Our Bumblefoot Experience

 Recently, we have been dealing with a case of Bumblefoot in one of our hens.

The good thing is that Bumblefoot is east to spot if you are doing checks on your hens every few weeks. It is very easy to treat if caught early enough, but this case, unfortunately didn’t respond to the easy methods of treatment. Normally, simply removing the black scab, treating with Vetericyn, Green Goo, and wrapping it can cure the very early stages of Bumblefoot.

As you can see in the photo, the swelling in between her toes was significant.  I do not have individual photos of the surgery we did on her poor foot, but I though I could show you the few photos I have, along with an explanation of what we did.

I began by soaking her foot in a epsom salt/warm water bath to clean it really well and soften the skin.  Then, I removed the black scab from the bottom of her foot with tweezers and used surgical scissors to cut a small section around the area.

Then pressing on the foot, I mashed out the infection, and was able to get to the kernel. This kernel was what was causing the swollen area between the toes, and refused to allow the wound to heal.

Next, we soaked the open wound in Betadine, dried it off, and sprayed it in Vetericyn to help kill off any lingering infection. I then coated the wound in Green Goo, and wrapped it in gauze.

 Next, we sliced the 3 inch vet wrap into small strips, and we wrapped this around the foot, and in between the toes, so that she can still perch on the roost.

I finished it off with a a few thin strips of medical tape to ensure that her incessant pecking at the wrap will not result in her getting out of the bandage.

It is always a good idea to have the necessary products on hand to treat many different things that could happen to your flock. It is bad when something happens, and you have to order or drive around looking for the products you need to treat it.

 ~Here are links to the products we suggested above.~