Missing feet

[Chickenstarter]

~~I have had a bad year! I have made my birds very safe but one day last month, something got to my birds and killed 3 of them and just left them laying there and one of them was beat up bad. I have been trying to get her healed up and I noticed she still could not walk well. Her feet had changed color and got very stiff. She would get around but not good. One day she was having a great deal of balance, I picked her up and her feet were hanging there like they had rooted off. She acts find but can not walk. Any suggestion for my Jojo? She is a Red Sex link.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I am so sorry for all of your losses and troubles, but, IMO, the humane thing to do is to euthanize her

 

[hiddenflock]

This is a possibility: Maybe, rather than an injury of the leg, something might be wrong with the feet themselves. Maybe you should examine and see if there are any problems with the leg, to see whether it's the legs or feet causing the problem. There have been success stories of chickens learning to walk around on the stubs of their legs, without their feet. Look up the thread "Chicken with no legs?!" To see how the treatment of your chicken might go.

 

[Chickenstarter]

I have been thinking of that. She acts like she is fine. Her eyes are bright and head is up and love when I hold her but have the trouble of how to put her down. Can not afford to take her to the vet. Have even designed in my head, making feet for her but have not been able to figure out haw to attach them.

 

[laurengeeves]

I'm currently doing a vet nursing course and my teacher has got a chicken with no feet, she's so happy with life, so they can manage with no feet. But if the feet look so damaged then you need to soak in anti septic and keep her separate for a while, other wise she will keep moving and make it worse and she could get septicemia ( blood poisoning from infection). If she does find then you need to bath her once a week as she won't be able to clean her self much and clean her ear holes and stuff, and make ramps if needed. Hope this helps

 

[Chickenstarter]

Thanks for your reply. One foot I took off, it was hanging by a little skin, the other is hanging by the center tendon. I will have to take that one off very soon. I have mentally designed feet for her just trying to figure out how to attach them. Wonder if they will help her balance.

 

[hiddenflock]

Maybe you could make the "foot" out of a soft material, and tighten it around her leg, almost like a shoe? Sorry if that sounds silly...

 

[CMV]

When I was a kid (a long time ago...) we had a footless rooster in our neighborhood. The miserable creature lost them both to frostbite and would stalk around on the stumps. He was so ornery that no one would go near him, so he lived for at least a couple years with no feet. He did fine. He still chased anyone that had the misfortune to cross his path. If he had any issues with the stumps he never let on, although I doubt anyone cared enough about him to do anything about it either way. He was eventually killed off by a predator, but I have often thought that I bet that predator was fighting for its life when it realized it had chosen to go after the most vicious rooster ever born. That creature was a maniac even handicapped.

I applaud the idea of prosthetic feet, but I doubt you are ever going to get a workable model. I think you may have better luck just fitting the bird with some cushioned caps to fit over the stumps.

 

[Chickenstarter]

no it doesn't sound silly. I have started to build her prosthetics, if anything, she would be able to balance herself and not fall forward. Thanks to everyone for your comments.

 

[hiddenflock]

Good luck!