infection on bumble foot?

[alinas2010]

i’m not able to post a photo, kumo’s already gone to sleep for the night. i’m not sure if there are any possible vets in my area, i live in the city and even if there were a vet, im not sure they’d know what to do since chicken healthcare is very underdeveloped. i’m also worried about the cost, but id do anything to help her.

I understand. Get us some pics when you can. For now, can you describe what her toe looks like currently? Is she active still? Is it worse than it was? It’s a little unclear if it got better or worse.

I’ll call in some experts. @Wyorp Rock @azygous

 

[alinas2010]

Do you have any antibiotics on hand? Maybe any left over from another pet or some a human didn’t use?

 

[kumokumo]

I understand. Get us some pics when you can. For now, can you describe what her toe looks like currently? Is she active still? Is it worse than it was? It’s a little unclear if it got better or worse.

I’ll call in some experts. @Wyorp Rock @azygous

her toe is very skinny and it’s a little more purplish in color compared to the rest of her foot. there’s a black scab on top of the wounded spot, and the base of her toe is reddish and a little puffy still. since the would is halfway down her toe, it’s very bendy and i can move it pretty freely without any restraint or kumo reacting to it in pain, which makes me believe it’s dead. like i can make the tip of her toe wiggle. for kumo’s behavior, she’s about the same as she usually is. she’s very friendly, she’s able to run and walk (she doesn’t look uncomfortable and she’s not limping, she walks a little funny because of the bandaging i’m assuming) and gets up to her perch at night despite it being a little high in the air. she does get very stressed out whenever i handle her during her baths and bandaging sessions though. i don’t have any antibiotics on hand. she doesn’t seem to be in pain or anything from what i can tell. her other bumblefoot spots are all scabbed and are healing just fine. i’m bummed, because she was acting super normal despite the lack of feeling in her toe. is there a possibility it’ll fall off by itself, like a frostbite or something? i really don’t wanna cut it off, but i don’t know of any vets that’ll take chickens that are actually knowledgeable enough to help me with her.

 

[alinas2010]

her toe is very skinny and it’s a little more purplish in color compared to the rest of her foot. there’s a black scab on top of the wounded spot, and the base of her toe is reddish and a little puffy still. since the would is halfway down her toe, it’s very bendy and i can move it pretty freely without any restraint or kumo reacting to it in pain, which makes me believe it’s dead. like i can make the tip of her toe wiggle. for kumo’s behavior, she’s about the same as she usually is. she’s very friendly, she’s able to run and walk (she doesn’t look uncomfortable and she’s not limping, she walks a little funny because of the bandaging i’m assuming) and gets up to her perch at night despite it being a little high in the air. she does get very stressed out whenever i handle her during her baths and bandaging sessions though. i don’t have any antibiotics on hand. she doesn’t seem to be in pain or anything from what i can tell. her other bumblefoot spots are all scabbed and are healing just fine. i’m bummed, because she was acting super normal despite the lack of feeling in her toe. is there a possibility it’ll fall off by itself, like a frostbite or something? i really don’t wanna cut it off, but i don’t know of any vets that’ll take chickens that are actually knowledgeable enough to help me with her.

Hmm okay. It’s hard to say without seeing it what is going on. In theory, dead tissue can self amputate regardless of how it happens, so I wouldn’t put it out of the question. I haven’t seen it happen with a bumblefoot infection, though, usually the infection just spreads from what I’ve seen. I’m definitely not as experienced as others here, so maybe I can find a thread where it has. Let me look. Were you able to get any pus out of the toe ever?

 

[kumokumo]

Hmm okay. It’s hard to say without seeing it what is going on. In theory, dead tissue can self amputate regardless of how it happens, so I wouldn’t put it out of the question. I haven’t seen it happen with a bumblefoot infection, though, usually the infection just spreads from what I’ve seen. I’m definitely not as experienced as others here, so maybe I can find a thread where it has. Let me look. Were you able to get any pus out of the toe ever?

no, there was no more pus in there. i waited to see if it would get less puffy to see if i removed all of the pus, and her toe shrunk a lot. it does look a little hollow in her foot though. there was only a bit of that weird yellow liquid, it wasn’t solid at all it was like watery, so i’m not sure what it was. but her toe is back to the original size, maybe even skinnier. i think most of the tissues in there are gone already, but im confused because i didn’t see anything come out or anything black in her foot? i’m checking if there are more options of vet clinics in my area, i live in MN in the twin cities so i’m hoping there should be some nearby that i might trust. there just aren’t many reviews of people talking about chickens, and im not sure if i even have the paperwork to legally own them which is its own issue, since i live in the city.

 

[alinas2010]

no, there was no more pus in there. i waited to see if it would get less puffy to see if i removed all of the pus, and her toe shrunk a lot. it does look a little hollow in her foot though. there was only a bit of that weird yellow liquid, it wasn’t solid at all it was like watery, so i’m not sure what it was. but her toe is back to the original size, maybe even skinnier. i think most of the tissues in there are gone already, but im confused because i didn’t see anything come out or anything black in her foot? i’m checking if there are more options of vet clinics in my area, i live in MN in the twin cities so i’m hoping there should be some nearby that i might trust. there just aren’t many reviews of people talking about chickens, and im not sure if i even have the paperwork to legally own them which is its own issue, since i live in the city.

Ah I see. It’s definitely your call if a trip to the vet would be worth the risk or not; that is a tough spot for you to be in, I am sorry. Ours are pets, too and I hate that more cities don’t encourage people to have them.

You may be able to treat yourself still, especially if she is past the worst of it. Tomorrow post pics when you can and that will really help us see if we can give you some more home treatment advice. I’m hoping her toe shrinking is a good sign.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Sorry to hear about the toe.

Current photos would be helpful.

 

[kumokumo]

Sorry to hear about the toe.

Current photos would be helpful.

today i checked, and the toe was completely rotten through. her bone popped off from the others, so we made the decision to just snip off the dead toe. she didn’t bleed much, but her toe was very dead. i’m sorry i made her lose her toe. she’s my favorite hen and i feel very guilty.

 

[alinas2010]

today i checked, and the toe was completely rotten through. her bone popped off from the others, so we made the decision to just snip off the dead toe. she didn’t bleed much, but her toe was very dead. i’m sorry i made her lose her toe. she’s my favorite hen and i feel very guilty.

Hey, that isn’t exactly the worst outcome. You were trying to help her, we learn from our mistakes and now you know what to do different next time. I think snipping it off was the right decision. I’m sorry about her toe. Looks like she will make a good recovery, though.

Does it look like the infection spread at all? Hoping Wyorp Rock has some good aftercare advice for you, I’ve never dealt with an amputation myself. I’m assuming keep it clean and covered. Is any bone showing?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

today i checked, and the toe was completely rotten through. her bone popped off from the others, so we made the decision to just snip off the dead toe. she didn’t bleed much, but her toe was very dead. i’m sorry i made her lose her toe. she’s my favorite hen and i feel very guilty.

Looks like it came off cleanly. I'd just make sure to keep the exposed tissue/wound clean and keep it covered so it doesn't get soiled.

It will probably heal fairly quickly now.

I don't know if you did anything wrong, sometimes when there's infection it will affect all the tissue and part of the foot/toe (limb/arm) will die, it's an attempt of the body to wall off losing more.
With chickens, autoamputation is often seen in cases of frostbitten toes and feet, the hen may lose a toe or even foot, but she learns to adapt and continue on living.

Keep us posted on her progress, she can certainly get along o.k. with part of her toe missing.