Dead Foot Tissue?

[Sunflower722]

On Thanksgiving I noticed my hen Reba was having difficulty walking. I removed her from the group and isolated her in a kennel in our shop. I applied SSD cream and wrapped her foot every other day. Her foot continued to get worse despite this treatment, and now I’m afraid the tissue is dead. I hope she’s not in pain. She doesn’t appear to be, but I know chickens are pretty stoic. I’m looking for advice on how to proceed. Will her foot fall off? Should I attempt to remove it somehow? I really don’t want to do that. Will she fare well with one leg? I have a small flock of five, and they’re all special to me so I don’t want to lose her. The first photo shows how it looked in the beginning and the last two are from today.

 

[Yardmom]

If the tissue is dead it will fall off. The process can take several months.

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. Sorry about your chicken. The toes do look necrotic, and most likely will self-amputate in a few weeks. What is your location? Did her foot get wet and exposed to freezing temperatures. Those of us who read this forum see frostbite about this time of year through the winter. Wrapping a foot too tight or when vet wrap slips and tightens can also sometimes cause interrupted circulation and tissue death. If her other foot is okay, she should be able to live a fairly normal life minus the toes or part of her foot. If above freezing, you could spray some Betadine on her necrotic foot. Let us know how she gets along.

 

[Sunflower722]

Welcome to BYC. Sorry about your chicken. The toes do look necrotic, and most likely will self-amputate in a few weeks. What is your location? Did her foot get wet and exposed to freezing temperatures. Those of us who read this forum see frostbite about this time of year through the winter. Wrapping a foot too tight or when vet wrap slips and tightens can also sometimes cause interrupted circulation and tissue death. If her other foot is okay, she should be able to live a fairly normal life minus the toes or part of her foot. If above freezing, you could spray some Betadine on her necrotic foot. Let us know how she gets along.

Thank you for your response. I live in Northern North Dakota, so frostbite is certainly a possibility I considered. Their coop is dry and they refuse to walk out into their run when there is even a minimal amount of snow, so I’m not sure how she got wet. I will watch for it to fall off and hope she’s not in any pain.

 

[Eggcessive]

Do not massage skin that may be frostbitten. I would not apply any creams or ointments either, since those may freeze. I don’t recommend amputating the toes, but let them fall off on their own. Here is another thread with some pictures of frostbite:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/will-she-loose-the-toe-frostbite.848318/

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Good information from @Eggcessive

I'll add an article that you may find helpful.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...to-know-about-injury-care-and-recovery.78168/