Help!! Are My Roosters Feet going to fall off?!?

[Eggcessive]

That is very good news. Keep us updated on how he is doing.

 

[AllenK RGV]

I'm sorry to say, it appears he very well may lose the feet. I have witnessed the process myself, and I recognize the signs.

Be aware that he is experiencing a good deal of pain at this point. You might consider euthanizing him. Or at least giving him some baby aspirin twice a day to relieve some of the pain.

My flock has no risk of frostbie but this seems good advice, additionally asparin decreases blood viscocity and should increase perfusion to the affected areas. Good post!

 

[happyfrenchman]

I am glad it looks like he is recovering. If it were I, I would probably take off the bandages and let the air get at it. If there is necrotic tissue on the outside, you want the air to get at it so it can slough off and heal naturally. And just me talking here, but I don't know about baby aspirin. It is a blood thinner. Blood thinners can be good or bad and I would not want to say in this case whether it is a good thing or not. Chickens are very tough and I would have been surprised if he didn't recover but you want to be careful not to thin his blood so much he has a stroke.

 

[azygous]

Actually, aspirin is supposed to prevent strokes by preventing blood clots. At least that's why I've been taking a baby aspirin every day for the last thirty years under doctor's recommendation.

 

[Blooie]

The process can take weeks or more. @Eggcessive is right - he wouldn't be able to use his feet if all the nerves were damaged. In that case, the feet collapse into closed talons and are useless. A chicken can't get around or roost. So there's hope as long as he's using his feet.

Keep doing the soaks and Vetericyn. Vetericyn helps grow new tissue in areas where the nerves and blood supply still exist. Don't give up!

I would second that. My rooster, Scout, ended up with feet that look exactly like @azygous described. He got along just fine out there...scratching in the dirt, flying up onto the roost, flying back down, mounting the ladies, running...he was quite the boy. In his case I rubbed a little castor oil on the healthiest part of his feet, just to increase circulation. You can read his full story by clicking on the link below, but I'll post a video of him out with the flock when he was young.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/frostbitten-feet-the-adventures-of-scout.67277/

 

[lazy gardener]

I get a sense that @AllenK@new2this has an extensive medical background, and speaks with knowledge. I second the aspirin, as long as this species can tolerate it, which appears to be the case. thinning the blood WOULD be a good thing in this case. I'd not have thought of it, but it makes all the sense in the world.

 

[happyfrenchman]

Well now, you can have a stroke from a bleed.... (if your blood is too thin) or they will call it a stroke if you have a clot when your blood is too thick....(blood thinners are recommended) but it is really two separate conditions with opposite causes, but that could kill you just as dead. In any case, it is a chicken and as predicted, and despite all the treatments recommended, it is likely going to make it.

 

[Harry'sMom]

The process can take weeks or more. @Eggcessive is right - he wouldn't be able to use his feet if all the nerves were damaged. In that case, the feet collapse into closed talons and are useless. A chicken can't get around or roost. So there's hope as long as he's using his feet.

Keep doing the soaks and Vetericyn. Vetericyn helps grow new tissue in areas where the nerves and blood supply still exist. Don't give up!

 

[Harry'sMom]

When I soaked his feet on Friday, hundreds of red bugs started coming out of his feathers!!! So I figured they were mites and we've dusted all the chickens and the entire barn and the more I search about mites and look at pictures, the more this could be causing it? Here is a picture of his feet last night...they look a little better than have the past couple days.... besides the big scab. I watched him scratch it on Saturday night with his toenail on accident, so I think its good that blood is still getting to that part on the foot! I have continued to spray Vetericyn (as I have for the past two weeks) and I am afraid to take the bandages off (I change them every night) until it heals a little more so he does not keep scratching or pecking himself until he bleeds because the skin is very sensitive. thoughts??

 

[azygous]

What an improvement! Keep up all you're doing because it's working!

Red mites are just awful. I think it's just coincidental to the feet issue, though it's possible the little blood suckers have aggravated things. You will need to be persistent in getting rid of them. Spraying permethrin or spinosad deep into all the crevices in the coop is crucial since that's where the mites live and breed. Another round of spraying in about ten days needs to be done to get any that new ones that have hatched.