[loosey]

Hello all

I've not been around for a very long time but would appreciate some advice if possible please!

One of our girls is having a rough time of it! She had scaly leg a few weeks ago which I treated by bathing and rubbing with oil ( as well as. Disinfecting everything in site!). She now has what I believe to be bumble foot (a couple of what look like abcess' between her toes)m

Does anyone have any advice about treatment? Everything I read online seems so conflicting, I'm getting more confused!

Thanks in advance! x

[Fleecewife]

This is taken from our local 'Biggar Area Smallholders' Newsletter, with thanks to Kate Campbell.  Hope it helps:

Bumble foot not necessarily fatal – Kate Campbell
For those lucky enough not to have had any of your poultry acquire Bumble Foot, it is a nasty abscess on the toe, or more often the centre of the foot. The first sign is that the hen will be limping and in some discomfort. On inspecting the foot you will see a lump with a hole covered by a scab. The foot will be hot and swollen and there may be pus leaking from the abscess.
Most vets and poultry experts suggest that there is no cure and that the hen be culled.
If you are going to attempt to treat it then you need a great deal of patience and lot of time as to get the foot properly healed you need to keep at the abscess until it is properly healed or it will reoccur.

Rooster Booster
One of my prime breeding RIR roosters developed bumble foot and was very lame As he is a valuable bird I decided to try to cure him. It took at least 2 weeks of work but he is totally healed and back to normal. First decide if it is really worth the effort.
If you decide it is then first get you bird well wrapped up in a towel or soft bag so it can’t struggle & flap.
Then wash the foot very thoroughly in  good hand hot, saline solution and let the foot soak for a while.
Examine the abscess carefully. as long as it is not terribly infected carefully pick of any scab & squeeze out as much of the pus and  dirt as you can. It is fine if it bleeds as that means that you have got to the fresh tissue. Soak the foot again in fresh clean hand hot saline solution and clean out as carefully as you can. Then dry.
Spray very thorough with Cyclo spray ( yes I know it is for cattle and sheep but is great for all wounds in most animals. (NOT eyes and mucous membranes of course)

The foot needs to be kept clean, so arm your self with a good roll of micro pore and once the foot is dry tape up the infected foot very well. If you can keep the bird in a clean dry pen, that helps hugely.
Start the bird on a course of  Baytril and continue for 7 days.
The foot needs to be cleaned & soaked in saline solution, squeezed and sprayed at least once a day but twice is better. Always dry then apply a clean protective covering of mico pore.
Paitence and persistence is what is needed for this and I do know it is not always successful.

[loosey]

Thanks fleecewife

I would be interested to hear if anyone here thinks treatment is worth while or if the bird is better off being culled?

We only have 5 hens, they free range over our whole farm but I could keep them in their house (more like a small outbuilding for a few days if needed).

Opinions welcomed!x

[Heather]

I had a hen with abcess on foot, between the toes.  I didn't know this was 'bumble foot'.  Never considered culling, and, anyway, she was looking after 6 chicks at the time. With a friend to help, I did most of what Fleecewife advises in her posting, using that purple spray that my friend has for her horses, salty water and tcp- well, everything that was to hand, actually.  I squeezed pus but it was hard so couldn't get it all out. Did this one day, left it bandaged overnight, repeated treatment following day, and again on 3rd day but then left it un-bandaged, and it's been just fine since then.  That was about 3wks ago.  Chicks have gone and she is laying again, no sign of discomfort.

[loosey]

Thanks Heather. I tried soaking the foot the first night to loosen the scab but it wouldn't budge so I poulticed the foot and left overnight.

Yesterday I was able to remove the scab and squeezed out a huge ball of solid pus which looked like parmesan cheese!

I flushed out the wound with saline and sprayed with antiseptic spray and re poulticed.

When my OH gets home this evening I will change the poultice and have another squeeze to see where we stand ... she is no longer limping and is roosting as normal but just looks alittle silly with a bandage on her foot!

[Heather]

oh well done.  What did you use for the poultice?