One of my Rhode Island Reds has a growth or sore on her foot that is preventing her from walking. It appeared this afternoon. She was fine yesterday and seemed alright this morning, too. She falls over when walking now, probably because it is too painful to put any weight on it, and thus doesn't move very much. Any ideas on what might have caused it and how it should be treated?
Everything turned out well with the bumblefoot. We wrapped her foot with an antibiotic cream, gauze, and some wrap or tape, and it basically disappeared after a couple of days. I was surprised but relieved that it went away so quickly. Thank you all for the info and suggestions!
Rachel > David KennedySeptember 13, 2010 at 9:21pm
So glad you had a relatively easy time dealing with it. Way to go! (You just earned your bumblefoot merit badge in the urban farming club) ;)
Thanks, everyone, for the info and suggestions! I love this forum--what a great resource and community of people. When bumblefoot occurs, does it typically happen on the bottom of chickens' feet, not on the top?
Soak to soften the foot. Epsom salts and white vinegar are good additions. If you have a small cage you can stand her in that fill with a shallow amount of water in the bottom it would be good. You might want to try diapering her so that any poop doesn't fall into the soaking water. A disposable dog diaper or a disposable kids diaper with a hole cut in it for her tail would work. You can also probably rig something up with a hand towel and duct tape. (I am assuming you do not have an actual chicken diaper for her ;) )
Once the foot is soft, use a sterile exacto knife (or scalpel) to cut open the scab and squeeze out the infection. I recommend wearing gloves, as the infection is likely to be staph.
The only likely antibiotic needing a prescription is baytril. You can get injectible penicillin or tylan at the feed store. Tylan soluble, duramycin and aureomycin are also available OTC.
This is bumblefoot. Usually happens from a sore that gets a staph infection basically, it can become serious if left untreated so you need to treat it. (Use gloves to handle, common sense and good hygiene) I have had this in quail and have treated it without antibiotics by soaking in warm saline and removing the "plug". Pack with neosporin--WITHOUT pain relief as chickens are allergic to all of the -caine's. Wrap with some sort of bandage. Would be a good idea to quarantine her as staph is contagious.
Check your roost to be sure there are no splinters on it, rough roosts and housing birds on wire are big contributors to bumblefoot. Could have also just been a freak injury tripping over a stick.
It is also treatable with antibiotics if caught early enough, which it sounds like yours was. I believe it will require a vet visit for those, but not sure. Worth a few searches on Backyardchickens.com
Hi David~ A Rooster of mine had this. I took him to the vet. It is fairly common. I cannot remember what she called it. She told me it is like a gigantic hard pimple and that it needed to be softened and removed. I soaked the foot 3 times/day and kept it wrapped w/ A&D ointment between. He stayed inside in a tight kennel to reduce movement. Yes, he woke us all up for four days! Yes, he had spa day in my kitchen sink 3 times a day, ugh! After 24 hours of this it was soft enough to start digging out. If it hurt him I stopped, soaked and waited. Eventually, about 36 hours, the whole bugger came out at once and he had a huge pothole in the pad of his foot.
Good luck,
Susan
Replies
Once the foot is soft, use a sterile exacto knife (or scalpel) to cut open the scab and squeeze out the infection. I recommend wearing gloves, as the infection is likely to be staph.
The only likely antibiotic needing a prescription is baytril. You can get injectible penicillin or tylan at the feed store. Tylan soluble, duramycin and aureomycin are also available OTC.
http://www.avianweb.com/bumblefoot.html
I thought it might help.
Susan
Check your roost to be sure there are no splinters on it, rough roosts and housing birds on wire are big contributors to bumblefoot. Could have also just been a freak injury tripping over a stick.
It is also treatable with antibiotics if caught early enough, which it sounds like yours was. I believe it will require a vet visit for those, but not sure. Worth a few searches on Backyardchickens.com
Good luck,
Susan