Foot injury, impacted toenail?

[darinhill]

First of all I would like to say hello to the byc community!

I have a Bantam about 6 months old who has been limping for about two days now. The odd thing about this chicken is that it was born with what I assume is an impacted toenail. Her center toe has always been bulbous with no toenail. It hasn't seemed to cause any problem to her until the last two days. She has always had a little bit of a hop to her step but now it has turned into a limp. I believe the toenail is growing inside the toe with no way to escape. Other wise she is a very healthy bird. I was wondering if anyone else has run in to this problem before. It is not bumble foot. I am thinking about my options, amputation, culling etc. I wanted to see if anyone had a similar experience...

Thanks

Darin
Gainesville, Florida

 

[darinhill]

So I spoke with a vet at University of Florida and got some quotes on prices for care. It looks to be around $200 for a visit and x-rays, and a "couple hundred more" for anesthesia and minor surgery. I don't think I can swing that. I don't have a moral problem culling the chicken however I would love some help on possible home amputation. I am a paramedic and can handle the wound care and the idea of the procedure just looking for any extra advise or experiences.

Thanks again
Darin

 

[darinhill]

Still looking for help anyone out there?

 

[maryhysong]

Try soaking in epsom salt & warm water and give that foot a good scrub. What is the black dot on the swollen part? Is is just dirt or is there an injury there?

 

[darinhill]

I believe that (the black dot) is where the toenail is finally growing out of. The color on the picture is a bit off and makes the toe look red and infected (my wife's hands look infected too haha) , which I don't believe it is, at least not badly infected. Soaking the foot won't deal with the deformity, while I know it would help the possible infection... I don't know I am really looking for advice on amputation, I think that is the real solution due to the fact that she had this since we got her around 2-3 days old. Thank you for putting your two-cents in!! I need all the help I can get.

 

[Sahwithchicks]

Hey fellow floridian.
To me, it looks as though you are right, it may be an impacted toenail, however that black spot and the swelling resembles the bumble foot I had on one of my birds. You may try soaking the toe and clearing off what appears to be scabbing to see if there is an absess that has developed.
If that shows nothing, or after slouching some of the skin, I would assume an amputation would be the best option unless you want
Some fresh chicken to eat.

She is very pretty, I hope this helps to ease her discomfort

 

[darinhill]

So we found a vet that will amputate for a reasonable price in Micanopy, FL. The wife didn't really want to assist me with winging it ourselves. I suppose I have a little more work to turn her into a farm girl yet! They took a look and confirmed it is a deformity and her toenail is growing inside of her foot. No real fix except the old snip snip. I feel a little silly spending so much on a chicken but little Daisy is the Wife's favorite one so what can you do? The toe is getting removed today. I will post any more info I can especially what the vet recommends as reference for anyone who may run into this later.

 

[darinhill]

So I was right and wrong. She did have a deformity, not an impacted toenail, she had bone growth that was incredibly sharp and was causing calcification build up around the bone. the sharpness of the bone actually was poking through the foot pad causing that scab. The toe was disarticulated, amputated and stitched up. Oral antibiotics for a few days and check up to remove the bandage and follow up to remove the stitches. Both follow ups free of charge! I will post pics of her foot when the bandage is off.

 

[Sahwithchicks]

I bet she is going to be much happier now! Well, at least she will be when she's healed up...