stayed gone so far, and she is happily bounding in the yard. The other hen I mentioned, her bumblefoot was a lot worse. It got so bad because I didn't do anything for a good while (long story short, she had feet problems that made her bumblefoot a bit hard to recognize, especially since this was my first case). Due to me waiting, her infection got too bad and after trying my hardest to treat her for months with what I had and no vet care, I could not keep the infection away and decided to put her out of her misery.

I'm sure people who have advised to leave bumblefoot alone will read this, and I want to say that I'm not trying to call you out or tell you you're wrong or anything like that. I guess I just want to start a conversation. I'm definitely not an expert on bumblefoot having only treated it twice. I want to learn more about this, especially since this advice seems to be a lot different than what's commonly suggested. If I can get away with not having to treat bumblefoot in the future I'm all for it! But infections are no joke and I don't want to take any risks.

Thank you for any experiences and/or info!

 

[azygous]

I don't believe there is any such thing as "mild" bumblefoot. Bumblefoot, by definition is an infected wound, as you're aware. If there is a flat thin scab on a foot pad with no swelling, redness, or heavy scab, it's likely not infected, therefore not bumblefoot.

When I encounter a flat thin scab, I will not do anything more than squirt some Vetericyn on it for a few days. That's usually enough to encourage it to heal quickly and to discourage bacteria. I don't even bother bandaging it. It's never developed into bumblefoot when I've treated it in that manner.

 

[Fluffy_Feathers]

I don't believe there is any such thing as "mild" bumblefoot. Bumblefoot, by definition is an infected wound, as you're aware. If there is a flat thin scab on a foot pad with no swelling, redness, or heavy scab, it's likely not infected, therefore not bumblefoot.

When I encounter a flat thin scab, I will not do anything more than squirt some Vetericyn on it for a few days. That's usually enough to encourage it to heal quickly and to discourage bacteria. I don't even bother bandaging it. It's never developed into bumblefoot when I've treated it in that manner.

Thats interesting, and good to know. I have a couple questions:

Would you say that the first picture of my hen's flat thin scab looks similar to what you've seen? If so, would that mean that it wasn't infected at first, but developed an infection in the days I waited, since it progressed to a larger scab with redness? She had a similar scab in her other foot as well that also started out with no signs of infection.

 

[azygous]

I'd say it bacame infected before t could completely heal. That's why it pays to treat the thin scab daily with an antiseptic or even bandage. Look what chickens walk through with their bare feet all day long.

 

[dawg53]

I have said that if there is a scab, without swelling or redness, leave it alone. It MAY heal and go away on its own. I've done minor surgery without the swelling and redness even though there was a scab. There was no infection whatsoever when I went digging around in the footpad. That means I did an unnecessary surgery causing stress to the bird. That's when I stopped doing surgery just because there was only a scab.
Keep in mind that you have to inspect the footpad every 2 or 3 days to ensure it's healing on its own or if it has enlarged with redness and swelling, then it's time for the surgery.
Another option is to use Tricide Neo which doesnt require surgery.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

Would you say that the first picture of my hen's flat thin scab looks

that first picture looks to me like more than I would leave untreated.

I think the 'leave untreated' advice should not be confused with 'ignore'

if you see something, note that this hen needs attention, that means at minimum daily exam. You don't have to go full out on a small wound, but you can't ignore it.

'untreated' can mean many degrees, but not the same as do nothing.

It can mean just not more than a cleaning and polysporin or vetacyn daily/every other day.

I have seen some hens actually get worst from soaking/removing too aggressively, and do really well with just washing and vetacyn.

be careful about opening it up if you can't keep it clean (which is not easy when things like the weather are damp, they walk in poo like it is a carpeting etc)

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

I have said that if there is a scab, without swelling or redness, leave it alone.

that, is exactly my hard earned experience.

if it is not infected and you open it up, you can make it worst.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

I'd say it bacame infected before t could completely heal. That's why it pays to treat the thin scab daily with an antiseptic or even bandage. Look what chickens walk through with their bare feet all day long.

completely agree, it was minor, but it looks 'open' my eyes are not great, maybe I am wrong, but it looks vulnerable.

I have trouble keeping bandages clean (should I say THEY have a hard time keeping them clean ?), so, yes, wash and put something on it as often as you can. Or convince them to watch where they walk... good luck with option B

 

[writerskramp]

Had one.. may have stepped on her foot.. Checked it out, but could find no signs, and she would just lay on the ground.. and get picked on. So I isolated her in a small area, but not as to separate her from the flock. Important I think as you know what happens to newbies. After a while there was some swelling, and then a bit of a growth and she hobbled about a bit.. couldn't use the roost well.. Limpy, became infatuated with me doting on her.. followed me like a puppy, expecting me to feed her individually by hand.. She is fine and dandy now.. I did very little, but was never an open wound..

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

Limpy, became infatuated with me doting on her.. followed me like a puppy, expecting me to feed her individually by hand.. She is fine and dandy now.. I did very little, but was never an open wound..

you did lots, you noticed her, you protected her, became her flock when her 'sisters' were mean, hand fed her, helped her sleep when she couldn't roost. Pretty nice I'd say.