Need Advice On Amputation ASAP - Rooster Has Frostbitten Leg - UPDATE: Leg Has Been Amputated Succes

[GravelBeak]

A few days ago, it froze really hard and one of my roosters got frostbite on both legs. I took him indoors for a few days to warm up, and while his right leg fared pretty well, his left leg was taking longer to heal up. Unfortunately, my worst fears about it were confirmed when just yesterday I noticed a rotting smell coming from it, even after I washed it off.

Can't really tell from the picture, but his toes are starting to blacken, and some of the skin is peeling. The biggest factor is that he doesn't seem to have any feeling in it, can't walk on it, and of course, it has the rotting smell.
I

As much as I hate to say it, I think the only thing for it is going to be amputation. I know that the best course of action would be to take him to the vet, but there aren't really any vets around here that treat chickens, and other people on this forum seemed to have success doing it themselves, without massive pain to the bird. I never want to put money over the value of life but...I certainly don't think it would be a cheap procedure, even if I could find a vet who would do it, and if I can do it myself without causing an incredible amount of pain to him, I will.

If I do decide to do this myself, is there anyone out there who's done it who who could offer some pointers? For starters, what to cut it with, and WHERE to cut it - above the joint or below, or on the joint. This will probably have to be done very soon, as I don't want the infection to spread.

Thanks so much for looking, and for any input!

 

[jenifry]

If you can't take him to the vet, the most humane thing to do would be to put him down. An amputation isn't something you should do yourself.

~~And for gods sake, if you do, take it off AT the joint, don't try sawing through the bone. It is a matter of severing ligaments if you do it at the joint.~~ Now... Don't do it.

 

[casportpony]

If you can't take him to the vet, the most humane thing to do would be to put him down. An amputation isn't something you should do yourself.

~~And for gods sake, if you do, take it off AT the joint, don't try sawing through the bone. It is a matter of severing ligaments if you do it at the joint.~~ Now... Don't do it.

I have three hens with wings that I amputated that are doing just fine, some amputated at at joint, others not.

-Kathy

 

[GravelBeak]

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 straight back to eating bread afterwards!

So, I ended up using a pair of pruning shears that I boiled first to cut it. Disgusting, I know, but they had the power and the sharpness to do the job. Originally, I was going to peel the skin back a ways so that it would be sure to heal over the bone, but the skin below the 'knee' is far too rigid to move much, so I had to make one quick cut with the shears. I used the bander to create a tourniquet of sorts above the site where I cut. However, I ended up removing it a bit too soon, and the stump started bleeding a lot, so I had to staunch the bleeding before I could bandage it up. I was an idiot and forgot to get blood-stop powder, but constant pressure, some yarrow, and cornstarch did the job.

All this happened yesterday. Changed his bandages this morning, and gave him some yogurt with oatmeal for breakfast, and a clove of garlic to discourage infection. I bandaged the stump with some yarrow, initially, to help stop the bleeding, then put some antibiotic paste on later.

He was actually crowing this morning and waking everyone up! He seems a lot better off, and perkier with that lump of dead meat off of his body. As I said, it was probably a lot harder on me, mentally. I was pretty much an emotional wreck yesterday, worrying if I was going to do it right, whether I should do it at all, and then if I HAD done it right. For that, and for the obvious fact that can be risky, I certainly don't recommend that other people try amputation at home, unless you absolutely have to. However, if you can't access a vet who works with chickens, and/or if it's a choice between killing and amputation, do the amputation. It doesn't seem to be that bad for chickens, amazingly.

Going to possibly eventually make him a prosthetic, or at least a peg-leg, and see how that works out for him. For now, he's focused on healing, and doing a lot better than he was with that leg hanging from him. Just have to hope now that it heals right, with the skin healing OVER the stump.

Thanks for all the input everyone, I'll try to update in a few days with progress! Wish him luck.

Just a big, goofy, mellow dude. BTW, his name is Jonsi (yes, like the Icelandic musician

).

