Foot problems... frost bite? Rotten?

[emorems0]

I have a chicken who hatched with a curled foot, he was able to get around okay and seemed to get along with the other chickens and was doing just fine... But he couldn't roost. I put vaious ramps and things in the pen to give him things to climb up on but he pretty much always stayed on the ground.

This past month we've had several iterations of super cold temps, inches of snow, and then a warm spell where it all melts and turns everything to mud, then freezing again. I've been putting extra bedding in the pen, but they just get it all muddy and then it drops to sub freezing again.

Today I saw the messed up foot chicken was laying down instead of running for food. I brought him inside to check him out and his toes look a mess... I'm not sure if it's frostbite or just rotting from being in wet mud so long. I gave him a bath and I will be keeping him up in a crate inside another coop to keep him away from any mud, but I'm not sure how to treat his toes. I have blu-kote, but I feel like it needs something more.
View attachment 1248228
View attachment 1248229

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

No photos are showing up. Frostbitten toes will turn black and start to atrophy before falling off eventually.

 

[emorems0]

 

[emorems0]

Do those photos show up? I'm not great at this since they changed the forum.

So what do you do for frostbite? Just let it take its course? One toe looks a little swollen, I'm a little worried about infection. It's on the curled foot that he doesn't like to put down...

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Definitely look like frostbite. I personally don't mess with them. I leave them alone to heal up on their own. Last year one of my hens lost most of her toes. It took a few months to totally heal up and for the toes to fall off.

I've also got a few roosters missing toe tips, wattles and comb points. I see frostbite yearly on some of my roosters. The only bird we culled was a rooster who got his whole leg frostbitten one year.

Frostbite can cause swelling. I personally haven't had any get an infection. I might worry if the bird starts to act sick, otherwise chickens are really good at healing stuff up.

 

[Eggcessive]

He is a cutie, and I agree that he has some frostbite. He will losse those black toe tips, but it looks to me like he will recover and keep his feet and most of each toe. I would give his legs a daily warm soak in water with either hibiclens, betadine, or Epsom salts added. Then put some plain neosporin/triple antibiotic ointment on the toes when dry. Keep him on a clean towel in a dog crate. He can visit with his flock, but I would supervise.

 

[micstrachan]

I agree it’s frostbite and agree he will be OK. Are you sure this is a male?
Anyway, he looks like he doesn’t feel well (tail down, pale comb).
Can you put some low roosts or pallets in the run so they can get out ofthe mud when it’s wet?

 

[emorems0]

He is a cutie, and I agree that he has some frostbite. He will losse those black toe tips, but it looks to me like he will recover and keep his feet and most of each toe. I would give his legs a daily warm soak in water with either hibiclens, betadine, or Epsom salts added. Then put some plain neosporin/triple antibiotic ointment on the toes when dry. Keep him on a clean towel in a dog crate. He can visit with his flock, but I would supervise.

Thank you. I did put epsom salts in his first bath, glad to know my instincts were right. I'll have to see what kind of triple antibiotic ointment I have. He hung out in my bathroom all day and I have him on a clean blanket in a crate in the basement now. I'm planning on putting shavings in the crate and moving it into my other (elevated) coop. That way he's out of the mud, doesn't have to compete for food, but doesn't get so lonely either.

He is still fairly young, I assumed he was a hen based on the way his hatch-mates are developing until I gave him his bath. He is actually very thin, it seems his curled foot has been limiting his ability to compete for food more than he let on. He seems in great spirits though and gobbled up all the food and water (and scrambled egg) that I gave him today. I think that his development was slowed because he was malnourished... but his neck feathers are looking quite narrow and his tail feathers are not as blunt as his sisters'. He's a cross between a rose comb and a single comb, so I don't think the comb is very telling either... some of his sisters barely show any comb at all at this point. I mean, it could go either way, but I'm leaning toward roo.

 

[emorems0]

I agree it’s frostbite and agree he will be OK. Are you sure this is a male?
Anyway, he looks like he doesn’t feel well (tail down, pale comb).
Can you put some low roosts or pallets in the run so they can get out ofthe mud when it’s wet?

See reply above about gender.... I do have a big log and a pallet and several low roosts throughout the run and pen, it's just been horrible weather - 6 inches of snow melted in a single day.

I was really happy to see his tail up this afternoon after he got a good meal in him. He was still a little wet from his bath and pretty stressed out from the bathing and blow drying in the picture. Pale comb could also be age, he's young and behind in development because of the curled foot - it was really bad when we was just hatched, I'm surprised he even survived and it has flatted out a lot since he got bigger.

 

[micstrachan]

Yay to tail up!