Buff Orpington pullet with huge swollen thigh on Left leg- Help/advice needed!

[Sunflower]

Good luck with your Goosie girl! Prayers for a full recovery!!

 

[kacklinkelly]

hoping to hear continuing positive news regarding goosie.

 

[cowcreekgeek]

Thanks mg15!

Ok, so I found a nice round plastic container that turned out to be JUST the right size for a soaking tub for Goosie! I gave her the first Epsom Salt soak tonight for 20 minutes. She seemed to enjoy it, and towards the end she kept relaxing and starting to fall asleep and sinking deeper into the water!

BTW, this tub is just large enough for her legs and main body, and her head rests over one side and her tail hangs out over the other side. I will have to get a picture of her in the tub later...

The main problem with these soaks is that it takes a LOOOONG time to dry her off afterwards, even with a hair dryer to help! The whole process took near an hour I am thinking, including the drying time. But I don't mind if it will help Goosie get better! I managed to gently peel off part of one of the scabs on her sore leg after the soak, it came off easily and there was pink healthy skin underneath. But I haven't been able to get the deepest part of the scab off yet. I am encouraged though, that these soaks will help. Thanks again cowcreekgeek!

I will keep you all updated on Goosie's progress, and post more pictures when I can. I also plan to measure around her swollen leg tomorrow morning, so I have something to go by WHEN it starts going down...

Praying hard!

~Joy

When it comes to wounds, and most esp. bites from other animals, the most important step is to get all the saliva and bacteria out of the wound, and as quickly as you possibly can. That's how you prevent the infections/swelling that Goosie's got. But, twice a day in the epsom salt may be enough to help her turn this thing around, although she may still require antibiotics, and possibly opening the wound(s) so as to drain any abscess.

 

[JoyfulPromise]

Ok, so here is the morning update on Goosie. She drank about 2 oz of diluted Ningxia Red (a high vitamin and antioxidant fruity supplement), and ate some kefir grains (probiotics) and kefired milk (like yogurt). She picked at her regular grain layer mash, and then eagerly ate about 8-10 darkling beetles from my mealworm colony (all my worms are babies right now).

I then set up her morning Epsom soak, and before putting her in the tub, I measured her bad leg with a soft measuring tape. The swollen part is about 10 inches around, and her good leg measures less than 4 inches around at that point. Here is a new picture of her swollen leg.



If you compare it to the picture on the previous page, you should notice the part between the two pink bumps on the right of the swelling is where I peeled off some of the yellow part of the scab last night.

And now, here is Goosie in her bath...



She was a little fidgety right at first, it being much lighter than last night and she was not so sleepy, but with my hand gently over her back, she relaxed and was able to soak another 20 minutes. This picture is actually right at the beginning, later in the soak she settles down and even gets the edge of her wings in the water.

After drying her off, I was able to get more of the scab off, but I am still hesitant to force the deeper part of the scab off. I can do it if it is necessary, but it just seems wrong to yank off a healing scab. I know it may be hiding infection though.

Just to let you know, we do not have the funds to take a chicken to a vet, and even if we did, there is NO vet near us that will treat chickens, or fowl of any kind. Believe me, we have checked before! So any treatment Goosie gets will have to be done by us. We would prefer to avoid antibiotics, but I have been using natural antibiotic essential oils on her wound and occasionally in her water and food. The swelling does not seem any warmer to the touch than her normal body temperature. Otherwise she seems clear eyed and alert. I am hoping and praying that SOMETHING will start bringing this swelling down soon, and she can go back to a "normal" chicken life!

 

[cowcreekgeek]

She drank about 2 oz of diluted Ningxia Red (a high vitamin and antioxidant fruity supplement), and ate some kefir grains (probiotics) and kefired milk (like yogurt). She picked at her regular grain layer mash, and then eagerly ate about 8-10 darkling beetles from my mealworm colony (all my worms are babies right now).

I am still hesitant to force the deeper part of the scab off. I can do it if it is necessary, but it just seems wrong to yank off a healing scab. I know it may be hiding infection though.

Just to let you know, we do not have the funds to take a chicken to a vet, and even if we did, there is NO vet near us that will treat chickens, or fowl of any kind. Believe me, we have checked before! So any treatment Goosie gets will have to be done by us.

