Booted Bantam toe amputation

[Snuggie]

Howdy, and Welcome to Backyard Chickens.

Happy to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!

Hope everything goes well with your Roo!!!

Thanks for joining our community!

Thank you!

 

[Snuggie]

Welcome to BYC. I'm sure your husband will come around. Good luck to you and your sweet little rooster.

Thank you. I think he will. Hopefully. Lol.

 

[janiedoe]

Thank you. I think he will. Hopefully. Lol.

I hope you'll keep us updated.

 

[Snuggie]

First of all, bless you for taking this boy and caring about him. He's lucky to have you. I know how much effort you are putting into his care; I have a long-term house chicken and recent experience dealing with the aftermath of serious frostbite.

Eleanor suffered severe frostbite on both of her feet in December, while living in the same coop she'd lived in for three years and with three other hens, none of whom got frostbite. Eleanor was going through a late, hard molt -- which I thought was the reason for her odd non-roosting behavior, not realizing it was frostbite and ensuing bumblefoot.

Long story short -- three vet visits, IV fluids, amputation of half of her toes, six weeks of twice-daily warm Epsom salt baths, vet wrap bandage changes and burn ointment, daily pain meds and her feet have healed but look HORRIBLE. However, she's alive, and she can walk.

Eleanor has been indoors since December; there's no way I can just put her outside in the frigid weather and/or hope her old coop mates will recognize her. She has a wire dog kennel with a very wide roost. At first, I was holding her water dish up to her face so she could drink because she acted as if she couldn't get down to the floor. I finally caught her hopping on and off the roost, and now make her get her own water so she exercises her legs. She spends the great majority of her day perched on her roost, resting on her hocks, where she greatly enjoys her meals and treats.

I have (another long story) an accidental house chicken that lives on a separate floor of the house. Now that Eleanor is as recovered as she will likely ever be, I am planning to move her crate near Dottie's to see if they could become friends. Should that happen, I would like to move both of them outdoors when it gets warm enough this spring. If they don't bond, I guess I will come up with yet another plan. I can't give up on either one of them.

Best wishes with his surgery. Keep us posted, please.

Morning! He is in a giant wire crate as well. What do you use as a roost? Everytime I put the roost in the crate, he just face plants off of. I tried three times with a wood piece (extra trim let over) it’s about 4 inches wide. The third time he fell he gave me an evil look like “Lady, what is your flipping deal? Do you want me to have a busted up face too?” So I gave up. I put a small crate inside the bigger crate and he seems to like to hang out on top of the smaller crate. I put a fluffy towel on top as well. Now, how long did it take for Eleanor’s feet to start to heal? When did she start jumping back on to things? My roo only hops up on top of the small crate or my lap as of now. He really prefers soft things to sit on. Will that change after the surgery? At his previous house he was sleeping on straw not his roost. He was attacked so many times that I don’t think he likes using a roost. I could be wrong tho. I don’t think I can convince my husband to get him a friend, unless he goes outside to his coop. Which I’m freaked out about. Could he live indoors just in the cold seasons? Or is the back and forth not good for him? I’ve never had to deal with this before.

 

[Snuggie]

Morning! He is in a giant wire crate as well. What do you use as a roost? Everytime I put the roost in the crate, he just face plants off of. I tried three times with a wood piece (extra trim let over) it’s about 4 inches wide. The third time he fell he gave me an evil look like “Lady, what is your flipping deal? Do you want me to have a busted up face too?” So I gave up. I put a small crate inside the bigger crate and he seems to like to hang out on top of the smaller crate. I put a fluffy towel on top as well. Now, how long did it take for Eleanor’s feet to start to heal? When did she start jumping back on to things? My roo only hops up on top of the small crate or my lap as of now. He really prefers soft things to sit on. Will that change after the surgery? At his previous house he was sleeping on straw not his roost. He was attacked so many times that I don’t think he likes using a roost. I could be wrong tho. I don’t think I can convince my husband to get him a friend, unless he goes outside to his coop. Which I’m freaked out about. Could he live indoors just in the cold seasons? Or is the back and forth not good for him? I’ve never had to deal with this before

I hope you'll keep us updated.

I will! Surgery is next Thursday. I drop him off at 8 am and pick him up the next day!

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
I know others have had house roosters. I saw a video of a couple who adopted a perfectly normal gold Sebright rooster that ended up moving into the house with them. He would fly up on their ceiling fan! You can buy little chicken diapers for him. I also saw a video where some college students fitted a disabled chicken with prosthetic feet. Good luck with him and enjoy him!

omg. Chicken diapers. Do they get really messy back there while wearing them? Thanks.

