Bumblefoot

[jess.reco]

Took my girl to the vet yesterday and she's been diagnosed with bumblefoot. She has one sore that may need to be operated on. My bird is VERY lazy, and sits in the same spot all day. I work full time so I can't check on her. When I get home she comes out of her cage. I've always used natural branches and her diet is great.
I didn't realise that she's overweight (393grams). I've put bandages on her branches to relieve some pressure. Shes on anti biotics for the next 7 days. I'm finding that hard to give to her via a syringe. I'm going to buy a foraging ball to try and encourage her to move while I'm at work.
Does anybody else have any suggestions? I have to take her back in 2 weeks and if it doesn't improve she needs the op

 

[littleredhen77]

ive heard of bumblefoot alot in chickens..its normally caused when a small cut or nick on the foot gets infected, basically its a large "pimple" on the foot. its actually a staph infection and can be contagious if you have an open wound as well. ive never had to deal with it myself but from what ive seen in chickens its fairly easy to deal with once its opened up and cleaned out. if its mild enough, the antibiotics your vet gave you might control it so it can heal on its own.

is there any obvious swollen part on the foot with a hard black scab in the middle? ive heard of it without the tell tale scab as well but in most cases ((in chickens)) if the foot is soaked and cleaned up really well, a scab is there, or at least a dark spot in the center.

the only advice i have is to look for what may have cut her foot, since ive never heard of it occuring without first having an open sore that can become infected. i dont believe its anything that comes from being lazy, but im not a professional, just someone who tries to learn as much as possible. ive owned chickens most of my life and bumblefoot is something ive seen lots of videos on and read about several times. keep a close eye on her because infection can be serious if it gets into the blood stream! you may want to try making your follow up appointment sooner if you can! best of luck, i hope your girl gets better!

 

[jess.reco]

Ive done some research and the vet confirmed it that it's caused by pressure if they're sitting in the same spot all the time. Which is exactly what she's doing. She's never cut her foot open or anything. She does have one "scab" with the brown/black dot and that's the one we're worried about.
There's nothing to worry about I've been assured now that we're treating it. I see an avian vet and he's really good. I just don't want her to go through an op but we may not have a choice

 

[Mekaisto]

Is it on both feet? If not, did the vet investigate whether her other foot was injured?
It's quite odd for a bird to continue using an injured foot to perch on, unless the other foot is also injured.
Unless of course, the initial bumblefoot was started by a cut or wound, as mentioned above.

Is the bumblefoot on her toes, or in the middle pad of her foot? If it's in the middle, it's possible the branch she perches on is too wide, and it might be best to put a thinner branch in its place.

 

[plumsmum2005]

Took my girl to the vet yesterday and she's been diagnosed with bumblefoot. She has one sore that may need to be operated on. My bird is VERY lazy, and sits in the same spot all day. I work full time so I can't check on her. When I get home she comes out of her cage. I've always used natural branches and her diet is great.
I didn't realise that she's overweight (393grams). I've put bandages on her branches to relieve some pressure. Shes on anti biotics for the next 7 days. I'm finding that hard to give to her via a syringe. I'm going to buy a foraging ball to try and encourage her to move while I'm at work.
Does anybody else have any suggestions? I have to take her back in 2 weeks and if it doesn't improve she needs the op

Hi Jess sorry to hear your fid is not very well at the moment. What is her name?

I have a RB2 who is a bit of a perch potato and weight issue but one saving grace is he loves a cotton rope ball which he plays rough with, bashing it into his big bell. This is good as it makes him move to a different spot. Foraging toys are good as they encourage activity but also can add additional calories if filled with extra treats unless you use it for her to find her normal food.

I use perches of different types and sizes in his cage and they get rotated fairly often. If she has a favourite place to sit do you know why she chooses this spot - what makes it special?

Re exercise : will she play on the floor with you? Can you get her to fly back and forth, cage to you etc? Once more exercise is introduced the weight does go down. Is she definitely overweight, is this according to the AV?

If medicating her via syringe is difficult could you put it in her food and feed her that so you see it being eaten? I had tablets to administer to mine and the only successful way was feeding him egg. Mine will happily take off a spoon thank goodness as I wouldn't stand a chance with a syringe. Obviously there are going to be differences between our fids but hopefully there is something here that might give you some suggestions?

 

[JerseyWendy]

What kind of perch is she sitting on all day? How thick/thin is it, and is it a natural branch or is it a dowel or possibly a rope perch?

If it's either a dowel or rope, I'd get it out immediately and I'd provide her with a natural perch instead. Depending on where the scab is on her foot, that particular perch should be either thinner or thicker than the one she is currently perching on all the time, and better yet, it shouldn't be of the same thickness everywhere (hence 'natural').

Best of luck to your sweet girl!!

 

[Taprock]

I'm sorry to hear your girl has bumble foot. We have had to deal with it several times, but like littleredhen said it has been in our chickens. We are fairly certain ours contracted it by having hard landing surfaces when they fly off the roost and fences. We have a concrete floor and our soil is full of gravel. Over weight birds are more susceptible because their feet just aren't equipped for the extra weight. We have had to do surgery several times and it isn't pretty but they recover very quickly.