We would prefer to avoid antibiotics, but I have been using natural antibiotic essential oils on her wound and occasionally in her water and food. The swelling does not seem any warmer to the touch than her normal body temperature. Otherwise she seems clear eyed and alert. I am hoping and praying that SOMETHING will start bringing this swelling down soon, and she can go back to a "normal" chicken life!

I've sorta color-coded my response to the snippets from your latest post, but before I do? A suggestion, as to how to keep her in the bucket ... you could place a longer towel under it, placing each end over her once she's in. Or, if there's some pantyhose around? That material's great for retaining bandages 'n such, but I figure you could use it to wrap over the bird (or even around each of the bucket's handles) so as to keep her in place.

Many folks aren't impressed by the benefit that some natural cures hold, but it's clearly a great idea to replace the soluble vitamins with higher levels during illness and after injury, which this sorta thing does. And, the fact you use 'em is why I've not pushed the immediate thoughts of injecting w/ an antibiotic ... something I don't like using internally either, if I can possibly aviod it.

And, here's where I'll prove just how stupid I really am ... Indeed, there is a good chance that there's pockets of infection trapped w/in the wounds. In the following photo, you'll see that I don't just suggest diggin' around on animals w/o bein' willin' to dig around on myself. It does cause discomfort, and often bleeding, but it's sometimes the only way to get out stuff that you don't wanna have trapped beneath healthy tissue. In this example, I'm extracting infection which resulted from a secondary infection, which I got when treating another animal that had been bitten by a copperhead.

​

I've never encouraged anyone to take a chicken to a vet; to me? It makes far better sense to spend all the money they'd take on supplies and, if req'd, replacements to those that didn't make it ... and it's easy to argue that those which do most often become the entry point for the disease(s). Besides that, most vets are gonna be pretty much clueless when it comes to poultry ... no offense to the few that aren't. But, they'll often still take folks' money.

Don't expect too much too quickly, as this will take considerable time. Checking for changes in temperature and behavior is exactly what you wanna do, when it comes to infections. Keep an eye on her foot, for signs of swelling or discoloration. You're doin' very well, but don't be afraid to do whatever you believe to be in the best interest of your 'patient' even if you think it's gonna cause her pain ... they are made very differently than we are.

 

[JoyfulPromise]

Thanks cowcreekgeek! That was very helpful and encouraging.

Patience and consistency is the key for now...and prayers for wisdom!

 

[cowcreekgeek]

Thanks cowcreekgeek! That was very helpful and encouraging.

Patience and consistency is the key for now...and prayers for wisdom!

Thank you ... and, patience/consistency is pretty much the key to all things (along w/ havin' the wisdom to pray ~'-)

 

[JoyfulPromise]

Well, Goosie has had 5 Epsom baths so far, with no visible results yet. I am trying to be patient, but some others in my family think we should just go ahead and lance it and see if we can get some pus out. Now let me clarify, I am not squeamish AT ALL in regards to squeezing out infection or pus in a wound! I rather enjoy it...

But, in Goosie's case, there is no obvious white head or pocket of pus. It is just a large slightly squishy swollen pink chicken thigh! I hate to just stab it blindly! But several near me think that is the wisest course. Anyone else?

Behavior wise Goosie seems about the same - calm, alert, very picky as to eating, with normal colored loose-ish poops.

One of my main concerns with lancing the swelling is being able to efficiently stop the major bleeding that I am sure will occur. We have used cornstarch, and flour, and cayenne powder in the past with limited success. (the Cayenne actually works better on people!

) Any suggestions as to a reliable blood coagulator that you have used?

Still desperately praying for wisdom!

~Joy

 

[kacklinkelly]

Sorry, I have no suggestion regarding the condition. Have you thought about posting in the thread for people with 20 years plus experience?
Am sure there is a wealth of knowledge there.

 

[cowcreekgeek]

Sorry, I have no suggestion regarding the condition. Have you thought about posting in the thread for people with 20 years plus experience?
Am sure there is a wealth of knowledge there.

That'd be a really good idea, but I'd bet most will suggest culling as the best cure )-;~