Help! Chickens toes coming off!

that is what you said. i think the pain is over. my neighbors had the same problem. they were only bothered when they froze
One of the major irritations of keeping chickens is that they don't react to pain in the same way mammals do. Chickens hide weaknesses--that's why it's often so difficult to know your chicken's sick until it's too late. (Though I admit, I probably wouldn't cull either.)
 
Poor weight could have had a role in precipitating the frost bite.

I would cull her, but it is possible she can be salvaged. If she is to be salvaged, then isolate her from balance of flock and keep her on a clean and dry surface like provided by hay. Protect her from worst of cold and wind until weight is restored. Give her and extremely palatable diet. My first feed would be a moistened mixture of layer and grower feeds mixed roughly 1:1. The look into possibility of worm infection, and treat accordingly. You need to get her weight back up so she can fight off the infection were dead toe parts are necroding.

Show how she walks and what her face looks like as they can give a good handle on some other health issues.
 
I would check your coop for drafts . Once you have a number of birds in a coop the air that they expel causes quite a bit of condensation and a drafty coop will blow that around until it settles and if it settles on bare skin the low temp will cause frostbite. I prefer 4 x 2 flat perches so that the birds can settle their feathers down over their feet.
 
It's NOT A MATTER OF OUTWARD APPEARANCE. It's a matter of ending suffering.
It sounds to me like the OP is already doing a good job of ending her suffering. She's in a much better place with the OP. Why shouldn't she try to fix her? She's not really suffering, she's just got some issues that can probably be fixed (to a point) over time. Chickens lose toes all the time. No big deal to them. I would never cull a bird without giving it a chance, unless it's obviously hopeless. You do want to keep her separate until she recovers as much as she's going to, and keeping her for a bit might help you decide just exactly how well she's going to get on. She's already been with the existing flock, as have the others she came with, so at this point, culling her to keep her from spreading disease is kind of like locking the barn after the horse has been stolen. If the existing flock was healthy, they have a good chance of remaining so.
 
Last edited:
Oh my goodness! I would be devistated if I noticed this from Ivy. She may have been attacked by a predator or a flockmate. Might also be severe frostbite. I would wrap her foot. I feel so bad for you!
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom