hen with frost bite feet need help asap!!

[jjthink]

Quote:
The usual dosage seen on BYC is 5 regular (325 mg) aspirin (no substitutes) crushed per gallon of water or likewise, 2 1/2 of these tablets per half gallon if making in smaller batches.

JJ

I hope Snow makes out okay - she is feeling well loved, I'm sure.

 

[cath]

As it has been mentioned prevention is better than cure, however, my comment may not help you with your problem, but to prevent combs and wattles from getting frostbite you could put vaseline on them, so I guess you could put it on their feet and legs aswell. Hope she'll be ok.

 

[fraely]

I would like to add a frozen feet "success story" to those already posted.

A few winters ago our Blue Cochin rooster, Balty, got his feathered feet wet (we think) and then slept standing on the floor of the coop next to the drafty door rather than roosting. We noticed the next day that he had trouble walking, so we brought him into the house and place him in a box in our laundry room. Over the next few days his feet became enormously swollen and gross. We began soaking his feet twice (sometime three times!) daily in soapy water. After soaking and drying, we sprayed a generic brand antiseptic from the drug store on his feet. Eventually, we bought him his own laundry basket and a water absorbing indoor door mat, which we folded in half and shook out every day. I wish I had documented the exact timeline of his foot episode, but after about a month his swelling went down and his feet, clearly dead, began to shrivel up. Eventually, parts of one foot and almost the entire other foot FELL OFF and he was left with stubs.

Once Balty got used to his balance issues, he began to be very mobile. He was running (yes, running!) around ~four months after the incident. We would place him in his basket (the "Balty-mobile") every night for the evening and sit him out the next day (when it wasn't raining or cold). He became well enough to jump out of his basket if we didn't get up early enough! He would "run" in a lurching gallop that actually seemed to be easier than walking and, rather than standing, would regularly rest on his breast. We fed and watered him on the back porch and kept him separate from the other chickens. Our flock had another rooster the same age as him and we thought the other boy would have beat him up, although they hadn't squabbled much up to that point.

Unfortunately, Balty was killed by some kind of predator bird earlier this year. When we first found his frozen feet, I didn't believe Balty would ever have any quality of life and wanted to have him put down. Fortunately, because my husband couldn't bring himself to do it (or have it done) and I couldn't either, we chose to try to help Balty through his ordeal. It took about two months for me to believe we had done the right thing, but now I am amazed and thrilled that it worked out like it did. Our other rooster has calmed down to the point that I believe that if Balty were still around we could probably reintroduce him to the flock.

I think with this frozen foot issue you have to decide what is best given your particular situation. If you have the time to care for a chicken in this condition and it doesn't seem to be suffering excessively, I would encourage you to try it. The success of our case has a LOT to do with Balty's mellow temperament -- I don't think a more aggressive rooster would have endured the treatment or have been calm enough to stay in a basket in our laundry room every night and during cold days. Because he was a pet, we were able to easily pick him up and care for him. We miss Balty every day and believe that his quality of life was undiminished.