Help! Frostbite taking over my hens feet

[Emilyrose974]

I'm sorry I just saw your reply from last Friday that you didn't find answers to your questions.
Here is some of the great advice I received on my hen's frostbite thread:

1. Keep stumps coated with triple antibiotic ointment or vetericyn spray until each stump has healed. Lightly wrap/cover stumps for the first few days after feet detach to help prevent infection in the remaining healthy tissue and bone. After a few days have passed, allow the stumps to heal uncovered, as long as the remaining live tissue has scabbed over to form a protective barrier to infection. Keep the healing stumps clean and dry.
2. It will take at least several weeks before each stump has fully healed. When they finally do, stumps should be kept padded and wrapped, which will allow for greater comfort and mobility. Once every week, remove wraps, check to make sure the stumps look ok, then re-wrap.
Due to her breed, Sage's shanks are tiny. Whatever type of wrap you use (most use coban wrap), you will need to cut wrap strips into 1" widths before wrapping, maybe even smaller.
3. It's best that she NOT put weight on or try to walk on the stumps until they are well on their way to healing.

How is Sage doing this week?

Thank you so much for the advice, it helps a lot. She is doing amazing. She’s starting to put weight on her stump and it’s healed over nicely. Her other foot has not yet detached but I expect it to happen soon because it no longer works. On the leg that still has the foot she sits back on on what I think is her “shank”, she relaxes more when doing that because she isn’t putting weight on her foot. She’s the sweetest little chicken. She always makes little chirping noises when I walk into the room so I think she likes me haha.

 

[Emilyrose974]

January 31, 2022.
Her other foot finally came off! I was super happy to find out that it finally came off, now she just need to heal and she can be a happy chicken again she seems to enjoy when I pick her up and walk her around the house because she gets to look at everything. She got some scrambled eggs for the first time to celebrate the loss of her foot haha. I noticed that she’s missing feathers on her bum, I’m assuming it’s because she’s always sitting on her behind? I wash her bum with warm water every few days because her poop sometimes gets stuck on it. Those feathers should grow back right?

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

What an adorable little cutie Sage is, and her sweet disposition shows in her pictures. I understand what you mean about her enjoying being picked up and carried around. When I pick up Matilda, she immediately goes limp and relaxed in my arms. Some chickens truly are like little feathered puppies.

 

[Eggcessive]

Keep us posted on how she gets along, and she is sweet.

 

[Emilyrose974]

February 14
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! I’ve been calling Sage “stumpy” and the nickname is now stuck lol. She is finally starting to walk again and I’m so proud of her. At first she only seemed to know how to walk backwards but now she’s been taking steps forward. It takes her awhile to get places with her small steps but If she wants to go somewhere fast she flaps her wings and does a big jump in the direction she wants to go. I noticed she often looks at stuff above her at night like she wants to jump up and perch. She can’t quite jump upwards yet so I rolled up blanket for her and layed it on the floor of her pen. she loves to go on top it to sleep. I can tell she’s no longer in pain and she’s a super happy bird again. Shes constantly cleaning her feathers and trying to sharpen her beak on the blankets haha. Do you guys have any suggestions as to what I should put in her pen? She’s got blankets to walk on and her food and water. I’ve never had a house chicken before so I’m not sure what else they need. Something for entertainment? A dust bath? Something she can actually sharpen her beak on?

 

[smdcleland]

That is so sweet!! What an adorable chickie!! I'm so happy she is doing well.

 

[Eggcessive]

She looks like she is right at home.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

That is one Cute with a capital C chicken.Yes she does need a place to dustbathe, and something to sharpen her beak on. For dustbathing you can offer her a small shallow container. As far as "dust", you can purchase sand made for chinchillas at a pet store, or use any other sand type material you find available. For sharpening her beak, a small paver-type brick will suffice. Also, she needs grit unless you are feeding her crumbles. For "entertainment, she might like a mirror to admire her awesomely cute self, & you can look into various toys for parrots. But I suspect she will prefer your company as her favorite entertainment. When your warmer weather returns, she will definitely enjoy the opportunity to sunbathe.

 

[Rachelsannerud]

Thank you for sharing the journey of your little Sage! I've been following along since we have a similar situation playing out in our laundry room- our rooster, Johnny, was brought in a month ago after I noticed his foot had swollen. Since then a good portion of one foot + leg has gone black and shriveled, and I'm encouraged it may fall off soon, though with the frostbite taking part of the shank of his leg I'm not certain it will be as clean as Sage's stump.
When you're able, could you share a photo of Sage's stump?

 

[Emilyrose974]

Thank you for sharing the journey of your little Sage! I've been following along since we have a similar situation playing out in our laundry room- our rooster, Johnny, was brought in a month ago after I noticed his foot had swollen. Since then a good portion of one foot + leg has gone black and shriveled, and I'm encouraged it may fall off soon, though with the frostbite taking part of the shank of his leg I'm not certain it will be as clean as Sage's stump.
When you're able, could you share a photo of Sage's stump?

Sorry about the late reply. Sages right leg is quite a bit shorter because the frostbite took more on that leg. She has some trouble learning how to walk again because her legs are uneven lengths but she’s getting ahold of it. The hardest part of her journey for me was when her feet turned black, all I could do was worry and hope she would recover. After her foot fell off I found things only got better. The healing process is long but it’s worth it in the end. I hope Johnnys recovery goes well