Matilda is going to lose her feet. :(

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Hi @Weeg thanks for your reply.
Yes I'm mainly seeking ideas for more padding, in hopes that will prevent her Wrapped shanks from making contact with soil and help remove risk of staph/bumble infection. A maxi pad may work! I'm hoping to try several ideas and see which one gives her the best mobility. The bottoms of her shanks are literally becoming flattened due her bearing her weight on them. The pool noodle idea i saw today and your maxi-pad idea may both provide a sort of "shoe" to give her more balance as well as more padding.

 

[Weeg]

Hi @Weeg thanks for your reply.
Yes I'm mainly seeking ideas for more padding, in hopes that will prevent her Wrapped shanks from making contact with soil and help remove risk of staph/bumble infection. A maxi pad may work! I'm hoping to try several ideas and see which one gives her the best mobility. The bottoms of her shanks are literally becoming flattened due her bearing her weight on them. The pool noodle idea i saw today and your maxi-pad idea may both provide a sort of "shoe" to give her more balance as well as more padding.

I bet cnombined it might work pretty well. I have some left over craft foam I was just looking at that might work to. If you find some semi sturdy foam at a craft store with some give, it might give some shock absorption when she steps?
I like the pool noodle. That will be sturdy and probably last a while.

Maybe you could try spaying her stubs with Veterycin when you wrap, or even a Calendula slave. Calendula is really great for drawing out infection, and might keep it moist too. It can be expensive, but you wouldn't have to use that much.

 

[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]

I bet cnombined it might work pretty well. I have some left over craft foam I was just looking at that might work to. If you find some semi sturdy foam at a craft store with some give, it might give some shock absorption when she steps?
I like the pool noodle. That will be sturdy and probably last a while.

Maybe you could try spaying her stubs with Veterycin when you wrap, or even a Calendula slave. Calendula is really great for drawing out infection, and might keep it moist too. It can be expensive, but you wouldn't have to use that much.

This past summer I looked into eventually having her some 3d feet printed. But knew she needed to go through fall molt first because no chicken likes being handled while pin feathers are growing in. At the time I couldn't find any place near me that had a 3d printer without having to drive back to the dfw metroplex. (I left the traffic jams behind 10 years ago and would prefer to never go back.) I looked into some nearby colleges and high schools to see if Matilda could become a class project, but didn't find any place local with a 3d printer. And then when she started getting around fairly well I dropped the idea. I still think 3d printed feet might be great, but am looking for other ideas before I revisit needing to travel far.

I was pretty meticulous in keeping her stubs covered in veterycin while the skin was still healing and very tender, but yes i mostly quit using it once the tissue and skin appeared to have healed. I've resumed using triple antibiotic and vetercyn on the "bumbles", and I agree with you it is a good idea to keep using from now on during her weekly bandage unwraps and rewraps.

 

[Weeg]

This past summer I looked into eventually having her some 3d feet printed. But knew she needed to go through fall molt first because no chicken likes being handled while pin feathers are growing in. At the time I couldn't find any place near me that had a 3d printer without having to drive back to the dfw metroplex. (I left the traffic jams behind 10 years ago and would prefer to never go back.) I looked into some nearby colleges and high schools to see if Matilda could become a class project, but didn't find any place local with a 3d printer. And then when she started getting around fairly well I dropped the idea. I still think 3d printed feet might be great, but am looking for other ideas before I revisit needing to travel far.

I think that it might help give her some support. There is a seller on Etsy who makes custom 3D printed poultry prosthetics. It would save you the driving and searching. Here's the link to his listing- https://www.etsy.com/listing/990917559/avian-prosthetics-customized-please-send?click_key=9cf348547490e26563a78c38338d65b2b21107fc:990917559&click_sum=19ba1fa4&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=3d+printed+poultry+prostetics&ref=sr_gallery-1-10&organic_search_click=1&frs=1

 

[NerdyBird]

This past summer I looked into eventually having her some 3d feet printed. But knew she needed to go through fall molt first because no chicken likes being handled while pin feathers are growing in. At the time I couldn't find any place near me that had a 3d printer without having to drive back to the dfw metroplex. (I left the traffic jams behind 10 years ago and would prefer to never go back.) I looked into some nearby colleges and high schools to see if Matilda could become a class project, but didn't find any place local with a 3d printer. And then when she started getting around fairly well I dropped the idea. I still think 3d printed feet might be great, but am looking for other ideas before I revisit needing to travel far.

