What is this please.....

[Shirls]

Harvey has had a little red spot, like this, on each foot now for about two weeks. I have been getting him to sit on my finger which I have previously put Savlon on. He won't get on my finger with Sudacrem!!! I thought it was the beginning of bumble foot, which I did have on another bird a while ago. But, as I say, it's been about two weeks, the red spot hasn't changed, got worse or got better. It's clean and dry and doesn't appear to give him any problems. Any advice would be appreciated.



Apologies for the very poor quality picture.

[Hezz]

Shirls I do think this is a case of bumble foot, unfortunately. I would guess that it doesn't have to be always because of bad foot health by you, the owner. You might have to isolate the poor boy and wrap his perches with a soft cloth and slather them in savlon. Otherwise, I don't have a lot to offer you.

[samwiseg]

Been having a look and found some info:

Causes and Actions:

Depending on the diagnosis, a vet may recommend changes to a bird's diet or cage setup; prescribe hot soaks or antibiotics, and / or make dietary recommendations. In some instances, surgery may be indicated, especially in cases where severe distortion of the contours of the foot and/or the toes has occurred, as these have the potential of causing considerable damage in the foot.

Perches / Surfaces: Unsuitable and unclean perches / standing and walking platforms - such as plastic perches, sharp-cornered perches, rough "pedicure" perches, standard perches with uniform diameter or wire floors - need to be exchanged to instead provide clean and VARIED perching surfaces.
Natural perches with different circumferences and textures are preferred. Birds should be encouraged to perch in different places and varying surfaces. This can be achieved by placing food and water dishes in different areas, changing the position of the different perches, etc.
Hard or wire flooring should be covered with newspaper, soft towels or some other material to protect the feet, facilitate a more comfortable walking on the floor and speed the healing process.
Any surfaces a bird touches should be carefully sanitized and kept clean.

Infections: Where some penetration has occurred, infections are likely to occur. Bacteria, including staph, have been identified in some rare cases of bumble foot; in particular, if the wound hasn’ t been noticed and treated before it becomes acute. If the infection is serious enough, antibiotics will be needed - such as erythomycin, penicillin or pipercillin injections, etc. (as described by the vet), in addition to anti-inflammatories and antibiotics topically applied to the feet.

Info was found here

[OP]

I sincerely hope you have caught it before it develops in to a more serious infection. Serious as it is. Please keep us informed of the outcome.

[jellybean]

I hope you've caught it early enough Shirls and it clears up.

[Shirls]

Thank you all for your replies, especially samwiseg and Hezz. I really don't believe this. My birds have 7 yes SEVEN different type/thickness perches, NO rough ones or sandpaper ones and a brilliant diet of veggies, seed, millet, cuttle and tonic blocks. HOW has this happened!!!!??

I am soooo reluctant to separate him away from Missy - whatever shall I do?

Edit: I would also add that I use F10 to clean everything, clean them out every day and do a big clean every seven days.

Well I have done it now: separated Harvey and put him in a cage with wrapped perches and a soft floor. I managed to get Savlon on both feet before he went in, bless him.

[Shirls]

Harvey seems ok today, not missing the others too much and has been singing away. He can see them of course. I managed to get him to stand on my finger for his millet and he got a good plastering of Sudacrem on his feet today!! He is now sitting comfortably on his soft perch. Sighs of relief (for both of us I think).

[Hezz]

It doesn't mean you have been negligent, Shirls, you know you haven't been, so don't beat yourself up about this being your fault. He may simply be a bird who has more sensitive skin; not as good a blood supply, or possibly he has cut it/caught it somehow and it is not healing as well as it should have. This is just a thought, and I have nothing to back this up, but possibly the F10 is a bit too harsh for his raw skin???

[Marianne Marlow]

Poor Harvey must have very sensitive feet. Good job you are on the ball to sort it out for him.

[OP]

Pardon my ignorance but are you saying that Harvey does not have bumble foot? Just a sore spot under both his feet? I'm not making light of this, just trying to understand where we are.

[Marianne Marlow]

May 18, 2015 8:21:01 GMT OP said:

Pardon my ignorance but are you saying that Harvey does not have bumble foot? Just a sore spot under both his feet? I'm not making light of this, just trying to understand where we are.

It probably is Bumblefoot yes.. others have more experience of this so I will concede to their knowledge.
I'm saying that if he got it despite having good perches then he must have very sensitive little feet.
Poor little sausage.

[OP]

Thank you Marianne. The readings that I have come across all seem to portray bumblefoot as this ghastly ailment that needs drastic treatments. The page that Sam referred to seems to portray this as well. Are we seeing the very beginning of an infection?

[Marianne Marlow]

It is at the beginning of the ailment yes OP, it's been caught at a good stage for treatment.
I have seen some pretty nasty pictures but thankfully not seen anything in person.

Here is a link from Barries website:

www.officialbarrieshuttbudgerigars.com/bumblefoot.htm

[starlingqueen]

His feet could have become dry and cracked and the infection got in. There's no telling where the infection came from, it could be the top of a curtain rail a picture frame, anywhere he lands, you can't keep everything spotless unless you have OCD. At least you have caught it at the early stages. I had a chicken with it and she had one of the ulcer looking sores. My vet removed the whole sore, just picked it off and then cleaned it, gave her an antibiotic injection and that was it. She said a birds body walls off infections so it doesn't spread but it makes it impossible for antibiotics to get to it. The only way is to remove the whole sore and treat what's left. The sore healed up in no time and we both know how dirty chickens feet get.

[mintysowner]

Minty had bumblefoot not long before he died, he'd never had anything like it despite being 10 - so please don't blame yourself! His was like an open wound so I'm glad you've caught it early, alongside anti b's the thing that helped a lot was savlon- infact it was someone here who recommended it to me it healed fairly quickly too thankfully!