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Bumblefoot in Poultry

by expert on March 1, 2018 category Backyard Poultry

Plantar pododermatitis (or ‘bumblefoot’ as it is more commonly known) is a complex disease diagnosed in a range of species of birds. Poultry and birds of prey are the most commonly seen cases in veterinary practice. There can be many causes, but the most common is infection by bacteria known as Staphylococcus aureus.

What does bumblefoot in poultry look like?

Bumblefoot infection has spread across both of this bird’s feet. The areas affected look blackened.

Bumblefoot infection has spread across both of this bird’s feet. The areas affected look blackened.

As the name suggests, the usual presentation seen by owners is discretely round, thickened dark nodules within the skin on the ‘ball’ of a chicken’s foot. It appears exclusively on the underside of the foot. These lesions (or ‘lumps’) can vary greatly in size and appearance. Some grading systems have been developed to quantify their severity. This can prove useful when monitoring the progress of a lesion over time. The lower the grade, the less severe the lesion.

Subtle bumblefoot can begin as a simple reddened area on the underside of the foot or feet. This will then, if left undetected/untreated, potentially develop into a more progressed form of the disease whereby the skin is broken with the infiltrating ‘core’ of infection. This core consists of a plug of dead tissue. If left undetected or untreated, this has the potential to continue to spread, covering a wider and wider area. During the more advanced stages of the disease, the infection runs the risk of affecting the deeper tissues within the foot, including tendons and bones. At this stage, the prognosis for recovery is very poor.

What signs should I look out for?

A discrete bumblefoot lesion, showing typical positioning at the weight-bearing position on the base of the foot.

A discrete bumblefoot lesion, showing typical positioning at the weight-bearing position on the base of the foot.

When an individual bird is suffering from bumblefoot, the signs at the outset may be subtle and easily missed. When the lesions are mild, the initial signs observed in the coop may be a bird choosing to roost lower than on the usual perching spots with the rest of the flock. As the bumblefoot lesions progress and the bird becomes more uncomfortable, appetite may drop off and an obvious lameness can develop. Sometimes these birds will choose to spend more time on the comfortable deep litter within the coop, only venturing out to feed and returning. If any suspicion is aroused that a bird is uncomfortable, they should be seen by a vet as soon as possible.

What is the treatment for bumblefoot?

Chickens cope incredibly well with legs bandaged! This bird has had surgery for bumblefoot. The bandages cover the surgical site as well as allowing pressure relief to the feet whilst the area in question heals.

Chickens cope incredibly well with legs bandaged! This bird has had surgery for bumblefoot. The bandages cover the surgical site as well as allowing pressure relief to the feet whilst the area in question heals.


By the time a lesion is recognised, the disease is already established. The first line of treatment is recognition, and the more timely this can be, the quicker and more successful the treatment should be.

Antibiotics and pain management are mandatory, with surgery sometimes being required to remove the core plug of infected dead tissue.
 
 
 

An important point to remember is that with many diseases in backyard poultry, the ‘sick bird’ may simply be the tip of the iceberg. If bumblefoot is diagnosed in your flock, ensure you take the time to check the feet of all of your other birds carefully for any lesions.

How can I prevent bumblefoot in my birds?

Spotting the signs early to avoid disease progression minimises the treatment time. So remaining vigilant to signs of disease is always important. However, prevention is always better than cure! There are some simple steps that you can take to ensure that you reduce the chance of bumblefoot affecting your flock:

  1. Watch the weight! – Birds that are overweight naturally put more pressure through their feet. Chickens can vary greatly in size and weight, but the surface contact areas of the feet with the ground vary very little. Therefore the larger/weightier the bird, the more pressure the contact surfaces of the feet are under and therefore the greater the risk of lesions appearing.
  2. Breed predisposition – The larger the bird, the higher the risk of bumblefoot. More slender, slighter breeds will be at lower risk of developing the disease.
  3. Hygiene – The cleaner the environment (run, coop, deep litter), the smaller the bacterial burden on the feet. The cleaner the environment the chickens are in, the less risk there will be of developing lesions.
  4. Perching availability – Naturally these birds are designed to perch. Despite years of breed development, the feet of a chicken still function in a very similar way to their wild counterparts. Because of this, where perching availability is scarce or non-existent, the feet never ‘share’ the burden of the weight of the bird. Due to the weight of the bird being put through the same areas of the foot all day and night, these areas eventually wear, leading way to bumblefoot lesions. A variety of perches should always be available, and the easiest and cheapest way of achieving this is tree branches of varying thicknesses.

If ever in doubt, speak to your vet, even if just to discuss bumblefoot before it is ever an issue. Because once established, it can be one of the trickiest and most frustrating issues to tackle in backyard poultry.