I was pretty meticulous in keeping her stubs covered in veterycin while the skin was still healing and very tender, but yes i mostly quit using it once the tissue and skin appeared to have healed. I've resumed using triple antibiotic and vetercyn on the "bumbles", and I agree with you it is a good idea to keep using from now on during her weekly bandage unwraps and rewraps.

Hey, came across this thread and wanted to let you know if you can get on etsy and search for 3D printed chicken prosthetics or Chicken foot splints, that would give you some options. I came across them by accident months ago. Most of the shop owners are willing to work with you and customize prosthetics to suit your needs/application. They're also affordable. Some shop names that come up are Branscum3DPrinting and RedefineGifts. Obviously some padding and stump sleeves will need to be figured out in order to keep ulcers and skin breakdown from occurring. I am rooting for Ms. Matilda and I admire your dedication and commitment to her!

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

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.

I do think it was luck and happenstance I noticed the scabs fairly early, and have no idea what caused me to even look. Matilda definitely wasn't getting around any less or any differently. And when I finally did notice, i continued to stare at them for several more days before accepting that the scabs could actually be staph infection taking hold.

The foam cushion sounds like a great idea, and I appreciate the detailed specs. Using 2 inch cubes or round "donuts" and hollowing out the center to try and match the shape of her stumps is similiar to making a mold in order to print out 3d feet. Maybe a one inch cushion on her right shank and a two inch cushion on her left shank to make them more equal in length could also work. I ll be spending some extra time with Matilda's stumps this weekend to figure out what works.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

I think that it might help give her some support. There is a seller on Etsy who makes custom 3D printed poultry prosthetics. It would save you the driving and searching. Here's the link to his listing- https://www.etsy.com/listing/990917559/avian-prosthetics-customized-please-send?click_key=9cf348547490e26563a78c38338d65b2b21107fc:990917559&click_sum=19ba1fa4&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=3d+printed+poultry+prostetics&ref=sr_gallery-1-10&organic_search_click=1&frs=1

Thank you!

 

[NerdyBird]

Hey, came across this thread and wanted to let you know if you can get on etsy and search for 3D printed chicken prosthetics or Chicken foot splints, that would give you some options. I came across them by accident months ago. Most of the shop owners are willing to work with you and customize prosthetics to suit your needs/application. They're also affordable. Some shop names that come up are Branscum3DPrinting and RedefineGifts. Obviously some padding and stump sleeves will need to be figured out in order to keep ulcers and skin breakdown from occurring. I am rooting for Ms. Matilda and I admire your dedication and commitment to her!

One other thing I may add is that if you could possibly make a silicone mold for her that would provide some protection and cushion for her stumps would be great. Possibly make a negative mold of her stumps and trim down the excess to fit into a prosthetic. It might be worth a try and I'm just throwing random ideas at you. You can find kits on Amazon for silicone molding supplies. One downside would be that her stump would need to be completely intact and clean/dry so as not to create a moisture problem/bacterial growth issues.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Hey, came across this thread and wanted to let you know if you can get on etsy and search for 3D printed chicken prosthetics or Chicken foot splints, that would give you some options. I came across them by accident months ago. Most of the shop owners are willing to work with you and customize prosthetics to suit your needs/application. They're also affordable. Some shop names that come up are Branscum3DPrinting and RedefineGifts. Obviously some padding and stump sleeves will need to be figured out in order to keep ulcers and skin breakdown from occurring. I am rooting for Ms. Matilda and I admire your dedication and commitment to her!

Thank you very much for the info. I live in the country and have a weak to zero cell phone signal there, so my time to ressearch issues on the internet is limited, and I really appreciate the leads.