Chicken foot fell off

[tricid]

Their prices are more than fair if you want to go that route. I don't want to step on anyone's toes, and that'd be a quicker option. The 'foot' of theirs is near exactly what I had in mind, but the upper part I was imagining something a bit different.

Curiosity with a sprinkle of doing a good deed has me interested in designing/making something if desired. Would probably be a lot of back and forth and tests to get something right, and time.

 

[RoyalChick]

I don't think you are sidetracking the thread at all, since Betsy is the subject of this thread, and she will soon need prosthetics! I only loaded photos/gave info re my hen's stumps on this thread to show why I think it would be better for @NBraun2624 to get prosthetics for Betsy asap after her stumps have healed, if they choose to go that route.

That is the business I contacted, since they seem to be by far the most popular prosthetics maker on Etsy. I reread their website just now to see if the video links are now working. They have updated their website some, and now say they currently have no videos of birds using their products. Their heart seems to be in the right place as far as trying to help avian amputees regain mobility, and their prosthetics may in fact be effective. But I am a "show me the evidence and then I will make my decision" kind of person, and I haven't Yet seen their evidence. I have no intent to discourage anyone from trying them out, and would love to see a video of a bird that that wears their products!

Good point. I just ordered a splint so will give it a go. It wasn’t a big ticket item and I was spending half my life trying to create stuff at home so felt worth a try.

 

[NBraun2624]

It is likely more common than we know, especially since the vast majority of cases never get reported on BYC, or anywhere else for that matter. . Chicken amputees are either immediately euthanized, or left to hobble along on their stumps as best as they can.

It would be Soooo awesome if you are able to help. My intuition says it would be best to have a bird fitted for prosthetics as soon as possible after the stump(s have healed. Here are photos of the reason why.
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Fourteen months after her frostbite injuries, my hen has learned to rebalance herself when she stands and walks by making herself new flat "foot pads" on her shanks. She does Not stand on the ends of her shanks where the feet detached. This is structurally not a good thing, and may eventually cause compensatory injuries to her hocks, hips, etc. But since my hen is now 6 years old and is a large-breed hen weighing seven pounds, I've made the decision to not order prosthetics for her, which would force her to relearn to walk all over again. (However, If I knew of a place near me to at least get an exam/evaluation for her, I would do it in a heartbeat.)

@NBraun2624 , there are some sellers on Etsy that make 3D feet for a very cheap price. One popular site includes photos of people holding a bird in their arms that are wearing prosthetics, and also a few pics of birds standing on the ground. But the two video links that supposedly show birds walking don't work. Several months ago I called and left a vm with the company that I was interested in purchasing prosthetics, but had some questions first. I never heard back. The Etsy sites may be a good option; I just haven't yet seen the evidence. There are also past threads on byc where people made prosthetics for their chickens. In all the cases i saw, the bird only lost one foot.

If you are able to have prosthetics made (or make them yourself) for Betsy, please post your sucess here on her thread! It is yes very tragic she will be a double amputee. But with a little extra care from you, she will be ok. Btw I forgot to mention that once her stumps are healed and kept wrapped, they still need to be unwrapped weekly, checked to make sure all is well underneath, then rewrapped. If you get prosthetics for her, you will be the first person I've seen that will be knowledgeable on stumps care using prosthetics. Go Betsy go!

To close, my hen resumed laying eggs last summer. Once Betsy's injuries have healed, she should resume laying too. How old is she?

I’m not certain how old she is as herself and another hen were left by me in December. I’m taking her to an avian vet tommorow. Some say bandage others say only do it first few days. Some have had success with padding bandage and chicken walking on that. I’m very interested in prosthetic feet for her. I feel so awful this happened, I’m a vet tech and work at small animal clinic that doesn’t see birds. I’m so thankful everyone has been kind and helpful! I always do everything I can for all my animals and I’m beside myself with what’s happened to Betsy!

 

[NBraun2624]

Their prices are more than fair if you want to go that route. I don't want to step on anyone's toes, and that'd be a quicker option. The 'foot' of theirs is near exactly what I had in mind, but the upper part I was imagining something a bit different.

Curiosity with a sprinkle of doing a good deed has me interested in designing/making something if desired. Would probably be a lot of back and forth and tests to get something right, and time.

That would be amazing! I’ve seen several videos where middle school kids helped design feet. I’m in Wisconsin but I could measure and take pics of her stump

 

[RoyalChick]

Their prices are more than fair if you want to go that route. I don't want to step on anyone's toes, and that'd be a quicker option. The 'foot' of theirs is near exactly what I had in mind, but the upper part I was imagining something a bit different.

Curiosity with a sprinkle of doing a good deed has me interested in designing/making something if desired. Would probably be a lot of back and forth and tests to get something right, and time.

I love that you would do that. I wasn’t meaning to detract from your kind offer by posting the link - I just wanted to make sure people were aware.

 

[Aunt Angus]

@tricid - You are good people.

 

[tricid]

@NBraun2624

I'm in! Gather me some good pics with a ruler/tape measure so I can get an idea and I'll start doing some modeling this weekend and see what I come up with. Width of the stump that's left but also the length.

Maybe even repeat that with a similar size/breed chicken that hasn't lost their feet so I have some idea of what's normal for bonus points. Give me an idea of how much leg it lost, how much area their feet would normally cover.

General idea of weight too.

Sorry, I know that's a lot lol. I don't even have a single fully grown chicken yet, just chicks.

After that I'd lean hard on input from you guys. This is far from my area of expertise lol.

My curiosity/inner nerd distracted me from ever saying I hope your hen has a good and speedy recovery. I can imagine the emotions you're going through right now not being any fun.

@RoyalChick

Not at all! I'm glad there are ready made versions of this kinda thing out there and its nice to see how other people tackle a problem. Even if I make something that's useful.

@Aunt Angus

Thanks! I haven't been active here in years but this is always my goto website for anything "bird". Would be nice to pay some of that back.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

I’m not certain how old she is as herself and another hen were left by me in December. I’m taking her to an avian vet tommorow. Some say bandage others say only do it first few days. Some have had success with padding bandage and chicken walking on that. I’m very interested in prosthetic feet for her. I feel so awful this happened, I’m a vet tech and work at small animal clinic that doesn’t see birds. I’m so thankful everyone has been kind and helpful! I always do everything I can for all my animals and I’m beside myself with what’s happened to Betsy!

You are correct that aftercare advice does vary. Ultimately it's a decision each person needs to make for their specific patient. It's really great that you have access to a veterinarian, and even better an avian vet. And with you being a vet tech yourself, Betsy is clearly in good hands. I and no doubt many others will be very interested to see what you end up with as far as having her fitted for prosthetics. Keep us posted!

 

[NBraun2624]

Is this a common issue?

I'm new to chickens, certainly not a doctor nor vet, but I have just about every type and style of 3d printer and wouldn't mind helping with something like that if it'd be of any use here.

I don’t know how common, but definitely lots of info and videos online about this. I feel awful this happened to her. I just acquired her in December from someone who no longer wanted her. Her feet were a bit mis shaped then so I suspect she had minor frostbite before which made her more susceptible to get it again. I would love to acquire some prosthetics for her! She goes to the vet tomorrow so we’ll see what she says

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

She goes to the vet tomorrow so we’ll see what she says

How did the vet visit go?