Hens Feet are Falling Off

[redhen]

Quote:
can she stand on her stumps?? Will she be able to walk at all?

 

[zowieyellowflame]

What about taking her to a vet and having the other foot amputated? Maybe even parts could be saved. If you are thinking of keeping her, that is. That might be more comfortable for her then just letting it fall off. Plus, letting it fall off puts her at risk for blood poisoning i think.
When I was a little girl, my mom had chickens and we had an unusually long cold snap and there was a concrete floor and their feet got too cold and one lost a foot. It still makes me feel awful. It was like minus 20 for a week or two..... really cold, really long time.
Are you sure it is frostbite? Maybe it is from a fungal thing or scaly leg mites?

 

[Cetawin]

Don't be foolish...cull the girl!

Edited to add...amputees suffer pain and bleeding on their stumps...she would as well leading to others picking at her.

 

[GreenGoddess]

Please forgive me if I am a bit out of line here... I understand these are "just chickens" to some people but to a lot of us, they are part of our family.. There are LOT of people and animals out there who have lost limbs or just weren't born with them at all.. I guess we should just put them out of their misery?! Who's misery are we talking about? "Don't be foolish...cull the girl!" to me is a bit heartless.. Perhaps it could have been put better... If I were the OP and in their shoes and I saw someone post this, I would burst into tears.. Maybe I am just a bit over sensitive but I LOVE my animals, no matter how small they are as many of us do.. And, if it takes just a bit more care and tlc to keep them happy, then so be it.. A child who is overweight, has a mental disorder, or is physically disfigured for whatever reason gets picked on.. But, do we as parents give them pity and try to shelter them from hurtful feelings? No.. We give them extra love and attention and try to make them as happy as they can possibly be.. I know there is a difference between a chicken and a child.. But, I treat all of my animals like they are my children.. If they get sick, I make them better.. If they fight, i jump in the middle.. If they get hurt, I treat their wounds..

Goddess

 

[jbear]

when I was a kid we had a hen that had that happen too--we called her Stubby, and she did great! She was my mom's pet hen...

I am treating two sickies right now in kennels in the kitchen... They are my pets, no different to me than my kitties or dog or whatever. I will do whatever I can to try and help them, and if they appear to be suffering or in pain, then would take appropriate steps--just like I would with my other pets. I say if your frost bit hen is not suffering and you are ok with maybe having to give her special attention-she WILL get picked on by the other chickens--it's the law of the hen yard you know... "you're different--therefore I PECK you"... then by all means help her out. hang in there!

 

[momma2rootsers]

hello I am new to this board I had 3 chickens - Arucanas a 2 hens and rooster then got 3 chicks last year and brought them into the flock. Turns out all 3 of the chicks were roosters so we have 4 roosters and 1 hen. Any way they had a hard time getting along and we lost one hen to sickness or vermon don't know she just disappeared. The latest was the one rooster had swollen feet and a crooked toe then it swelled up more now today we looked at him and he lost one leg at the knee and the other is about to fall off. He gets around on the stumps and seems otherwise healthy but the one big black rooster is hurting him so we have him separated. Not sure if this is also a frost bite situation or injury from the others or both. I am pregnant and can't risk anything infectious any chance this is something contageous? I can't bring myself to kill it if it needs to die and do not know who to ask about that sort of thing. What to do now?

 

[LovinMyPeeps]

I had a rooster as a kid that had lost both of his feet. He did great! Ran around the yard, he'd sometimes topple over, but he'd get right up and keep going! He'd run up and get treats or hop onto my lap if I sat on the ground. I think the only issue here is quality of life. If you can offer her a good quality of life, and she is happy, eating and can be safely kept I'd go for it! If she is wasting away, in pain, and clearly in turmoil then humanely euthanizing her could be an option. You, as someone else said, know the answer. Besides, once the other foot falls off and she heals why not stub covers? We have hen aprons, etc... why not shoes?

 

[jennh]

I don't believe in culling an animal unless it's in pain, etc. That being said, i don't think you'll ever be able to put it back w/ the other hens. They'll know she's different and probably peck her to death

JMHO,
Jen

Edited for spelling error (I'm a spelling fanatic)

 

[jennh]

Maybe you can rig up some prosthetics (I think that's what they're called) for your hen? Give your hubby a challenge to figure out some way to attach some feet to her legs!!?

Jen

 

[CorralitosSunflower]

It sounds to me like a very painful ordeal to suffer from frostbite. Not to mention actually ending up losing limbs from it, not from amputation but because they actually rotted off. I think that perhaps taking the chicken in to have those limbs examined and than possibly amputated would justify the argument of loving the animal like a family member who you would not just "cull" due to a physical deformity. If this chicken is not worth that amount of time or money (and although I love me chickens, I would not be able to afford this time and money myself) than it should be culled. Chickens generally would have a hard time excepting her back, and may possibly kill her. Even if you love her, does she love you enough to continue this life without everything a normal chicken is used too. I am sorry, it is so hard when this stuff happens. Seems pretty bad to me, and if I were a chicken I wouldn't want to live like that.