leg amputation/infection

[dbrennan]

Hi,

I have had two young hens get stepped on by a horse. One hen lost both of her feet at the leg joint. I had to remove the legs with a scissors. The other has lost one leg and hers is infected - warm to touch and swollen. What do I do? I have them caged and they are both eating and drinking . . . Thanks. Dawn

 

[chicklady63]

Gosh - so sorry for you and your hens.
There are antibiotics that you can get that are added to their water. There are topical ones also, but since yours are willing to drink you might try the ingestible ones first. Also, there are vitamins that are added to water. I think maybe you have to do one first (antibiotic) and then later the vitamins, not both at once if I remember correctly. There are different ones for different bacteria of course, so you may have to try more than one before you find the one that the particular bacteria you are dealing with is susceptible to. Hope this helps. I really wish you luck.

 

[MoodyChicken]

Aw, poor babies! They need to be on a heavy duty antibiotic right now. Amoxicillian or Baytril should do the trick. Both are prescription only, so contact a vet and they should set you up. Keep them warm for sure and clean the wound and change the bandages often.

 

[dbrennan]

Thanks. I'll be able to fully attend to them tonight when I get home. I have access to Chinese antibiotics w/o prescription so will try those first in their water. Poor babies . . .

 

[tiki244]

injectable penicillin at the farm store might work, dont forget the needle

 

[SeramaLife]

does it hurt them to stand or sit or are they on there sides? One of our roosters got frostbite and lost both feet and part of his legs. That was a year ago. He gets around just fine on his stubs and even has a chick!

 

[MoodyChicken]

Could you shed some light on these Chinese antibiotics? I'm very curious.

 

[dbrennan]

The antibiotic is Huang Lien. I work in the same office complex as an acupuncturist/chinese herbalist. She recommends this antibiotic for humans anytime there is a bacterial infection. She is out of the country right now so I wasn't able to ask her re:dosage but I dissolved one tab in their water and both drank a ton. I also am giving them Arnica Montana 30C which is a homepathic for tissue/bone trauma. It would have been better for them to get that right away but I was on vacation and couldn't treat them initially.
They are both bright eyed, eating, drinking and very talkative. They appear happy to have each other to sleep with. I have them in my laundry room.
I wrapped their stumps with cotton and vet wrap after I covered them with antibiotic cream. There isn't any visible signs of infection tonight and they are able to hop/hobble around. Greta even tried to fly up the the top of the laundry basket to perch. So far so good.
Not sure what kind of a life a legless/footless chicken can have but I'll give them a fighting chance and reassess as we go along. Thanks for support!

 

[MoodyChicken]

Wow, that's really cool. I'll have to look into those meds. What are they called?

You might want to make some prosthetic feet for them. Have they been cut below or above the hock?