 

[Snuggie]

Hi, sorry to hear about your boy. Other members have (or had) house chickens, you can find posts about them by using the "Search forums" tool. Best wishes!

Thank you.

 

[Callender Girl]

I am totally familiar with the "evil chicken face." Since I felt terribly guilty about not realizing what was wrong with Eleanor I MAY have read some bad intent into her glaring, unblinking stares.

Eleanor first saw the vet the Friday after Christmas; I discovered her frostbite the day after Christmas, but I had to wait to get her to the only competent avian vet in the area. On Jan. 5, she roosted on my arm for the first time (yes, I keep fairly detailed notes; spent decades working at newspapers). By that time, big chunks of skin were coming off when we did the soaks. Her damaged toes were totally stiff and completely black. On Jan. 13 she had her first "healthy"-looking cecal poop -- you know, the runny, putrid-smelling stuff. I was kind of thrilled, honestly.

Her last vet visit was Jan. 23; although she was far from healed, she no longer needed a vet. I've read of chickens who "autoamputate" their toes. But her toes were vet-amputated, and all I had to do was keep up the soaks and wraps at home until we reached the six-week mark. Her feet were getting more healthy, pink skin every day.

Have to admit, I had to overcome a lot of queasy reluctance during her recovery. At first, pulling off the nasty dead skin kind of made me nauseated. It soon became no big deal.

I also use scrap wood for a roost. Eleanor's is a chunk of a cedar picket, about 5 1/2 inches wide, that I have clamped to the wire cage.

I do think she appreciates soft places. I can guarantee she NEVER wanted to sit on my lap when she was an outdoor chicken.

Dottie, the house chicken, has lived indoors for going on three years. She takes "field trips" outdoors in nice weather but has serious issues with other chickens. With no chicken friends indoors, Dottie has bonded with my blind cat and one of my two rescue dogs. Before the newest dog made it chaotic, Dots would lie on the sofa with me and the other two critters.

I have never used chicken diapers, but I do buy a LOT of paper towels. I am quite certain it is impossible to "housebreak" a chicken .

Eager to hear how the surgery goes!

 

[swampfox440]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

 

[Snuggie]

I am totally familiar with the "evil chicken face." Since I felt terribly guilty about not realizing what was wrong with Eleanor I MAY have read some bad intent into her glaring, unblinking stares.

Eleanor first saw the vet the first week of January; I discovered her frostbite the day after Christmas, but I had to wait to get her to the only competent avian vet in the area. On Jan. 5, she roosted on my arm for the first time (yes, I keep fairly detailed notes; spent decades working at newspapers). By that time, big chunks of skin were coming off when we did the soaks. Her damaged toes were totally stiff and completely black. On Jan. 13 she had her first "healthy"-looking cecal poop -- you know, the runny, putrid-smelling stuff. I was kind of thrilled, honestly.

Her last vet visit was Jan. 23; although she was far from healed, she no longer needed a vet. I've read of chickens who "autoamputate" their toes. But her toes were vet-amputated, and all I had to do was keep up the soaks and wraps at home until we reached the six-week mark. Her feet were getting more healthy, pink skin every day.

Have to admit, I had to overcome a lot of queasy reluctance during her recovery. At first, pulling off the nasty dead skin kind of made me nauseated. It soon became no big deal.

I also use scrap wood for a roost. Eleanor's is a chunk of a cedar picket, about 5 1/2 inches wide, that I have clamped to the wire cage.

I do think she appreciates soft places. I can guarantee she NEVER wanted to sit on my lap when she was an outdoor chicken.

Dottie, the house chicken, has lived indoors for going on three years. She takes "field trips" outdoors in nice weather but has serious issues with other chickens. With no chicken friends indoors, Dottie has bonded with my blind cat and one of my two rescue dogs. Before the newest dog made it chaotic, Dots would lie on the sofa with me and the other two critters.

I have never used chicken diapers, but I do buy a LOT of paper towels. I am quite certain it is impossible to "housebreak" a chicken .

Eager to hear how the surgery goes!

thanks for the reply. I think I will use a bigger piece of wood. I’m going to wait to try again with the roost until after his surgery to see how he adjusts. I don’t want to keep throwing new things at him. I will say this tho, With as much as I hold him and carry him around, he has not pooped on me! Not ONCE!! Weird I know. I will post as soon as his surgery is done. Thanks again.

 

[Callender Girl]

BTW, I need to point out --and I will edit it -- her first vet visit was actually the Friday after Christmas. I switched record books around the first of the year and thought I could rely on my memory. BAD idea!

Eleanor hasn't pooped on me yet, but she did poop Every Single Time after I carried her to the bathroom and sat her on the floor to remove her bandages.