Black australorp w/ frostbitten legs?

[chuckdog]

Usually my wife takes care of the chickens, but as it has been so cold, I wasn't working today so I went out to feed the chickens and ponies. When I went out to feed the chickens, I took some feed into their coop and all but one chicken followed me in. The last hen couldn't jump up into the door so I picked her up and brought her into the heated garage with me with some feed as I figured she was sick or something. I put her in a cardboard box, with a handful of food and a little dish of water and then went out to feed the rest of the chickens and dethaw their water etc. I came in with a dog carrier from the barn and figured I would put the sick hen inside there for a couple of days in my garage which is warmer and see if she gets better. When I picked her up to put her in the dog carrier, I noticed that her feet weren't moving at all. I tried to move them and they are stiff like a board. It has been very cold here the last day or two in WI, with temps in the low teens to single digits for highs, and lows below zero. I don't know if she was sick and went outside and couldn't get back in and stayed out overnight, but if she has frostbit feet, is she going to die, or should I put her out of her misery so she doesn't suffer? As soon as I put food in front of her, she started to eat but she can't even move around at all in the pet carrier; she was just leaning back and forth. Was wondering if there's anything I can do for her other then keep her in the heated garage(40 degrees) for a couple days and pray for the best.

 

[b.hromada]

Wow, I don't know the answer to your question. Just thought I'd bump it up for you. I hope it all works out for your girl.

 

[hen-thusiast]

Quote:
I think it's your call and should be based on her behavior and quality of life. Chickens can lost part of their feet, even their entire foot (or in some cases, feet) and have a relatively normal life. You can try putting aspirin in her water or dribble aspirin water along her beak if she appears to be in pain.

I'm concerned that she can't really move around and just leans, if it is frostbite, that sounds like an extremely severe case. I would definitely keep her comfortable and warm. If possible could you keep her on some shavings or something else soft?

 

[chuckdog]

Maybe I was a little over worried. She is somewhat moving around in the pet carrier although somewhat clumsy. I went in to check on her and she had one foot in her feed dish, so she must have lifted it high enough to get it in there. I don't know how to tell if she has frostbitten feet or not. I will keep an eye on her the next couple days and see what happens. I could put some shavings in there for her to walk around on, or a couple old towels, as the bottom is just plastic. I think some aspirin in her water wouldn't hurt anything. Thanks for the help.

 

[hen-thusiast]

I really recommend aspirin water and pine shavings. The shavings make them much more comfortable.

Here's a link to aspirin dosage (page created by Farmer Kitty):

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=4031-Misc_Info

The usual dosage recommended on BYC is 5 regular (325 mg) aspirin (NO SUBSTITUTES) crushed and mixed with ONE GALLON of water.

Baby aspirin that is truly just aspirin is fine. Just make sure it's not any kind of aspirin substitute. A baby aspirin is 81mg and crushed in a cup of water is about the same strength as five 325 mg regular aspirins in a gallon of water. Gave the smaller batch equivalent since it's one bird and gallon batches are more than what's needed. As you are already doing, wait till the bleeding problem subsides.........
JJthink

If you want to see some pictures of what frostbitten feet look like, go this this thread and there are pictures on post #23. I'm not sure on exactly how old the frostbite was when we got them.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=282509&p=1​

 

[chuckdog]

I just went back in there and she was standing on one leg and had the other pulled up by her body. She's moving around fairly good and then she sat down fine on the floor. Maybe she was just faking it so she could get a free trip inside!! Well, she got her wish, I'll keep her inside until the weekend so make sure she's ok.

 

[chuckdog]

Thank you very much for posting the link to the previous thread on frostbite. I will keep an eye on her and watch to see how her feet are doing and whether or not she has any frostbite. I will have to keep an eye on the rest of them as well. It's funny how emotionally attached we get to these guys. My mom and dad have a chicken tractor I made for my dad for fathers day and I gave them to hens, and a rooster. They are all australorps, with one hen and the rooster being that bluish color, and the other hen a straight black australorp. My mom called me on Tuesday and their rooster Jack passed away. Don't know what happened, and we brought the whole chicken tractor inside my dad's heated shop for the winter, so weather wasn't an issue.

 

[hen-thusiast]

Good luck, I hope it's nothing. Those sound like encouraging signs, but I agree, just keep an eye on her for a bit.

Sorry about the passing of Jack.

It is amazing how attached we get to them.