Matilda is going to lose her feet. :(

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Matilda Marans had an accident last month during Texas' all-time low record temperatures. I have read threads on frostbite before, & saw the sad photos of poultry losing /having lost their feet. The main thing i made note of after reading those threads was to make sure my chickens couldnt submerge their feet in freezing water, since that seems to be the general consensus as to how frostbitten chicken feet occurs. But Matilda didnt get her feet wet; I am positive of that. The temperature was 3 degrees the morning her injury happened, & had ranged -4F to low teens the entire prior week. The only water the chickens had access to was the many gallons of thawed water i hauled out to them in one gallon chick waterers, which they always drank immediately. (There Was 4-5 inches of snow on the ground on the day of her injury). I've been treating her for several weeks now, and have wavered back and forth as to whether to post her case. Frankly, its very depressing to acknowledge her reality. There's nothing i can do to save her feet, & also it's possible her injuries wouldnt be so severe if i had known how to properly treat frostbite at the initial stage. But maybe something can be learned to help others if they ever deal with frostbite with their own chickens. Not that Matilda would have volunteered to sacrifice her feet to help anybody, but nevertheless that's where she's at. Anyone that has knowledge or experience with frostbite, please offer your comments, constructive criticism, and advice. The photo in this post was taken this past Saturday, March 28. Next i will explain how her accident ocurred, & post photos of her visible symptoms as they developed, beginning with the day of her accident on february 19. A warning, the following photos are graphic and not pretty.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Matilda is now officially a Therapy Chicken in training! Took her on her first public outing today. She was calm as could be, & passed with flying colors. She's already putting smiles on people's faces!

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

After info and advice given last night, i decided to add a few more photos taken today. First of all, @BGcoop , your input led me to more closely examine her stump this morn. The photo isnt super clear, plus i had already covered it in triple antibiotic before i thought to take a photo. But t it looks to me that the formerly bloody "blob" is only tissue, not bone. That is a HUGE relief. The now dried extension seems to extend only from the top of her foot, not the center, where the bone would be.

Yes, there are definitely differing opinions re whether to leave the foot covered or uncovered as it heals. I think for now i am going to go with my gut instinct and keep it LOOSEly wrapped, since she has pecked at the protusion while it is uncovered and drying. I will observe her and likely switch to unwrapped on puppy pads when she quits pecking at the stump. (Altho the same issue may soon occur on her right foot, when at the very least her toes begin to call off. )

I have read on other frostbite threads that people said their birds actually seemed more comfortable and became more mobile after the dead foot fell off. This has definitely proved true with Matilda. Almost immediately she began lifting herself off the ground more to preen. She definitely needs to be in the sling at least a couple hours daily since she doesnt remain upright very long, but i definitely see progress. I now have hope she Will begin to maneuver better after the right foot does its thing. She currently acts toward the right foot same as she did with the dead left one. Like she doesnt quite know how to use it,or where to place it.

As to caring for Matilda, i want to say this. I have other hens that scream blood murder if i so much as dare touch a feather. Intensive care with those hens would be impossible, & i would need to euthanize. But Matilda's temperment is incredible. I never had a clue how incredible until her accident. She has since gone on her first auto trip, first visit to another house other than her own, is nonplussed by a vacuum cleaner motoring around her laundry basket bed cleaning up escaped shavings, & many other "firsts". Nothing has fazed her. She raises up a bit in curiosity at first, then quickly settles back in contentment. She doesnt mind me stroking her feathers, seems to enjoy it actually. She makes no objections when i maneuver and contort her in different positions to treat her feet. I previously mentioned how relaxed and settled she was while resting in my lap. She does that every single time. I took a photo this morn and saw why she is so relaxed. Because she has fallen asleep!!! Matilda would make a Great therapy chicken, especially administering to recuperating amputees. I knew many people who did so with their certified therapy dogs, including an individual whose dog was awarded Texas Therapy Dog of The Year. I never had time to pursue that avenue with my own dogs, & with too many chickens and other obligations, i dont have spare time now. So Matilda will serve as my personal therapy chicken. Her accident was tragic, but she is a clear example of the adage "Every cloud has a silver lining." I would have missed knowing her if not for her injuries, & she seems glad for the individual attention too.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

