An Injury on Beauty’s Foot – 5/25/12
A very observant Rochester Falconcam forum member brought to our attention that there appeared to be an injury to Beauty’s left foot, between the two left toes.
We sent pictures of the injury to Barbara Loucks at the NYS DEC, who then sent them on to their veterinarian.
Beauty's Foot
According to their Vet, it’s unlikely to be bumblefoot due to its location between the digits and on the upper surface. It is most likely an abscess from a penetrating wound or from a foreign body. They are not always painful because the body walls it off. It will not necessarily make Beauty ill.
While we cannot be certain, it is a possibility that she was injured during a battle.
Barbara would like to remind us that, in her experience, many birds survive fine with injuries like this one and live long lives. Beauty may have this thicker foot area forever if it doesn’t progress.
Pictures of the affected area on Beauty’s foot will be sent to Barbara weekly, so that the DEC and their Vet will be able to observe the progression of the injury.
If the infection progresses and worsens, the DEC will consider treating Beauty by leaving prey items injected with antibiotics near the nest site.
We would like to thank Ei, a long time member of the Rfalconcam forum, for bringing this to our attention. It allowed us to quickly notify our friends at the DEC about Beauty’s condition and get their expert opinions.
A Quick Update (5/30/12): As requested, we will be sending pictures of Beauty’s injured foot to Barbara Loucks of the NYS DEC weekly. This is so she will be able to share the pics with their vet, showing the progress of the injury. We sent some pictures last night (5/29/12) and have already received a response back from Barbara stating that their vet did not think it looked significantly different. We will continue to send pictures weekly to the DEC so that they may continue to monitor the progression of Beauty’s injury.
May 26th, 2012 at 10:14 PM
WOW. Good spotting, Ei, if it is an injury or bumblefoot. Since I’m just catching up…just what is ‘bumblefoot”. For some reason, I’ve heard the term before, but no idea what it means.
May 26th, 2012 at 10:35 PM
Bumblefoot is a specific infection of the skin on bird’s feet that most often requires topical and internal antibiotics to heal. It usually comes from improper & prolonged perching in raptors in captivity.
May 28th, 2012 at 9:11 PM
Thank you. I looked at pic from today, and her foot does looks better, and there is no swelling near the band. I hope all is well for Beauty.