It took repeated soaks to loosen up the plug but with patient and perseverance and a relatively calm bird we were successful. I separated out Lucy, because I wanted her to have a couple of days to heal on her own. The wrap stay on until the foot pad is healed. If you believe there is evidence of infection, then you should seek out a veterinarian for proper evaluation and treatment. Funnily enough, I’ve noticed it always seem to … Thanks again! Photo Essay: Comings and Goings of the Past Week. The ointment "draws out" problems such as infections, ingrown toenails, wood splinters, glass shards, and insect poison. Unfortunately, I can’t recommend the use of medication for fish in chickens. The towel will help keep her calm and also allow you to do the treatment all alone without any helpers. Sounds like the removal was a success. But getting a good look it reminded me kind of like an access. Skip to main content.ca. If there is a plug, that will readily pop out. We did go to the vets but I wasn’t convinced she knew anymore than me. Apply a bit of pressure to the bottom of the foot for a few minutes. Chickens are pretty amazing and resilient. Just soaked and used tweezers to gently extract her bumble foots (one in each foot), SO MUCH BETTER than attempting surgery Thank you for the non-surgery suggestion, fingers crossed it did the trick. You will cause the bird pain, introduce infection and do a ton of bad things!! This will surely help. I flipped her foot over and discovered that she had bumblefoot. Anyone treat bumblefoot with no evidence of this plug? I’m so sorry for your loss. From what you are describing it is not bumblefoot. Yesterday, now that the temp is quite chilly and damp, I noticed Nelly limping quite a bit, so thought I’d better follow your directions and help her out. Next, cut a circle to fit the wound from the Duoderm GFC, center it on the wound to completely cover the wound edges and then wrap the foot pad with vet wrap. Join BYC FREE here to see fewer ads, post questions, upload pics, & more! Here's our video of her 2nd day of bumblefoot treatment with Prid's Drawing Salve, which draws out the infection over several days. Ichthammol Ointment 20% Globe Brand Ichthammol Ointment 20% (USP) Contains a U.S. FDA NDC Number. You might consider trying a drawing salve instead of the soaks…. This post is informational only. Really good to learn about bumble foot, though, so I can keep an eye on the other girls and address it like this! This is my personal experience and your experience with bumblefoot in chickens may differ based on a variety of factors. On a side note, the internet is full of a variety of techniques to treat bumblefoot from home surgeries to applying drawing salves to help release the eschar plug. How deep are the wounds still? I used a wound gel, non-stick pad, and vet tape to hold it around her neck, as you described for bumblefoot. Should have taken pics but didn’t think about it, now worried I really messed up. Chickens heal really fast! So glad you were able to help her. In bumblefoot, the eschar can vary in size. Treating these eye injuries, I was again struck by how important it is to know your animal’s normal look and behavior. As for Lucy, two weeks after this post you would never know she had any foot issues to begin with. Do you see a thorn of something in the foot pad? Noticed her limping a little and looked closer and she had 2 large abcesses poking up between her toes! Using a cotton ball to apply the epsom salts (and switching to plain water after some got in her eye — ouch!) In fact I think it does more harm. mia fay rock ps i am nine. Good luck and keep me posted with how things go for you and your sweet hen. Just take your time. There was no redness, no visible injury, not even much swelling if any. Was some blood but not bad. Pleased to say it was a great success, thank you. (We took in all our chickens after a friend rescued them off Craigslist, so I don’t know anything about her history, whether she came from a breeder or anything useful like that.). This allows you to work on the plug in a non-surgical manner without this use of a scapel. My concern is her behavior today. Looks like you can get them in the UK on Amazon. Once with the others, no one bothered her and she got back to her family. Hi Laura! I gave the medicine as prescribed and put vet wrap and drawing salve on the chickens foot. That will help if she does have pain. :/ I apologize for the long post. It should heal completely in a little over 2 weeks time. Because of this, she limps and walks slower than the other girls, and she has some difficulty roosting on round sticks and branches, though mostly she gets around fine and is just a little behind the rest of the flock as they move from place to place. She’s had it for awhile and I didn’t know what it was. It can also be from lack of Vitamin A and Niacin in the diet. Is there anything else we need to do, or go back and do over? Thank you for sharing your bumblefoot remedy. Will remove wrap tomorrow to check, should I try again or let it heal before trying again? I think you wrote it should heal in a couple of weeks, should I keep it bandaged up, changing every few days, for that long? Amish Black Drawing Salve is a traditional recipe that’s found a resurgence in our modern times – and it’s pretty easy to make yourself. Drawing salve is an ointment that can be used to treat a variety of skin inflammations. I noticed this morning