I took her back inside, put her in her bed, & went to make coffee. When i came back, discovered Matilda is stoic, patient, AND helpful. She had left her foot in a place where i was sure to see it. Yes, she put it in her food bowl.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

It's been 6 weeks to the day since Matilda's right foot came off, and here are some photo updates. (Has been 13+ weeks since her left foot detached, & 19+ weeks since the frostbite injuries ocurred back in february).

The photos below, taken yesterday, show her right foot stump which continues to slowly heal. There is still a visible line of demarcation where the top of foot separated from the bottom foot pad & left behind a gruesome mess. It appears in the photo that the wound may still be open to bacteria, but there is actually a "seal" between top and bottom of stump. (Didnt think to get closeup photo of the seal, will do so soon.) I am still treating with vetericyn spray & triple antibiotic & keeping the healing stump wrapped. As shown in 2nd photo, her right spur continues to absorb.

The photos above document what Matilda lost. (her feet). But more importantly, what can Matilda still do, & and what is her current quality of life?

For one thing, Matilda can still enjoy tomatoes and other vegetables from the garden.

She can still enjoy lying on the cool dirt under a shade tree on a warm summer day.

She can hang with her flock discussing secrets only chickens know.

Very importantly, i was anxious to know if Matilda could still dust bathe. A chicken needs the ability to use their feet/legs to dust bathe properly. On her prior outings about town, people who petted her often commented on the softness of her feathers. But i knew that although she still preened, an inability to dust bathe meant her feathers would over time become abnormally oily. Before her feet detached, she would lie motionless in the sand and make no attempts to use her legs/feet. But after the right foot came off, Matilda almost immediately became more restless & began to stand upright, where in all the weeks before she was content to lie mostly motionless in her basket. So i placed her in a dust bath hole, (which has finally dried from near continuous daily spring rains) to see what she would do.

Yes!!! Waltzing Matilda, so named due to her extreme scratchy feet actions while raising chicks, can still dance!

As her injuries continue to heal, the above are but a few of the things Matilda can still do. Plus, she has her special devoted friend that continues to stand beside her through thick and thin.

Matilda's life is still good!

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

There is still no obvious change in the top of Matilda's right foot or remaining toes. A full 3 months after the frostbite ocurred back in february, the skin remains blackened, rigid and hard. Since the inner toe detached 4 weeks ago, the only other obvious progression is that the spur continues to shrink away. Is it is possible that the condition of the foot is permanent after all? I have no idea.

I am going to show some photos of her in a natural environment, taken this past weekend. Her right foot is visible in several of the pics. I had taken her outside to get yes, more photos of her foot. Hadn't intended to put her on the ground, since due to continued heavy rains and flooding, the soil remains saturated and wet. But as i held her in my arms, she peered longingly down at the ground. So i hunted for the driest area i could find, & sat her down. Before too long, someone wandered over.

The hen that came over is a red-sex link (rir/delaware cross), & tends to be quite bossy. I was on guard for a confrontation, & by her tense posture, Matilda didnt know what to expect either.

The visitor circled Matilda and looked directly into her eyes. I dont know how chickens refer to each other, but in human-speak the red hen seemed to be asking, "Matilda?! Is that really you?! Girl, Where have you been?!!"

The red hen gently pecked some shavings from Matilda's rear end, then stood very near Matilda while both preened. The red hen next plopped right up against Matilda and spread her wing to soak up some sun. Though Matilda has been absent from her flock for 3 months and counting, these 2 hens are clearly old friends!

Eventually some others also wandered near. (Matilda is in the middle of the group.) Company, but not necessarily friends. The others soon left, but the red hen stayed near Matilda for at least 10 minutes. If only Matilda's friend could tell me what is going on with her right foot!

