gangrene / amputation? (Photos)

[m2wandc]

I just made an appointment with the vet for Friday (two days from now) so we shall see if he amputates it and bandages and gives meds….and we will see what happens over the next two days….

I’ll keep you all posted

 

[m2wandc]

Just a side note: MOST EXPENSIVE FREE CHICKEN
Wonder if the farm store wants to donate some food!

 

[Susan Skylark]

I know a guy who raised goats, had a set of triplets, one had basically a wry neck, he spent $10,000 fixing the neck then gave the goat away as the others were now mean to it!

 

[m2wandc]

That story just reminded me of the Shepard Bible story where Jesus looks for the one sheep and leaves all the others alone.

We often spend so much time money and love on the odd ball creature in our flocks

I’ll keep you all posted on what the vet says or does Friday morning.

 

[m2wandc]

And the ironic part is I just received a culling cone in the mail today (because if I ever get the nerve to cull my own chickens for meat I might process some) zero rhyme or reason….

 

[Susan Skylark]

No that’s irony!

 

[Eggcessive]

Chickens do not tolerate anesthesia very well. I would caution the vet if the want to amputate. If you did it at home, there would be no anesthesia, but a vet may have a problem not using anesthesia. Just a thought. I hope your little free chick does well.

 

[Susan Skylark]

The hardest part about bird anesthesia (and rabbits) is their metabolism: they need much higher doses on injectable meds and they work for a much shorter period of time. The hard part is keeping them asleep! This should be a fairly quick procedure, much easier than a mammal amputation (no soft tissue to mess with). There is always risk with anesthesia but I would worry more about a flat faced dog than a bird.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Is the one toe flexible or stiff? In the second picture of your post 26, it looks like there is potentially viable tissue connecting the toe to the shank. How does the bottom of the toe look? If also pink, and if the toe is flexible, she may keep the toe.

While debriding is done with similiar human injuries, with birds it is typically not. At least not under home care. Your vet may choose to do so, especially if he/she prescribes oral antibiotics. Debriding can actually increase the risk of infection, since the dead necrotic outer scales and skin actually help protect from infection while healing takes place beneath. If you prefer to have a vet amputate then do so, but know that the injury will naturally auto-amputate and heal without surgical amputation. (Plus there will be no anesthesia risk or medical costs.) Birds have very sensitive respiratory symptoms, and as Eggcessive stated, do not tolerate anesthesia well, so it is generally recommended to use a bird specialist if anesthetics are required. At the least, be sure your vet has experience putting birds under. One more thing. Are you allowed to have roosters where you live? Because i assume you don't know if your chick is male or female, and imo if there's anything worse than a $1000 rooster, it's a thousand dollar rooster one can't keep!

Below is a thread you may find helpful, where a pigeon lost its foot due to being found with a rubber band wrapped around its leg. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rubber-band-wrapped-around-leg-of-pigeon.1494608/

 

[m2wandc]

Update: the vet appt went well….I’ll state that upfront so no worries.

The vet does have experience with birds and is semi-retired, so many many years of vetting. He was my family’s vet when I was a kid and I will not confess my age but will say I have adult and near adult children.

The vet hemmed and hawed about amputating the foot due to the anesthesia and the size of the bird. The leg was swollen & warm. It wasn’t clear if the chick’s leg was getting infected or not. He ultimately decided to amputate the foot. They gave the bird anesthesia extremely small amount. I believe he said he was going to wave/pass the mouthpiece by the chick, but I wasn’t there when it happened so I’m not entirely sure.

I’ve been given some medication to stop bleeding if it should bleed when changing the bandage and oral antibiotics.

We’ve named her officially “Polly the peg legged pirate”

Polly is doing good - eating and drinking. She is alone in a cage and probably misses her siblings. Contemplating bringing a younger chick in to live with her, but I’m giving her a bit of time to find her footing

Her leg keeps going behind her, not sure if it’s the bandage that isn’t allowing it to bend easily and go forward but for now I’m helping her get to the food and water. My husband is going to build her a sling stand.

I will continue to post pics and keep you updated-THANK YOU for all the helpful comments!

It was the swollen upper leg that was getting me concerned. Otherwise I do think self amputation is better.