infection setting in? PIC

[holyhart]

My son shut the coop door on one of the chickens toes last week. Looked broken, but other than that she seemed fine. I've been putting antibiotic spray on it since daily. This is what it looks like right now. It is all swollen. Is this infection? Is there something I can give her or do for her? Is this going to kill her?



I know it isn't a great picture, I can take another if it is needed.

 

[CMV]

A clearer pic of both top and bottom of the foot would be good. Thanks.

 

[holyhart]

I think these should be a bit better. I also took one of the same toe, opposite foot for contrast. Sorry, I don't know how to resize the pics.


top of foot



bottom of foot


side of foot


oppostie foot

 

[CMV]

Is it hot to the touch? I don't see any redness.

 

[holyhart]

Yes, her whole foot seems quite warm (not entirely sure how warm/cool it should feel?). There is no redness on it thought that I can see. Just lots of swelling and she is still limping on it.

 

[CMV]

I think the swelling is from the fracture that she obviously has. Fractures swell up like crazy, so I think it is confirmed that she has a broken foot. I would keep an eye on it. If it should suddenly get hot and red then she will need to be treated for an infection. I hesitate to treat with antibiotics unless there is a certain infection. Antibiotics can really mess with the GI system in birds. An antibiotic (even used correctly) can lead to yeast overgrowth, digestive problems, weight loss, bug resistance, etc. These are often problems that don't have an easy fix. I would rather err on the side of caution than risk inflicting a more debilitating problem on a bird in an effort to treat an infection that is not even there.

Should you decide you would like to treat prophylactically then you can get some Pen G at the feed store along with some syringes. This would likely be the antibiotic of choice when dealing with an infection/problem of this nature.

Upon closer inspection of the pics- are those scabs present on the toe? Or is it dirt? If they are scabs then I might try to soak them off in an epsom salt bath to see what's underneath them. They are quite clear in the "side of the foot" pic. I see 2 seeming scabs, one just above the other. I think I would see if anything is brewing under the bottom scab in the pic.

 

[ChicknThief]

I think the swelling is from the fracture that she obviously has. Fractures swell up like crazy, so I think it is confirmed that she has a broken foot. I would keep an eye on it. If it should suddenly get hot and red then she will need to be treated for an infection. I hesitate to treat with antibiotics unless there is a certain infection. Antibiotics can really mess with the GI system in birds. An antibiotic (even used correctly) can lead to yeast overgrowth, digestive problems, weight loss, bug resistance, etc. These are often problems that don't have an easy fix. I would rather err on the side of caution than risk inflicting a more debilitating problem on a bird in an effort to treat an infection that is not even there.

Should you decide you would like to treat prophylactically then you can get some Pen G at the feed store along with some syringes. This would likely be the antibiotic of choice when dealing with an infection/problem of this nature.

Upon closer inspection of the pics- are those scabs present on the toe? Or is it dirt? If they are scabs then I might try to soak them off in an epsom salt bath to see what's underneath them. They are quite clear in the "side of the foot" pic. I see 2 seeming scabs, one just above the other. I think I would see if anything is brewing under the bottom scab in the pic.

x2. That third pic is alarming. If its dirt, no sweat. If it's a scab, you have yourself a staph infection. Aka Bumblefoot.

 

[holyhart]

I will soak her foot in the morning to find out about those spots. The skin on her foot was broken as well, so is it possible that those are just healing scabs? Is bumblefoot like a human staph infection? That's kinda scary! A friend of mine died a few years ago from a staph infection. I just read about what to do if it is bumblefoot, and that does not look fun.

 

[CMV]

It's not fun, but it is relatively easy to deal with. Let us know what you find.

 

[holyhart]

I'll post pics after I clean it. Thank you both for your knowledge! Amazing how my first flock of 6 chickens was completely uneventful!!! If this had been my first year having chickens, I don't know that I would have done it again! Unfortunately, I think I am a little hooked on them now. I just bought 2 new olive egger pullets today.