Bumblefoot

[Daisy]

Hi everyone,

Can anyone tell me about bumblefoot in budgies? I have a budgie who was just diagnosed.... she's 6 years old, and currently staying 48 hours at the avian Vet to start on antibiotics and fluids, since she had developed a sytemic infection. I'm pretty confident that she'll be fine, and is in good hands (this is an excellent vet), but I just want to know more about the condition.
Does anyone have any experience treating a bird with bumblefoot? How serious of a condition is it? How long does it take to recover? What steps can be taken to prevent it recurring?
Thanks for any insights/advice!

~ D.

[Budgiekin]

Essentially bumblefoot refers to inflammation/infection of the bottom of the foot and is fairly common in budgies. Initially, the signs are a thinning of the skin on the foot bottom and redness. As it worsens, ulcers can develop on the pads of the feet. When the condition gets more serious, the feet swell and there can be necrotic (dead) tissue. When it progresses even more, the bone of the foot can also become infected.

There are several causes of bumblefoot, the most common being hard plastic perches, sandpaper perches, poor nutirition (e.g. vitamin A deficiency), and unclean perches where bacteria builds up and infects the budgie's feet.

The best thing you can do for your budgie initially is to offer softer perches (the cotton rope perches are great) and softer wood perches. In addition, you will want to make sure your little sweety is getting adequate vitamins (especially vitamin A which is found in carrots). Also make sure the perches are clean.

The antibiotics your vet prescribed may be used in combination with anti-inflammatories to reduce the swelling and discomfort. Sometimes if the budgie has a severe case of bumblefoot, bandages may need to be applied to the foot to prevent further infection; these must be changed regularly.

In my reading up on this condition, I found out that severe cases of bumblefoot can takes weeks or months to improve. I'm not sure how serious your budgie's infection is...

I hope this information helps! Good luck with your sweety and please keep us updated with how the little fellow is doing. ;)

[Daisy]

thanks for your reply... that sure fills me in with a lot of info. I will be going to pick up my sweet girl from the vet today (Dr. wanted her to stay an extra night, although she is apparently picking up.) , so I will see how serious her infection is. Thanks again - I will give an update once I have her home!

~D.

[Daisy]

Sorry... I forgot to mention that I have set up a new cage for her with padded perches... although I know she will hate them, as she is usually quite timid of new things. Probably not such a nice homecoming for her with "scary" perches, but I know that they will be easier on her little feet!

[Budgiekin]

I wish your little sweety all the best with her recovery! Please keep us up to date with how she is doing! ;)