I need help and FAST...Anybody a VET on these boards?

[heatherindeskies]

Quote:
To put your number up on a public board to help another...why you are just awesome!!!!!!!!!!

hope all goes well with OP's hen.

 

[chuckzoo]

Quote:
You are right. I totally agree with the need for the antibiotics. I was thinking that the Tricide Neo would be a better solution to soak the feet in it in since people had had good success with it. A kind of double-barrel approach, antibiotics and Tricide Neo.

 

[Crack N' Egg]

So I went to Stop N Shop to pick up some more needed supplies. Lots of peroxide, epsom salt, bandages, saline, extra bulb syringe and neosporin. I won't have my syringes till tomorrow so I want to open her feet up and clean it out as best as possible.

Is it ok to do this a night time??? I really don't want to wait till tomorrow. Or should I just leave her alone for the night.

Do I cut everything out of her foot pad???

 

[1mommahen]

Crack, I have a syringe here if you don't get yours tomorrow. I'm in Pattenburg and could meet you if need be. Sorry I didn't see this until now. PM if you need it!

 

[ruth]

Crack N' Egg :

Ruth wrote

You may have to open the wounds and clean them out. Did you find the "bumble" when you first operated - it's a hard kernel looking core - usually very deep in the pad. When I'm doing the surgery, I spend probably close to an hour with the bird having its foot in and out of warm heavily salted water the whole time.

When I finish, I have a large, clean open socket of a wound which I pack with Neosporin and lightly wrap with vetwrap. What I think I do differently, that it seems others don't, is that I don't repeat treatment. I don't resoak or wash the foot after the initial surgery. I think repeated soakings kill off the tissue that is trying to regrow and prevents the wound from drying and healing. Normally, I just take the vetwrap off after a few days and the wound is closed up and I don't do anything else to the foot. I also don't give antibiotics and I haven't had a bird to have any complications or reoccurence of bumblefoot after the surgery.

So you cut out all of what is inside the foot pad?? Down to the bone? I have never given any of my birds drugs, but I feel desperate!

Should I redo the surgery??​

Not down to the bone but down to good, pink, healthy tissue. You should be able to tell and see and feel the difference. The pink healthy tissue will also bleed. The problem a lot of people run into is that they stop too soon and don't get that plug out and don't get all of the abcess. When you have a crater with nothing but pink flesh, you're done.​

 

[Crack N' Egg]

ruth wrote:

Not down to the bone but down to good, pink, healthy tissue. You should be able to tell and see and feel the difference. The pink healthy tissue will also bleed. The problem a lot of people run into is that they stop too soon and don't get that plug out and don't get all of the abcess. When you have a crater with nothing but pink flesh, you're done.

Thank you very much for your knowledge. I also read another post from you on bumblefoot. I wish you lived closer, I would proposition you to do the surgery. LOL.

My DH and I did another surgery last night. I cut down, soaked, squeezed, cut some more and soaked and squeezed. No puss, no cheesy substance. pinkish tissue found and it bleed an awful lot. I removed all the dark tissue and not so great looking stuff. I streamed saline into the pad for a few minutes then packed it with neosporin, a sterile gauze pad and lightly wrapped it with vetwrap. When I checked on her this morning, she's resting in her crate and thankfully still alive.

Now, I did not open her other foot. Only the one that was bad. At washing and closer examination of the other foot, it was not very swollen and the bad looked like it was decreasing in swelling. The scab that formed over the surgery area looked clean and somewhat soft.
I have not given any medication as of yet. But am still open to it.

I have to tell you, I always wanted to be a surgeon growing up. I had a strong stomach for blood and pain. But now as a mother of two I think I have become a marshmallow. The blood still doesn't bother me, but I would be too scared of killing my patient. I would never cut it (harhar) in the medical field! Nurse...maybe...not head surgeon though.

My DH took some pics of last night's operation and I will try to post them later if I can.

Thank you BYC for all you support. I never once felt alone in this situation!!

I will keep everyone posted​

 

[Crack N' Egg]

I just wanted to post a little update on my Barred Rock Tic Tac.

After I redid her surgery on the one bad looking foot, I put a s*** load of neosporin, a gauze pad and gently wrapped it with vetwrap. I did as poster Ruth said and left her foot alone for at least 5 days. Today I unwrapped her foot for the first time since then and wow, it looks amazing. The pad was healing very nice and it looks great. She did have a little bit of scaling on the top of her foot by her ankle, but I slathered neo on it and decided to keep her foot unwrapped for now. The other foot has had no wrapping for over a week now and it looks great too, so I'm hoping that she is now past all the bad stuff. I never gave her the penicillin I was intending on giving her. But I was giving her some Duramycin in her water and don't know if that actually helped, but I'm thinking it did.

Her comb is looking good, her poop looks good and she is eating and drinking and accepting treats wonderfully. Although she has not lay an egg in over a week. I think after a few days she will be able to rejoin the ranks of the living and move out of our garage brooder and back into the coop with her family. I also think that having her isolated in a clean confined environment helped out as well.

I want to thank everyone who supported me through all this. The outpouring of concern and help that BYC has is really amazing! What a great family to be part of..

 

[ruth]

So glad to hear she is doing better. I really do think the one thing I do differently (that makes a difference) is leaving the foot alone after surgery. Do let it now air dry/heal and I think she will be fine.

Congrats on playing doctor. It isn't easy but it's sometimes necessary.

 

[jjthink]

So glad she's doing better.

JJ