 

[GravelBeak]

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 some trial-and-error. He spends most of the time outside (it's been really unusually mild here). I'm still getting some footage to edit together of him. I still change his bandage every day, and give him garlic here and there, and some extra food to help with rebuilding the tissue. He's a pro at eating. Thinking of entering him into the National Stuff Your Face Championships this year.

His foot is actually taking more time to heal up than his stump, as it suffered quite a bit of cold damage, but I think it'll be fine. I've had to bandage it up lately, because the scabs were rubbing off and it was bleeding pretty bad. It's a good sign that the toes are bleeding though, as it means there's healthy, alive tissue underneath, but it makes them painful to stand on of course, so that makes it even more essential to bandage them.

I wish I'd gotten some vid of this, but I didn't see it until later: he was on the deck today, and one of the hens, Rose, came up and laid an egg in the little dogs' house, and he presumably stood by the nest, like roosters do, and watched her lay the egg.

The other day, he was in the greenhouse with a hen and circled around her several times, then showed her a nest. I was AMAZED at how well he was able to get around to circle around her.

Have some pics:


Looks a little raw, but it's about at the level of a scraped-knee at this point. Not far to go!


Scabby toes...


In his 'eating container'.



His slightly spaced out expression is probably funnier than it should be.



I'm very, very happy with how well Jonsi's situation has been turning out, considering how badly it started. As always, thanks so much for the kind words of support everyone!

 

[DylansMom]

Hey... I'm hardly on here, But absolutely love the way everyone can connect and share Such wonderful information.
I have quite a dilemma. I have a duck who has two legs pretty much flipped up the wrong way and toes curled in. My guess is that it had splayed leg, And then the Achilles tendon popped And that was that. Anyway, I've already tried taping feet flat, leg back to pop tendon in place, wrapping, etc. The leg I worked on got picked at and swelled up like a balloon. I took to vet and she said put it down. Grrrrr.
I said I just wanted amputation so I could make her little soft boots with duck feet on the bottom so she could walk easier. Vet was a d**che about the whole thing. Sorry for the colorful language. Anyway, limbs are alive. Feet can move a bit. But I can't get those legs back because been this way since before I rescued. She was, according to previous owners, hatched out this way. And she was like 3 weeks old when got her. She's like 6 weeks now. I feel like if nobody is going to help her, I need to step up and do something. Those lower legs and feet really mess her up. I can see her frustration trying to struggle to walk. Plus the bones at the ends hitting the floor. Poor thing.
And I can't put Any feet on her because the bones are literally side by side! Not even lined up normally but actually folded and next to each other. I need mega references/advice
Anything. I'm scared too because if I do anything wrong and end up losing her I'll jump off a bridge. Haha. I'm completely attached to this baby. My little special Kiwi...

Could you seriously put this down????????

Try to find a prosthetics office in your area, then see if they will look at the poor little thing. If they think they could help you with designing and building workable prosthetic legs and feet, then a veterinarian will be much more likely to do an amputation. And "No", I couldn't put that down either.

 

[casportpony]

I've never amputated a limb due to frostbite, but I have hacked off a few wings from other injuries. If I were going to do it I think I would probably do it about .5"-1" above the black part.

-Kathy

 

[luvmigrls]

I am to sorry to hear that. You can do a search under this same category, just type in words like frost bite & amputate. Carpathy seems to have a lot of medical knowledge or links to follow. I have heard of chickens living of one foot, mine may also have to. Hope you get some answers.

 

[casportpony]

It will probably take some searching, but I think you might find some helpful info in one of these links:
http://avianmedicine.net/

-Kathy

 

[luvmigrls]

Looks like Kathy had already seen your post. I have done a few hands on things like cutting out bumble foot, which I failed at. I just made her foot a bloody mess. So I gave up, treated it with a topical, and bandaged it. She still has it but seems to be getting around and is OK. Brave little girl. At any rate I do not have he heart to hurt them. Best of luck to you.