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Usually, frostbitten toes will self amputate. It takes time for this to occur, but most chickens survive. It helps to either soak the feet or use a disinfectant such as Betadine or chlorhexidene on them if soaking is not done.Isn't leaving rotten flesh on dangerous? I mean, shouldn't it be removed, so the clean still living stuff can heal up from the amputation point?
Aaron
Yes that picture looks much like her right foot, with a mix of black, red & even yellow colors. The photo from this morn of the underside of her right foot shows Exactly what is going on! This morn's photo also caused me to think of pentoxifyline again, & question whether i should have taken her to vet to get a prescription for the med after all, even if very delayed. Also this. Ive already mentioned that when i initially found her hanging upside down and brought her inside, her left foot had some warmth, but the right foot was cold to my touch. I didnt know to warm her feet up in warm water, so instead i held her feet in my hands until i felt them warm. BUT i suspect i focused more on her right foot. That is the foot she hung by, & it is also the foot that felt cold. I will always wonder how her left foot was the one that substained more damage, unless i simply didnt warm it up properly. What is done is done, & im just re-emphasizing the proper way to warm up frostbite cases. Also, if one wants to give a bird's frostbitten feet the Best chance for recovery, a trip to a vet for a basic exam and pentoxiphyline prescript would be a good move. And @Excessive , i think your previous mention of catching your birds trying to roost on a metal garbage can is very important. Added to my list of always dump standing water during a hard freeze, is always make sure my chickens cannot stand, roost or come in contact with bare metal. To those who insisted their birds never got their feet wet but nevertheless suffered severe frostbite, my guess is contact with frozen metal was a cause.I cannot locate the exact thread this picture came from, but the chicken suffered frostbite of a lot of tissue on the feet, and had a lot of damage, but it shows some healthy tissue as well. I remember posting on that thread, but could only locate the picture. Glad that everything is going well with your hen. https://www.backyardchickens.com/content/type/61/id/6088894/width/350/height/700
I did a lot of research on Human feet frostbite, since there is much more info re humans. (And the pics are just as ugly). Even with human cases, not much can be done after the initial rewarming . With human toes, neither surgery nor amputation usually takes place unless the the necrotic tissue becomes Wet gangrene. Most necrotic frostbite is due to Dry gangrene. The blackened tissue actually serves to protect from infection any healing that may be taking place, same as the blisters serve as a protective barrier in early frostbite stages. (Meaning frostbite blisters should never be popped or drained). Also, sorry @Eggcessive , i mis -spelled your user name in my prior post.Isn't leaving rotten flesh on dangerous? I mean, shouldn't it be removed, so the clean still living stuff can heal up from the amputation point?
Aaron
Yes im curious too. I had wondered why the right toes hadnt already fallen off, especially since they appear black and dead from above. But the photo with the sun shining through clearly shows red, so there is definitely Some blood supply in the toes.So happy to hear that she's doing well! I'm curious to see what, if any, toe flesh survives on this foot.
In the meantime, enjoy your new lap chicken. :3
Side note: Is that an underbite I see? Never seen a hen with a longer lower beak than upper. Has she always had that?