The Poultry Keeper

chicken jules · Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 11:36 pm Post subject: Bumblefoot ... kill or cure!!!

Hi everyone

I have a problem with Bumblefoot on three birds. (including Hadders). I find the source quite confusing from my previous experiences. All my birds don`t bother roosting, they prefer to sleep in deep filled nest boxes etc. So I know it isn`t raised perches. They are cleaned out daily and are on deep dust free shaving litter. They have adequate ground which is also cleaned daily (yes I`m still over the top with my birds!!)

My light sussex hen bless her had bumble foot over a year ago. After many visits to the vet, to include baytrill, lancing and creams her condition never improved. Now the area between her toes has also become swollen and hard and her leg is a lot thicker than the other. She is always lame, but she tends to live with it. (nothing puts her or Hadders off their food). They have both had numerous box rest and living in on carpets. Hadders seems to be getting worse also. There is no infection and the previous lancings showed this, the lancings actually made the condition worse!!

I was wondering is anyone has any other suggestions to offer, perhaps some weird and wonderful remedy that may help. It seems to me that it is like a human corn or veruca (I`ve had one of those) and I used an acid based product after I couldn`t get rid of mine which I had for one year. it seemed to burn into the core and therefore rid the root. I have a great vet but even he is lost to what else to try.

To show the severity of my poor Light sussex hen I could post a picture if required of her foot. Hadders isn`t so visible, only from underneath the foot. I really want to clear this up once and for all and will try any suggestion put forward to help my girls. (I don`t think my light sussex helps herself as she is very fat ...loves her food...and a diet would definitely destroy her!!!)

Hope someone out there can help.

Come on Nanny P you know you can do this!!!!!

Thanks luv jules

CP · Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 1:06 am Post subject:

I haven't had any experience of this problem, but had a Google & came up with this:

http://tinyurl.com/z2ebg

which may or may not help. Confused

Lisa · Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 9:25 am Post subject:

Hi Jules,

Sorry to hear about all the bumble foot problems you're having Sad

Had it with one of my first chooks and you do feel sorry for them limping along. Although, like yours, my Lara could always make it to the food bowl when she wanted!

Right, off the top of my head here, in no particular order...

First I'd try to work out if there is still an infection. I understood that would mean hot to the touch (compared to the same place on the other foot) and/or red and inflammed looking.

If there is still an infection, and you want to go through your vet, then could your vet try another antibiotic? I know baytril seems to be the antibiotic of choice with the vets, but maybe baytril just doesn't work against the actual bacteria causing the infection. My Mum's had a nasty leg ulcer for ages, and her leg has got infected several times. The Drs always start her on a course of what they think is the most useful antibiotic for a skin infection and take a swab to test to find out the exact cause. More often than not, when they get the results, they change her onto another antibiotic... or two!

If you would rather go down the natural route, then you could try adding garlic to their food - apparantly there is even something in garlic that is effective against antibiotic resistent MRSA! (Google "garlic MRSA" for more info). Mine get fresh garlic regularly in their food - as a health boost - about 1 crushed clove 3 times a week. You do need to be careful not to over do it though. A lot of garlic can lead to a type of anemia (certainly in dogs and cats, so presumably in chooks too), and you might get garlic tasting eggs as well. Yuk for cakes etc!!

Personally I'd also have them on ACV daily (in their water) and give them a short term boost of chook appropriate vitamins and minerals to help the immune system do its job properly.

There are also aromatherapy oils that have anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties - ones like tea tree and lavender. I did put tea tree on Lara's (bumble)foot at the time, but to be honest I don't know what worked - a delayed reaction to the antibiotics, tea tree oil, or just time...

Lara was fine with the tea tree oil, but I have read since about some animals having a bad reaction (even dying! Shocked

) after the use of aromatherapy oils, so use at your own risk. Personally I do wonder if these cases are a bit like when some people have serious reactions to nuts, or certain antibiotics. Or if the oils trigger what's called a "healing crisis" (if I understand that correctly its where so much of the bacteria / virus / parasite / whatever is killed at once that the body can't get rid of it quickly enough and it builds up and becomes toxic to the system). Now I ususally prefer to use any oils dropped on a cloth near the birds if I could, or I've rubbed a dilute mix of oils with insect repellent properties on their perch. Lavender and tea tree are thought to be 2 of the most safe oils with people, so personally I probably would try them direct for bumble foot again. But I'm just a keen amateur at this, so if you do use them, do so at your own risk and/or in consultation with your vet. Just remember that you are effectively using them as medicines, and a dose that might be appropriate for a human that weighs 70kg is not appropriate for a chicken that weighs 3kg!

If you do try natural remedies also bear in mind that they can take longer to work than conventional medicines.

I suppose the other option is that there isn't an infection. Could it be scar tissue from the poking and prodding and lancing by the vet? Do chickens get arthritis - which would also be painful and swollen? Could it be fluid collection for some other reason - my Mum's leg was swollen because she had problems with the veins and arteries in that leg. Though if it is any of those I haven't a clue what you would do for them... Ah - you could try daily ACV for arthritis.... don't some people say that helps with their arthritis and aches and pains?

If you think your light sussex is overweight then that really can't help things - is there anything you could you do to help her loose a few... err, ounces!? Is she getting any high calorie treats that you could replace with healthy, low-cal things like grated carrot, various greens etc?

Hope something above is useful for you. Good luck - and do keep us posted and let us know how you get on.

Henwife · Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 3540 Location: Monmouthshire

Are you quite certain that it's bumble foot? If three birds are affected, it could be something like osteopetrosis which leads to thickening of the leg and which is transmitted both via the egg and between birds, although it is not very contagious. I remain convinced that bumblefoot is oten offered as the 'easy' diagnosis. Why lance - a hollow needle would have shown whether there was anything nasty in the swelling.