Fantastic Six Chickies! Absolutely fantastic. How does Leo get around? Is he mainly a 'hopper', or does he use his stump for support to walk?
You should totally make a prosthetic with that 3D printer (and then post it on Tumblr and get half a million notes...haha).
Wow, didn't realize it's been so long since I've updated! Sorry for the February-long silence. Not that much has been going on really...Jonsi's daily schedule pretty much consists of coming inside in the morning and evening to eat and have his bandages changed, then spending the day outside...
Stumpdate time!
Jonsi is doing great. The stump is almost healed over. He uses it more and more to get around, and though he's obviously not as mobile as he used to be, he actually gets around quite well by himself. He's going to do great with a prosthetic I think, although it'll probably take...
Glad so many people are finding this thread interesting, and as always, thanks for the kind words and support!
Lil' update on Jonsi - his thick scab peeled off yesterday (and he promptly ate it). I think it peeled off a bit too early, as it's still pretty pink and raw, but it looks to be...
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Thanks! I'll get some more footage of him and work on compiling it into a video.
He sure is...It's just lucky that he's such a chill guy, because he doesn't even mind sitting around more than he already did.
Dang...Well, just goes to show how resilient chickens are I guess! Glad to...
Update Time!
Jonsi is doing great, and his stump is healing up nicely. New skin has grown over the injury, and the big scab probably won't stick around for that much longer. His other foot took some damage from the cold, as the pictures show, but it's healing up as well. The end of his middle...
Thanks for checking out this thread everyone, and for the positive words! They are super appreciated.
Jonsi spent almost the entire day today outside (I have him back out sleeping with the other chickens in the greenhouse). He actually took a dustbath, and enjoyed himself greatly. Yes, he can...
Alright, here it is - my very image-heavy visual guide to how I bandage the stump. Hope it's helpful! :)
'Securing' the patient patient with a towel. This is only to keep him from getting back up, but he's super calm through the whole thing.
This is what the stump looks like so far. You...
Hijack away, this is fantastic! So happy to hear he's doing well, and feel free to keep everyone updated on his progress! :)
Oh, I get it - the tape was too wide. Glad you got it, but think I'll still take some pictures of the bandaging process, for future reference for anyone else that wants it.
Wow, that's great...hope the best for him! Did his leg really not bleed that much?? That seems nuts considering how much Jonsi's leg was squirting out blood, but I'm so happy it worked out. What did you use to cut? Gosh, I'm so happy that I helped save not only my rooster's life, but potentially...
Thanks! Jonsi appreciates the support (maybe that's what his early-morning crowing means ). I think he's still a long ways off from a peg leg, but it's something to think about in the future, for sure. I'm totally going to feel like Hiccup the whole time I'm designing a prosthetic for him, which...
Time for another little update (also, hope everyone had/is having a great holiday season!).
Jonsi is doing really well so far. I clean and change his bandage every day. I put a small square of gauze with some antibiotic cream directly on the wound, then secure it with medical tape, and...
I cut above the gangrene, into healthy tissue, so he certainly could feel the cut. I guess it's a lot less hard on a chicken than it would be on a bigger animal, with a bigger leg and more tissue on the leg though.
I'm going to keep treating the stump with antibiotics, and maybe a bit of fresh...
UPDATE time.
Well, the deed is done. It was probably the worst thing I've ever had to do, but it's done. Amazingly, it was probably harder on me than it was on him, mentally. He only squawked once while I made the cut, and not nearly as loudly or painfully as I would have expected, then went...
It's hard to tell what the skin is like underneath because of those crazy dinosaur scales, but his toes and definitely black and dead. I'm planning on amputation this afternoon, or possibly tomorrow.
I live in the southwest USA. It's not incredibly cold here, it just froze really hard one...
His toes are blackening more and more, so I think it's almost certainly gangrene. The blister that just drained out today had a bit of bloody fluid in it, but was pretty much empty, and when the skin peeled off, it was white underneath, no blood.
UPDATE: I washed his foot off really good, and it still has the rotting smell. Some of the skin above a blister is peeling off, and the skin underneath is white. He definitely has no feeling in his foot, it's dead. I don't think there's any way around cutting it off...because even if I let it...
They have actually, yes. Some of them have popped and drained. The thing I'm really worried about is the fact that his leg smells rotten. I'll go wash it off again, and then see if the smell goes down at all.
If I just leave it to fall off, aren't the chances of the infection spreading very...
Thanks for all the input everyone. Just trying to gather as much info as possible, and mentally prepare myself. I know that it would be better to bring him to a vet, but there is only one vet around here who will even look at chickens, and they hardly do that, and I don't want to spend a...
Thanks for the info Kathy. Would it be better to cut it off at the joint, or below the joint? I would think that cutting it off AT the joint would be harder, seeing as there is more to cut through, and I may not be able to do it in one swift action, and I want to make it as quick as possible...