Hen with necrotic and lost toe!!!

[Carterborchers]

When I first separated my hen, Speckles, with the male she got along with best, I had them in a 32” brooder with pee pads initially. They occasionally got mealworms, and suddenly, Leo, her mate, began pecking at her outermost toes. They were so swollen, she was walking funny, trying to keep her toes under herself or stand on one foot and I could tell it was painful, so I applied ointment and added fluffy bedding. It seemed to stopped and she returned to walking normally.

Anyway, two months later, last night, she seemed egg bound as she hadn’t laid at her normal time. She eventually did lay late that night, but same thing is happening today, so I turned her over because I couldn’t feel anything, and I noticed her toes!!! Poor girl! I feel horrible for not noticing before, but my birds hate being on their backs. A portion of the left toe is just gone—there’s no nail—just a stump. The other toe on the other foot is there but clearly necrotic and dead. I don’t think there’s any hope for saving it…. It’s black. What should I do from here? Apply ointment and bandage what’s left? I feel like it’s only a matter of time before the remaining toe falls off. Will she be ok missing these toes? I can’t cull her—she’s my favorite button quail.

 

[Nabiki]

She'll be okay. My friend has an old button male (about 5 years old now) who has been missing most of the toes on one foot for most of his life. Just make sure to keep her clean and apply a bit of antibacterial ointment (without pain killer). Yes, she will probably lose the toe, but will adapt and get along okay without the toes.

 

[GodLovesU]

My bearded dragon (who had another owner) is missing a lot of toes.Some of them are just messed up.She had a necrotic toe,but it fell off.We haven’t had any problems since she’s been receiving proper care.

 

[Susan Skylark]

Necrotic toe is fine, whole foot bad. She’ll just be lousy at math (joke) though most quail are.

 

[Carterborchers]

As I was giving her probiotics and last of antibiotics today, her necrotic toe just fell off into my lap. I was horrified to see how swollen it looked… not just that toe, but all of them. So far, she’s lost half of the outermost toe on each foot. Now the middle toe is starting to form brown segments, and the back toe is black around the nail. Her nails are white.

What the hell is going on? I tried to call the ONLY vet who will see her in this area, and she’s on vacation until January 10th. No other avian vet will see her.

Someone else had a similar case with a two week old but isolated on one foot. Another person commented about it possible being constricted band syndrome (I think). I don’t know what to do. I told my vet I’d been applying antibiotics at home, and she said to continue that. The article mentioned an array of treatments depending on the cause, including antifungals. I’m so attached to this little girl. She’s limping again and seems to be in pain her partner did peck at the outer toes, perhaps mistaking them for mealworms. But her toes and legs looks all swollen and dry all the way up. I just repaired a brooder box that came in broken…maybe I should take him out for a while and see if anything gets better. Maybe the college of vet med at UGA would be the best place to take her…?

She was one of three of my first small hatch from eBay eggs.

 

[WoDia]

@Carterborchers Continue to keep her feet clean and applying the antibiotics until you can get her into the vet. Separate her from the mate to avoid further pecking. They both may call out for each other, but he’ll most likely continue pecking at those sore toes and cause her more pain and injury. If this is caused only by pecking, she will recover and continue on just fine with any missing toes (like @Nabiki said). You may not be able to place her back with the mate though. The vet can determine whether it’s only a result of pecking, or if there’s something additionally going on. Keep her comfortable until her appointment, and please keep us updated.

 

[Carterborchers]

since she started laying at 6 weeks, she’s been with only him. I change all of my birds’ boxes pads and bedding, fresh water and food daily, so unless it’s the pine chips, cleanliness isn’t a problem. Lol. It takes me an hour and a half to clean them.

I just repaired a box that arrived broken for Speckles’ mate. To see if the toe color and swelling might improve until JAN 10. Even the techs refuse to give her anything for pain. I also thought switching to a thin layer of paper bedding on top of her pee pads might make it easier for her to walk.

 

[Nabiki]

I don't know if that's injury or infection. Hopefully the antibiotics will help. I'm sorry your vet is out of town, but the college vet sounds like a good idea. I know that UC Davis does a LOT of advanced veterinary procedures.

 

[Carterborchers]

Even the toes that are less accessible to pecking are way thicker than those of all of the other button quail. I’ve read of some conditions that would cause this…something like constricting band syndrome that has something to do with poor blood flow to the area, and another one of a different name that effects both feet and beak. In the study I read, 19 cases were caused by injury or infection, and 6 were spontaneous.

She skipped a day of laying eggs, but then laid a huge one at some point today. She had such low calcium a few weeks ago that she stopped laying after always laying at the same time daily. Took her to the vet and she X-rayed and saw a shell-less egg and extremely poor bone density. The next day, the egg had been absorbed. The vet kept her for about a week, isolated, on “emeraid” high nutrient food, antibiotics, pain meds, probiotics, and calcium citrate I brought. When I brought her home, I was told to keep bowl of calcium available for her at all times (which I’d been doing with oyster shells), and a “small pinch” of calcium citrate. I’m not sure how much a small pinch actually is, so I try to pick up as much as I can with my fingers.

Ugh… this sweet bird is gonna give me ulcers!