while they were out and about that her foot looked odd. hi i have used magnesium sulphate paste for a boil on my thigh that reoccurs from time to time and it works well i just put some on and tape some melolin wound dressing over it and leave it on through out the day. Just a large black scab. I am so glad you found this helpful! It amazed me that, afterward, she was running and walking around like a happy chicken. Oh I am so glad and happy to have helped. poultry (chicken, ducks, geese, pheasants); birds of prey used in falconry. That’s good news! The use of Ichthammol, popular with modern veterinarians, traces back to the 19th century. I soaked my girls foot in Epsom salts. We soaked her feet for a total of 20 minutes while she “purred” the entire time. The lady at Walgreen's told her that you can't get it anymore so she sold her something else. Thanks for asking! If I had to guess I’d say it looks more like a congenital condition than an injury, especially because it’s in both feet. I managed to loosen and remove the plug after a good soak, but there doesn’t seem to be any pus or hard yellow bits and it will bleed (this is day 2 of treatment) more than what I’ve read. I would feel the same way, but I think it is best to leave them alone. Any suggestions you have would be great. We got the eschar out with no bleeding at all. I would taker her to the vet if you can. (FYI, she sleeps in her nestbox. Have been putting Neosporin (w/out pain) & vet wrapping every 2 days. That eschar scab needs to be present to some degree. Snow Blind: Why Won’t My Chickens Walk on Snow? It sounds like your chicken does not have bumblefoot but some sort of injury. May not be reproduced without express permission. I scooped her up and saw that the bottom looked swollen, although she was not limping in any way. Have you ever seen anything like that? Congrats on removing the scab and yes, keep on treating the foot and bandaging it. Thank you! A drawing salve, like Prid, can be applied as well. Hen was on .5cc baytril for 5 days. I have wild, but tame chicken in my yard. Mar 11, 2013 - The first farmer was the first man. Four days later, I returned and found she still had the vetwrap intact. One reason to keep her in the kennel is due to the fact that she is one of the 2 (out of 5) that are VERY hard to pick up. And she doesn’t seem to be in any discomfort, no limping or favoring her foot. It will stop. But then she went back up the steps to the coop and hunkered down in the nestbox again. Is it normal for a hen to want to rest the day after this treatment? It’s not as effective as Silvadene in treating bumblefoot, but if you’re in a pinch for time or money, it’s a good alternative. If this is not normal behavior, do I need to repeat the soak today? She now has a much smaller dark red (booboo type) scab. So pleased that some chicken keeping sites have changed their advise based on your article. Soak the foot in epsom salt Ichthammol Ointment 20% Globe Brand Ichthammol Ointment 20% (USP) Contains a U.S. FDA NDC Number. Thanks for letting me know you found this post helpful. I tried treating topically vetericyn and practiced my wraps today and none of them stayed on. She has been quarantined in a dog kennel for the 2 days, continues to behave normally, etc. Looked underneath her foot and there were 2 big black scabs. Oh dear, I am so sorry to hear about this. The limited exercise, etc is most likely helping as are the treatments. There’s no scab, see a white thing (plug?) Such wonderful news! Take a pic with your phone to keep track of the progress. After about five minutes we just cut all the dressings off, and then she was able to move properly again. It sounds like the infection might have spread to the foot. I’ve been soaking her foot for 10-15 min’s a night, and then applying Neosporin or Veterycin. Is there a way that I can send pictures? Change the bandage in the same fashion every few days or sooner as needed. People should NEVER go digging around the foot. Here is what you will need to help your chickens with bumblefoot: Fill the sink with about a gallon of warm water and add Epsom salt to create a bath that even you would like to soak in. Do you have an avian vet nearby who can assist you. This is also called black drawing salve and can be fetched from the pharmacy counter. Note: Bumblefoot does not always produce a plug. She looks great! I spent 4 hours one day getting hardened balls of poop off of their toes and scrubbing their feet, which was when I discovered the infections- I am a part-time student and a PRN medical assistant in the process of applying to PA school, so as much as I care for my girls, that was definitely not how I needed to spend an afternoon. In people sometimes we leave them alone and other times we soften the eschar and remove it gently in order to speed up the healing process. I do wish I could tell if her limping is due to pain or just to her feet being shaped funny and tripping her up. Maat van Uitert is a backyard chicken and sustainable living expert. Please keep me posted on how things go. Thank you for this! I use a Duoderm pad on the wound and cover with rolled gauze and Vetwrap. She is also the author of Chickens: Naturally Raising A Sustainable Flock, which was a best seller in it’s Amazon category. So doing all kinds of research and getting the nerves, I purchased what I hope is everything I need. Then a non absorbent gauze pad and wrapping feet with vet wrap. Yes. Hi, Melissa, it’s Andrea (backyatdchickentalk.com). Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing this. Also, I am not sure of the egg withdrawal period if you do decided to treat your chicken with medication for fish. First mistake: Dressing. Next apply a bit of Neosporin to the bottom of the foot pad. Your post was the only one not involving a scalpel. Thank you so much for making this available to us chicken lovers, and for anyone reading this site and wondering if this will work believe me and others that posted here it does!!! I removed the wrap and soaked her toes again. I picked her up and found the telltale black spot. The wound should heal from the inside out. My buff started limping yesterday. within 2 days the scab came off and I could see the core so I got my gloves , scalpels, and other supplies needed to remove the core . Cart All. Apr 8, 2012 - Explore Kate's board "Farm Fun" on Pinterest. Bedtime would have been much better. Nov 19, 2013 - Bumblefoot is fairly common in backyard chicken flocks, but fairly easy to treat if caught early enough. The surgery on other people’s sites made me sick to my stomach. If there is an infection deeper in the foot that is not an access, then it should be treated with oral antibiotics under the supervision of a veterinarian. The toe looks better but is still swollen & she is limping a bit, but keeping up with her sisters and behaving normally. For the treatment of mild cases, some veterinarians recommend soaking the foot in a solution of Tricide Neo. I have a question. An animal with an injured eye will typically hold their head at an unusual angle. My rooster is having bumblefooot and I was searching for a home remedy. They are trying to shield the sensitive eye from light. I’m so glad you let me know. Thanks for the update. Thank you too for sharing your wisdom with us. The other day while in the barn I caught one of my girls limping and favouring one leg. See the Insect Bite Remedy Page for more information on plantain. There wasn’t much I could do about this due to other time constraints. In brief, daily soaks of 5-10 minutes until complete healing have been recommended, based on experience with this medication in the treatment of skin ulcers on koi fish. I think I was as relieved as the poor chicken. I hope she is still with us. You have been SO helpful. I got tweezers and pulled it out and it was around half an inch long. ... Merck Vet Manual also has a lot of information on treating poultry illness and disease. Only one is lame. And as she was going broody, we are encouraging that, so she will be resting on her nest. The large scab did come off but it started to bleed from inside the hole. I would monitor it for now. Bumble Foot: Causes and Treatment Options Index of Bird Diseases Bumblefoot occurs in all species of birds; however, this condition is rarely seen in the wild. Sadly, I think fellow chicken keepers were led astray with the suggested cutting techniques and in fact, some of those bloggers have updated their posts to reflect the information that I provided in this post. It was a huge success!!! 2) Make a poultice of activated charcoal and warm water and pack onto foot, wrap in gauze and leave on for 10-20 minutes (alternatively soak foot in warm water/Epsom salts) … The other reasons for the quarantine are to keep the risk of spreading the infection and to keep her quiet and less mobile. She’s absolutely my favourite hen and a great mother. Hen Healer– Blue tinted salve to treat minor skin injury. The epsom salts soak worked great and I was able to work out the huge plug/scab from one of her feet. I recommend doing your homework and always trying the least invasive method of treatment first. Do you put them on an oral antibiotic just in case? Now hen is on .5 cc LA 200 every 3 days on vet advice. I greatly regret ordering these "booties." My chicken had it quite bad and after about 6 soaks of Epsom salts it finally came away. That was 3-4 weeks ago. Foot is not hot or swollen and 2 puffy areas have reduced in size and firmness since beginning soaks and removing initial scab. Soaked her and was able to look ate the bottom of her foot. Often it moves from the stage you are describing into their body walling it off into a kernel. I decided to check it out, and found the big black circle in the middle. Treating Bumblefoot. Today, a drawing salve is a kind of ointment that’s used in treating various skin inflammation. Do you know where I can get duoderm GFC in the UK? Doesn't eat much. Hi Melissa, I’d like to try your method but I’m not familiar with the topical medications you used, or sure whether they are available here in New Zealand. Needless to say, I am a little overwhelmed and would love your advice on how to go about this? As TricideNeo is not approved in poultry, I have no literature or guidelines to help you. Sorry I have not been online because of the holidays. Or is there something similar? Then wrap your chicken in the bath towel; being sure to wrap the wings securely and leaving her feet out. I hope I can get her back on track! You can use this salve to treat and heal wounds, or to keep flock members from pecking at wounds. It was suggested to us by a federally licensed wildlife rehabilitator and we had good luck as well! I`m so grateful that I was able to help him without cutting a giant hole in his foot. It is so versatile when it comes to ailments. Some reassurance would help my tendency to be a worry-wort.