# Frostbite or bumble foot?



## Jmartin92 (10 mo ago)

Hey all,
I’ve got a five year old rooster who’s got something going on with his foot. We had an extremely brutal winter here & I don’t know if he developed frost bite or what is happening, but three of his “toes” have turned black. He can barely walk or put weight on it. We took him in and made a little spot for him in our garage to keep him warm, we’ve been soaking his foot in epsom salt and warm water. Not sure if we are even doing the right thing, we really have no poultry vets around here. His toes have been black for a little over a week now, haven’t fallen off. his foot started looking funky a couple months ago and I wish we acted on it it then. At first I thought it was bumblefoot but with it being two months I feel like his heath would have declined from infection. He’s still eating, drinking, crowing and is alert. Should we just wait for the toes to fall off and see how well he does? Has anyone else experienced this?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Yeah, it's frostbite. Have you kept him out of the cold since you realized something was up? It's important it not get extra cold again. You're doing OK with the soaks. Just keep watch.

If you want to prevent this happening again, provide them with a 2X4 roost with the 4 inch side up. That way when the hunker down for the night they cover their feet. 

Please keep us posted. I know he hurts. Oh, you can dissolve a 325 mg aspirin in a gallon of water to reduce his pain.


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## Jmartin92 (10 mo ago)

robin416 said:


> Yeah, it's frostbite. Have you kept him out of the cold since you realized something was up? It's important it not get extra cold again. You're doing OK with the soaks. Just keep watch.
> 
> If you want to prevent this happening again, provide them with a 2X4 roost with the 4 inch side up. That way when the hunker down for the night they cover their feet.
> 
> Please keep us posted. I know he hurts. Oh, you can dissolve a 325 mg aspirin in a gallon of water to reduce his pain.


He has been out of the cold since we noticed. The only weird thing is that his foot is puffy - that’s where I was wondering about infection- but it really doesn’t look like bumble foot. This is helpful though! thank you for this input. I will definitely dissolve some aspirin in the water to help with his pain , poor guy is a trooper. I will post a picture tomorrow to show what I mean by the puffiness.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

It can be infection. Or it can be poor circulation due to the frostbite. 

So far you've done what needed to be done to help him. The aspirin might also reduce the swelling.


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