Matilda is going to lose her feet. :(

[RosemaryDuck]

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!

This is so wonderful! It's so great to see people are already loving her! And I bet she's enjoying the extra attention too.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

So cute!
Is she moving around much on her own yet? Or did she basically just sit in the basket all day accepting love?

When i took her to town inside a store, she literally just sat still in her basket accepting love. Which is Exactly what she needs to do in order to become a true therapy animal. As i was coming through the store entrance, i saw a woman's jaw drop as she stared in astonishment when i approached. As i walked past, i told her with a smile, "yes, its a chicken." The woman never said a word; just craned her neck around and watched us go inside, with her jaw still basically on the floor.

I know her feet need to finish healing, & i wont take her out at all once the summer heat arrives in force. Mainly wanted to see if she remained as calm as i thought she would. And she did. Didnt react or appear stressed in a strange environment or with unknown people petting her At All.

As far as moving around on her own, she Just now finished her daily epsom salt soak. She stood/rested calmly in the plastic tub the whole 10-15 minutes. When i put her on carpet to dry her feet, she walked around for a several minutes, fully upright on left nub and right foot. Then she Flew back into her basket. Thats the first time shes flown since her injury. But its dark outside now. She obviously now sees the basket as her cozy safe coop, & wanted to get back in it.

The left nub is looking great as far as no redness or swelling. Still not sure what is going on with the extra tissue that extends out from nub. (Still unclear if there is bone under the tissue.) Interestingly, her left spur is shrinking, even though the spur appeared undamaged by frostbite. No obvious change since Monday in the right foot. If anything, i may be seeing a little more red color in the right foot. Hopefully that means a recovering blood supply. I will take current pictures tomorrow and/or this weekend, and post photos of the left leg and right foot next tuesday.

 

[RosemaryDuck]

Then she Flew back into her basket. Thats the first time shes flown since her injury. But its dark outside now. She obviously now sees the basket as her cozy safe coop, & wanted to get back in it.

Hmm, that's very interesting! I wonder if knows she has to fly places now instead of walk. It's an amazing adaption on her part!

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Hmm, that's very interesting! I wonder if knows she has to fly places now instead of walk. It's an amazing adaption on her part!

I think she simply wanted to get back into her "coop", and knew since she couldnt walk into it, she needed to fly. Since her injury, i have become aware that Matilda is a very intelligent chicken. I get frustrated when i hear/read people call chickens dumb or stupid. Not mad, just frustrated, & makes me wanna pull up a chair with them and ask, "Now tell me why you think that?" I didnt have chickens very long at all before i saw that not only are chickens not dumb, they are very intelligent in many ways. Because chickens are prey animals, they have different instincts and different reactions than apex predators such as we humans for instance. Even horses are prey animals, which is why horses also have very different instincts and reactions than other predatory mammals. But chickens dumb? No way!

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

This is so wonderful! It's so great to see people are already loving her! And I bet she's enjoying the extra attention too.

Yes as long as the outings dont stress her, they are surely good for her mentally. My chickens are free-range, so her life has changed (huge understatement) since her accident. Plus, by now she would be incubating eggs to turn into chicks. Matilda was always one of the first hens to go broody (February or March every year), as well as one of the last. (October or November). She hatched her last clutch October 2020.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Hi everyone. Only minor updates/changes in pictures to report. But Possibly a new issue due to the new pictures.

Minor change: The inner toe on Matilda's right foot finally fell off last night. The tissue above that toe had swelled up at about the same time her left foot detached, and i was surprised the toe held on as long as it did. No other toes on her right foot have swelled above the blackened tissue, which has continued to allow me to hold out hope for the right foot itself.

Possible Major change: In hindsight it was likely present all along; i just hadnt noticed it. (Can only be seen in bright sunlight). This new observation potentially leads to a new problem. Am i seeing what i Think im seeing in the toenail quick(s)? I.e. Is there a blood supply in the toenail(s), or are my eyes playing tricks on me?

When i noticed the possible blood supply in the toenail quicks, i realized the blackened, charred tissue is no longer a simple "protective" thing. The word "debridement" immediately came to mind. I have zero experience with either severe frostbite or severe (heat) burns. But since Matilda's accident, have learned that cold burns and heat burns cause similiar damage to tissues.

A (human) doctor may wait 1-3 months before removing damaged frostbittten tissue, in order to see the extent to which the body may be able to repair itself. Also, keeping the damaged tissue intact may help protect any viable viable tissue from becoming infected. HOWEVER, to heal properly, frostbitten skin needs to be free of damaged or dead tissue. And the charred black skin on Matilda's foot and toes is by now surely dead.

So. If Matilda's toes (& foot) have viable tissue underneath the charred dead skin, the dead skin should be removed. All this time i have been waiting for a clean "severing". Waiting for all the toes, & possibly both feet, to fall cleanly away. With this new potential development, feeling clueless again. All i really know about "debridement" is that it is very painful. Dont yet know the next best step for Matilda. Not willing to put her through more physical discomfort and pain. (She is still emotionally content and happy.) I'll be doing more research on the issue.

Meanwhile, Anyone with knowledge or ideas, Please chime in. All input is greatly appreciated. @azygous , you have mentioned having knowledge of burn injuries in other threads i've read. Do you have any advice/input in Matilda's case?

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Also, here is photo of left leg. I finally saw why her left spur is shrinking. As seen from underneath spur, blood supply appears compromised. I'm still unclear if there is bone under the fleshy extension. Not a clean sharp detachment on the left leg either. But the nub is scabbed over and appears to be healing.

 

[azygous]

Feet and comb frostbite injuries we leave alone to resolve on their own. The chicken's response to damaged extremities is a bit different than humans. Whereas humans often need intervention, debridement, to prevent infection and encourage new tissue growth, chickens' immune systems wall off the dead tissue, cutting off the blood supply, and this causes the dead tissue to dry up and then fall away.

This isn't to say that intervention in the way of debridement isn't necessary for wounds on the main part of the body of a chicken. But the extremities will resolve this on their own.

If you are seeing any extremity with a still functioning blood supply, it's very possible that portion will survive.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Feet and comb frostbite injuries we leave alone to resolve on their own. The chicken's response to damaged extremities is a bit different than humans. Whereas humans often need intervention, debridement, to prevent infection and encourage new tissue growth, chickens' immune systems wall off the dead tissue, cutting off the blood supply, and this causes the dead tissue to dry up and then fall away.

This isn't to say that intervention in the way of debridement isn't necessary for wounds on the main part of the body of a chicken. But the extremities will resolve this on their own.

If you are seeing any extremity with a still functioning blood supply, it's very possible that portion will survive.

Thank you Very much for that information. I am greatly relieved to know her past/current treatment (and time)is the best/only treatment to aid in her recovery.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Okay Thank you have watched but did not have anwers now.. We can all learn from what she has gone through