A couple things you might try. Soaking the foot in Epsom salt water helps soften the scab even if you aren't going to try remove it. Some birds like it and some it's not worth it. Check your roosts for rough spots or knots that could be putting pressure on her foot. Like if you had a wad of gum stuck to the bottom of your shoe, small but you notice it. Also I would start daily sanitizing her perches until her infection is gone. Prevention for her and you. Like littleredhen said it is staph so wear gloves if you have any cuts on your hands.

Good luck, I hope your girl improves quickly.

 

[Anansi]

You've already received some great advice. I just wanted to ask about your girl's weight. She is being considered overweight at 393 grams?!? What sub-species of eclectus do you have? I'm not saying the weight assessment is wrong. After all, she might be rather small framed. Just wondering.

And do you have any pics?

 

[anita1216]

Bumblefoot is fairly common in overweight rats (Im going somewhere with this honestly!) I kept rats as pets for aout 10 years and the best thing I ever saw for bumblefoot is a product called Blue-Kote. I know it can be used on chickens, not sure about parrots, but it might be worth asking your vet. Its an antiseptic spray that keeps the sore covered and helps in the healing process.
Hope your birdy feels better soon.

 

[skylala]

You can see if your bird is under/over weight by checking the breast muscle.
Here is a guide:
http://www.pfma.org.uk/_assets/docs/pet-size-o-meter/pet-size-o-meter-birds.pdf

 

[jess.reco]

Wow!! Thanks for all the comments! Ill try and answer everybody!

She has one sore/scab on the pad of her feet, on the bottom part of her pad. The other foot is stating to go red on the pad. Shes on natural branches and if anything theyve been too thin for her! I've gone and changed them them to slightly bigger.

My little girls name is Tequila. Ill be honest she hasnt been in a huge cage because she's so lazy!! So she has 2 sticks but she prefers the highest one. Ive just ordered a much larger cage so she has more options available. I plan to use the foraging toys on her food she gets, not extra treats. No she doesnt like to play at all but i think i really need to encourage it. I think shes getting used to the syringe now. Its only .5 of a ml i need to give her each day.

I just purchased some f10 so i can clean her perches.

She is a solomon island breed. I know i didnt think she was overweight!! They checked her keel/breast bone and based her weight on that. Ill see if i can add some photos of her..

 

[jess.reco]

Nope... no idea how to post pics guys :/

 

[Anansi]

Nope... no idea how to post pics guys :/

Here's a link. Page 3 has a good explanation by Tab about how to post pics from Photobucket.

 

[Mekaisto]

It might be worth moving perches around her cage, so she's forced to sit on different surfaces/diameters

 

[plumsmum2005]

Wow!! Thanks for all the comments! Ill try and answer everybody!

She has one sore/scab on the pad of her feet, on the bottom part of her pad. The other foot is stating to go red on the pad. Shes on natural branches and if anything theyve been too thin for her! I've gone and changed them them to slightly bigger.

My little girls name is Tequila. Ill be honest she hasnt been in a huge cage because she's so lazy!! So she has 2 sticks but she prefers the highest one. Ive just ordered a much larger cage so she has more options available. I plan to use the foraging toys on her food she gets, not extra treats. No she doesnt like to play at all but i think i really need to encourage it. I think shes getting used to the syringe now. Its only .5 of a ml i need to give her each day.

I just purchased some f10 so i can clean her perches.

She is a solomon island breed. I know i didnt think she was overweight!! They checked her keel/breast bone and based her weight on that. Ill see if i can add some photos of her..

Hello and I love her name Tequila. Re toys / moving about if you can find out what toys interest her most you might get somewhere. That is going to be trial and error. That's good she is getting used to the syringe. I wouldnt have any fingers left by now lol! :11: Really looking forward to seeing some pics when possible.

 

[Uglow]

Good lord! i just googled images of bumblefoot.

I'm glad to see that she's taking her medicine and wish her a full recovery.
all things considered it could be worse.
I'm new to this but if it hasn't been mentioned, I fiddled around in uglow's cage a lot the first few months. Every other day I would deep clean it and switch out his branches and ropes.

He has a play tree now which he spends most of his day on and with foraging toys all over. If you do end up getting her interested in a toy, try making a it a little more difficult to get to in slow increments. Uglow now spends half his time upside down reaching for things. He squawks at me when he get's himself into a predicament...which makes me feel useful.

 

[jess.reco]

Ill try and post some photos later on tonight and reply

 

[jess.reco]

These are pictures of Tequila. Im gonna buy some toys and see how she goes with them. Im also changing sticks so she moves around.

 

[plumsmum2005]

Fantastic pics, really loved Tequila covered in her food. Thanks (I'm still grinning!)

 

[Anansi]

She's beautiful. And the food-covered beak is definitely the money shot. Lol!

She obviously lives fluffing out her feathers like my Maya does, so there's no way to visually determine if she's overweight. But have you checked out the link Skylala gave you? It's pretty much spot on about feeling for the keel when assessing whether a bird is at a good weight.