Neurotic toes

[Dawn62]

NECROTIC TOES. NOT Neurotic! Hahaha! Auto-correct got me again.

A couple of weeks ago my rooster got his toes caught in the holes of a brick when it flipped over from his weight. In his panic, he severely injured two toes. We got him through the swelling and thought he was going to be fine, but we've noticed that now the swelling has gone down, his injured toes have shrunk abnormally and turned black. My question is whether or not this necrosis might continue beyond the injured toes, or will the neurotic tissue simply fall off, leaving the remaining healthy tissue untouched? If not, do we amputate the dead tissue? He seems to be fine otherwise...well, except now his walking gait reminds me of the prancing walk of a runway model. He is a high stepper with both feet now.

 

[redsoxs]

Hmmm...I've heard of restless legs, but not neurotic toes! Autocorrect gets me all the time, too! I typed "necrotic toes" into the BYC search box and several old threads came up. Maybe you'll learn what others in the same circumstance have done. Here's one that had some info https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/852344/necrotic-toes-graphic-pics
Good luck to you!

 

[Dawn62]

Thanks, redsoxs. I have been searching on-site, but so far all the necrosis I've been reading about has been pertaining to frostbite. It's September, but in Arkansas that just means summer is getting tolerable. I'm still not sure what to do.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you post some photos?

What treatment(s) if any have you used so far?

 

[Wilebaum]

Likely, just waiting until they self amputate will be OK. If you amputate you'd need to do it through healthy tissue and you might just create a greater chance of systemic infection. Certainly monitor above the site for redness/swelling in case you need to rethink or introduce an antibiotic.
You'd be surprised how many times in healthcare I've seen humans with necrotic toes(for a variety of reasons) that the MD just advised waiting until they fall off.
Pictures would help.

 

[chickens really]

The black toes are dead and dying tissue...You could put rubber bands on the toes tightly and wait till they fall off on their own..Put him on an antibiotic for two weeks...

Just a suggestion....

 

[Dawn62]

I'm not home, so pictures will have to wait till this evening. If they will self-amputate, I am leaning towards this option. I don't want to risk infection. I was just worried about whether the necrosis might travel further up his foot/leg. I had a dog who disappeared for a week (this was years ago when I was a teenager); he had gotten caught in a trap and didn't make it home until he managed to chew through his dead foot. He came home with just the broken bones hanging from the joint above them. I lopped off the necrotic remnants, and he lived a long and happy life with 3 1/2 legs. I'm not squeamish; I just don't want to cause any extra stress on his system unless it's necessary.

 

[chickens really]

If you can band at a joint....Infection is always a threat with any dying tissue....Antibiotics and keeping the area clean will help till the toes fall off...

 

[Dawn62]

I apologize for nor getting photos of his toes. Family emergency superseded, and this just went to the rear of the line. I didn't have chance to deal with his toes for a few days, and by the time I was able to check on him, one of the blackened toes had already fallen off, and tge second was in the process of falling off. So, I've just kept an eye on him and let him be. During the day, he tends to choose one corner of the pen. At night, he has a little hit more trouble with getting settled on a roost. The first night in the new pen, I found him in a corner below all the other chickens who had roosted. I picked him up and put him on the lowest roost, and he's roosted there ever since. (I had built all my roosts using the wide edge of 2x4s, except that bottom roost is a 2x6.)