Infected leg wound

[Soon2BChixMom]

I found it under your profile "topics started".
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/hen-with-wound-under-wing.1269393/

 

[MissChick@dee]

The hard yellow area is infection. Chickens puss is a strange substance. It will take a good long time for her body to heal. The black to me looks like necrotic tissue (dead) BUT it’s hard to tell it could be a very large scab. It’s hard to tell.
Leave the scab it’s a good thing. The fact that there was fresh blood is a good thing too having blood supplied to a wound helps it heal. Her swollen leg would give me concern try to limit her movements I’ve seen slings/chairs for chickens with leg injuries (YouTube).
I live out in the middle of nowhere and o tend to use what’s on hand. This is what I’d do if she where mine.
I would continue to clean her wound. I’d pluck or cut more feathers. I’d soak that leg and fashion a sling chair.
I use betadine to clean 50/50 diluted with water. It’s a good antibacterial and doesn’t sting. Please don’t use peroxide. Some people believe it will “bubble” out infection. It’s detrimental to new growing tissue. I’d keep the scab/dark tissue moist with triple antibiotic ointment. It’s going to take a long time to heal. But if you support her with wound care and food and water as long as she eats and drinks she’s got a chance. Chickens are amazing how they can overcome. I don’t know how you feel about antibiotics if that’s something might do. I keep packets of electrolytes on hand I’d mix those into her water. Most of the vitamins I see for chickens is a lot of salt (85%). I personally would not offer those at this time. High protein foods canned tuna cooked chicken meat will help her.
Sorry for the lengthy post. But just so you know I’ve had hens survive and live and get back to normal with much worse injuries. So keep after it. Don’t give up trying. She’ll need care for a good long while. Best wishes

 

[MissChick@dee]

If you have questions post them here. We’ll see how we can help.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

View attachment 1589945
This is the wound close up. The scab is dry but around the edge bleeds if I try to remove any of it so haven't. The leg is hot around it.

View attachment 1589946
This is her to show context. She's very placid which may not be a good sign although she is ourgent anesthesia silkie!

View attachment 1589948
To show the context of the size on her leg. I think it looks quite big but I have no experience of these things!

She's mostly not moving around at all in it. I'm lifting her out to feed her a combination of layers pellets mashed with water and water by syringe. She's eating when I offer it to her on my lap but not by herself. I think the others have been pecking at her sadly

Can you take her to a vet?

To me, it looks infected and she needs antibiotics. Her not willing to eat/drink on her own and barely moving tells us she is not doing well.

It could be injury or possibly a tumor or abscess that ruptured.
Can you trim away some of the feathers from the wound so we can get a better look at it.

 

[rebrascora]

Sadly I agree with @Wyorp Rock. That does not look like a straightforward injury and might be a tumour.... the swelling and crusty surface that bleeds doesn't sound good(tumours usually have a good vascular supply). Trimming away the feathers will give us a better idea of what is going on and enable you to treat it more easily. How old is she?
Chickens can recover from some pretty horrific injuries if their immune system is strong. Supporting her with a vitamin supplement might be beneficial. Are you in the UK.... I'm guessing that since you mention TCP. If so, your local feed store where you get your chicken feed may have some Nettex Nutri Drops that might give her a vitamin boost. It is just a little bottle in a box with a dropper and you can give her a few drops directly into her break or put it on food like scrambled eggs if she will eat.

 

[Eggcessive]

It looks like a cancerous tumor to me. Only time will tell, so I would follow advice for trimming, wound care (I would use Vetericyn and plain Neosporin Ointment when dry twice a day.) An antibiotic would be worth a try if it is an abscess. Fish Mox (amoxicillin) is one you can get online. Dosage is 250 mg a day, and I would divide that in two and give half in morning and half in evening. Your local vet might be helpful with a better antibiotic or care.

 

[WildCityMum]

Ok. That is all a huge help. I'm going to take her to a local vets here in the UK in a few hours to get an opinion on it as I think she is also now not using the other leg/dragging it which is not a good sign. I have a feeling they will offer to put her down then and there which will be awful with the children on my own as she is so loved by them and they will find euthanasia really hard to understand. Hopefully the vet will make a good judgment call for us in terms of the balance of her health and quality of life vs possibility of nursing her back to health. I'm willing to nurse her as I have others but she may be in too much pain.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Ok. That is all a huge help. I'm going to take her to a local vets here in the UK in a few hours to get an opinion on it as I think she is also now not using the other leg/dragging it which is not a good sign. I have a feeling they will offer to put her down then and there which will be awful with the children on my own as she is so loved by them and they will find euthanasia really hard to understand. Hopefully the vet will make a good judgment call for us in terms of the balance of her health and quality of life vs possibility of nursing her back to health. I'm willing to nurse her as I have others but she may be in too much pain.

Life lessons are sometimes painful, but as long as you aren't hiding it from your children they will adjust and come to terms with whatever the outcome is.
Good luck at the vet's as I'm sure they will do what is right for the chicken.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Ok. That is all a huge help. I'm going to take her to a local vets here in the UK in a few hours to get an opinion on it as I think she is also now not using the other leg/dragging it which is not a good sign. I have a feeling they will offer to put her down then and there which will be awful with the children on my own as she is so loved by them and they will find euthanasia really hard to understand. Hopefully the vet will make a good judgment call for us in terms of the balance of her health and quality of life vs possibility of nursing her back to health. I'm willing to nurse her as I have others but she may be in too much pain.

I'm glad you can have her seen.

Hopefully the vet can give you positive news. Please keep us posted on what you find out.

 

[WildCityMum]

Life lessons are sometimes painful, but as long as you aren't hiding it from your children they will adjust and come to terms with whatever the outcome is.
Good luck at the vet's as I'm sure they will do what is right for the chicken.

I'm glad you can have her seen.

Hopefully the vet can give you positive news. Please keep us posted on what you find out.

Hello friends,
Well the news is sad I'm afraid. I took her to the vets last nigth here in the UK with the details of all her vaccines and her certificate form the breeders. It in fact was a tumour, not a simple would infection. The Vet couldn't have been kinder. I had heard stories of vets who are quick to put them down without exploring what the cause is, but he was very understanding and thorough. He gave us a lot of time and appreciated how we wanted to do all we could if anything.

He said that the tumour on her leg had a very strong vascular supply (as I had thought) and that removing it would have very likely caused fatal bleeding. He also said that the other leg had lots neurological function rather than a break which explains why it had happened in the last few days while she was isolated from the other hens. He found no breaks, and some pain sensation but no mobility at all. He also said he thought there would be evidence of other tumours from a full checkover. Her eyes suggested to him some neurological dysfunction now too which he thought may mean tumours throughout the body. Although she from a very reputable breeder he thinks she had contracted the Mareks virus. He said that sometimes chicks have a lower takeup of the vaccine, or the breeders get the birth date wrong by 1 day, or the vaccine doesn't get injected in exactly the correct place, or even that they get distracted and think they have vaccinated a chick they haven't if they are doing many. So probably an honest mistake.

He sedated her heavily so that the children could 'say goodbye' and she would be pain free. He then took her to another room to give her a second injection and returned her wrapped in a towel for the children to hold. He kindly gave us a long time in the room for them to cry and come to terms with the news. Thank you so much for your support, I have really appreciated it!