Does anyone have experience with bumble foot in chickens?

-- Beth Warnick (bethw@nb.net), June 15, 2001

Answers

Can you describe this disorder or find out if it has a different name? I have never heard of it; but I have heard of a disorder in poultry and pet birds where their claws became deformed or curreled under due to the roosts being all the same size.

-- mitch hearn (moopups1@aol.com), June 16, 2001.

I had a recent experience with a duck that had bumblefoot.

Do you have a particular question that I might be able to answer?

-- bluetick (coonhound@mindspring.com), June 16, 2001.

Beth, get to The Poultry Connection's, Leghorn Forum. All about chickens and lots of experts to help. Nice people too! Good Luck, :-)

-- Little Quacker (carouselxing@juno.com), June 16, 2001.

I've never had a case of BF, but since it's an abscess, my first thoughts are of soaking in Epsom Salt so the abscess would open and drain. Just a thought. Here's a site:

Bumblefoot

This is condition affects the pads of the feet.  It is caused by the bacteria staphylococcus aureus, which is present wherever there are chickens. Most people notice swelling of the foot pad, and if you look at the pad and note a dark, blackish scab, it is bumblefoot. The swelling is due to abscess in the pad. Staph enters the foot through injury to the pad - either by bruising or breaks in the skin caused by sharp objects. 

Avoiding Bumblefoot

Bumblefoot is difficult to cure.  Make sure the roosts are rounded and not too high off the ground. Sand off any potential splinter areas.  Ensure plenty of litter, 3-4 inches or more . Don't use wire bottom cages. Give vitamin supplements, especially Vitamin A.

Treatment

Have on hand the following:

Betadine, hydrogen peroxide, neosporin, sterile scalpel or 14g needle, coban, sterile 2x2 gauze pads, surgeon's gloves. Have ready a cage to put the chicken in when you're done. Make the litter deep, ensure food and water. I have used terramycin in the water for a week - follow the directions on the package. 

The 'Operation'

If possible, have a helper. You can, however, do this yourself. Wear gloves - you don't want to get the staph on you! Wash the leg and foot, scrub with betadine until clean at least 30 seconds. If you can soak the foot until the scab is soft, do that and then pull off the scab. Lance the pad with the needle or scalpel and squeeze out the pus. I do this under running water. Yes, there will be bleeding. After the pus is out as much as you can get, dip the foot into peroxide solution. The blood will cause a foaming reaction. If there is a lot of bleeding, hold pressure with a sterile 2x2 until stopped or under control. Apply neosporin to the site, a sterile 2x2, add some more 2x2s for padding, then wrap the foot firmly with coban. Wrap so the toes and spur are exposed. Don't wrap so tight that you cut off circulation. You will want to start the wrap on the foot and work up to the leg. Coban sticks well to itself and the chicken generally won't be able to pull it off if you do a good job.

Place the chicken in the deep litter cage, and change the dressing in 2-3 days. I keep the chicken confined until I remove the dressing and until the pad is well healed so that it won't open up when back to free-ranging. So far I've never had to cull a chicken due to bumblefoot.       

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), June 20, 2001.

Fancier yes I have a artilce for email at my email address of frizzlebird@yahoo.com it is my article site. Also the bumble foot needs to have horse linament put on it and wraped and red done every day till it has made the corn and healed and got the soreness out of it. You need to keep the bird locked up in a cage to do this. The bumble foot is done when a bird jumps down from the root pole and bruses its foot on a rock or stone or clod of dirt. If the pus isn't taken out by cutting a insertion point in the bottom of the foot with a razor blade and the pus allowed to run out by the bird standing on it with in 24-36 hrs after brusing it hardens to a corn and the bird limps. Glenda L. Heywood nationalpoultrynews@yahoo.com

-- GLHeywood (nationalpoultrynews@yahoo.com), June 21, 2001.

like the email address? tell me , how do u know its Bumble foot ? what led u to this conclusion ?

-- Peter Eastwell (itchy@bigfoot.com), October 23, 2001.