 

[azygous]

Cheers for Matilda! Cheers for her keeper! It's lucky you caught the ulcerations of her stumps. That could have really set her back. You did a marvelous job of treating her "bumble-shank". They look to be healing wonderfully.

The best padding to protect her stumps, in my experience, is foam rubber, the kind used for cushions. I have chondrodermatitis nodularis, pressure sores on both ears. No, not from sleeping on rocks. A down pillow can do this to ears, causing painful sores. My doctor gave me a foam "donut" to sleep on to cushion my ears. It's amazingly efficient.

I suggest a one-inch thick round foam cushion for each stump, inserted in those classy pink socks she wears. You might have to experiment with the shape and size until you arrive at a design that will remain on her feet and not shift around out of place. You could even take two-inch foam cubes and hollow out the center to closely match the shape of her stumps, leaving an inch of cushioning to make contact with the ground.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

One more idea... you say she has spurs. If possible, you could make/have made a prosthetic that "cups" around the back of her leg and uses the spur as its anchor point. A strap above the spur and a strap below the spur. This would alleviate pressure on the actual stump end and would end up being more or less an external type brace, rather than fitting over the stump end. I've drawn some (very crude) pictures to illustrate what it might resemble. One view is the front and another would be a side view.

Matilda HAD spurs that would make many roosters envious. (Photo from soon after right foot detached.)

Oddly, when her feet detached both spurs began to "absorb" and shrink, even though the spurs were attached to live tissue that remained healthy. For Matilda your idea is too late, since months of compression have caused the right spur remnant to be pressed firmly into her foot pad. (The left spur nearly entirely disappeared, & I had assumed the right spur would vanish too.) HOWever, your idea still has merit to be of great help, and here is why.

When It became obvious that Matilda would lose her feet, i poured through old byc threads looking for advice and ideas to make her new reality easier and better. There's quite a lot of frostbite cases threads on byc, but not nearly as much regarding aftercare and prosthetics that people used to help their poultry patients become more mobile. Some of the chicken amputees were roosters, & your idea will be very beneficial to anyone who discovers this thread in the future and is looking for ideas to help their male patient. If I had seen it months ago, I would definitely have used your idea too.

On that note, to all who have made suggestions re making better "feet" for padding and to help Matilda hopefully become even more mobile than before, ALL the ideas are very well-thought out and very appreciated. I already have supplies on hand to incorporate some of the ideas, while with others I will need to purchase supplies. I'm going to spend this weekend studying all your unput carefully and deciding which to try first . (May ultimately use a combination of ideas) Obviously (hopefully!) I won't need to try ALL the ideas to find a great solution to help Matilda. But there will be others in the future that will discover this thread because they have poultry amputee patients of their own. And among all the ideas submitted here, will likely find and make their own solution There have already been more ideas submitted here than I saw on all other frostbite amputee threads Combined. So if anyone is a latecomer to this thread and has a good idea of their owns, please post it. Even though you may never know, it may be Your idea that provides the perfect solution for a future amputee patient in need.

 

[azygous]

If BYC gave awards for terrific threads, this thread would surely win one. Matilda's heartwarming journey has been inspirational.

I've filed the thread in my reference files and have already linked to it in other frostbite threads.

Matilda has a bit more healing to do and she'll be gradually learning to get around on stumps instead of feet, but I see her one day doing just about everything chickens normally do. It was so wonderful to see her enjoying a dirt bath as that activity is bliss to a chicken.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

@BigBlueHen53 , when I discovered Matilda suspended upside down and brought her inside, I didn't know if she would survive. She was fully conscious, but in the first photo I took soon after finding her, her eyes show her extreme distress. I thought that photo might be the last I ever took of her alive. If she had died there would have been no reason for this thread, & her death would have remained my own private tragedy. Matilda will soon turn 6 years old in early March, & this past year of her being so sedentary has surely shortened her life. But she had a great first four years living life outside being a normal chicken and raising lots of chicks, & I think she enjoys the doting care she has received since her accident. However long she lives, I think Matilda would say her life has been good.