necrotic spur? I need advice how to proceed

beautifulchick

Songster
May 12, 2024
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Hi everyone!
On Saturday in the afternoon I've found my rooster was bleeding from the tip of his spur (the bone part) and the keratin sheath was complete in his run, I don't know how it happened but because I've found a drop of blood outside the run, maybe it got tangled with the wire mesh, however, I put him cornstach because I wanted to stop the bleeding, it stopped in an hour or so, but the bleeding was not too much. In the night I take him to his coop, and I notice he began to bleed again (when I lift him) but just I few drops.
On Sunday in the morning I give him meloxican because the day before I could not even touch that part at all, his reaction (on saturday) told me was very painful, but the thing is I saw blisters in his spur, I did touch them and it feel like blister to me, but I'm not 100% secure.
On Monday I saw the same blisters and gave him meloxican again.
Yesterday in the morning I did no see the blisters but I notice the spur darker than days before but in the afternoon It looked pretty dark so I'm worried if it's becoming necrotic.
Now, I don't know what to do...
- Should I wash it? how? just water?
- Should I try to disinfect the spur? How? I have alcohol, povidone-iodine, gentian violet, hydrogen peroxide.
- Should I bandage the wound? His run and coop is dirt.
- Should I give him antibiotics? I have Amoxiciline. I wish to know if someone has experience using this in similar situation or what drugs had worked for you, there are no variety in meds here, specially for poultry, and If I found something is usually for +100 birds so imposible to measure the dose, but I can keep looking up.
- Should I keep give him meloxicam? Is there a maximun quantity of days?
- Is there something I'm missing?
He is still eating, making sounds, walking, sometimes he lifts the leg with the broken spur, he still does those things but less than he use to do before this happened.
Vet is not an option.
It's winter here, minimun temps are 10°C/50°F
Thank you!
Updated with pictures from day 1 and day 2, in day 3 I did not see much diffference so I don't have pictures.
 

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Please post some photos.

If the outersheath is completely gone, the quick is exposed and will be painful.
He's eating/drinking, relatively active. I'd leave it alone for now, it's going to be tender for several days.
Hi, In a few hours I'll update with the darker picture, my phone died when I tried to take it and he went to sleep, now it's past midnight, I'll take it first thing in the morning
 
I'm not sure if this would work, but people pull spurs off with hot potatoes. You can look on YouTube. If it's infected or in pain, I would pull the spur off to better see if it's all the way to the quick (or whatever the little leftover nub is called.) that way you're treating the injury more directly.
 
If the bird is active, eats, drinks, I would not touch it, it will either heal or fall off on its own.
Touching it might make things worse and we might pass bacteria from our hands and cause infections. Most disinfectants also kill the healer cells, slowing the healing process or even causing necrosis.
In my experience, if a bird is not visibly sick (which means not eating, puffed up or visibly limping) the less I interfere, the better.
 
My dom lost one of his spurs completely back in January
K's lost spur back.JPG

That photo shows it on discovery; it had no treatment. Evidently had bled and then dried up and healed. Recently he lost the other one
Killay lost remaining spur.JPG

apparently in the same sort of way - where it emerges from the shank, and again has healed fine on its own.

Your roo may be enduring something different - the photos aren't very clear - but I second what @Altairsky said; the less I interfere, the better the birds do on the whole. I fear we are liable to cause unintended and unwanted consequences when we meddle with these birds' systems, especially since our understanding of their immune system is poor.
 
I'm not sure if this would work, but people pull spurs off with hot potatoes. You can look on YouTube. If it's infected or in pain, I would pull the spur off to better see if it's all the way to the quick (or whatever the little leftover nub is called.) that way you're treating the injury more directly.
Hi! There is nothing tu pull off because the spur, outersheat or keratin sheath (I don't know how is called) is completely gone, what you see in the pictures of day 1 and 2 is the bone part of the spur (?). I attach picture of the part that fell off
 

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If the bird is active, eats, drinks, I would not touch it, it will either heal or fall off on its own.
Touching it might make things worse and we might pass bacteria from our hands and cause infections. Most disinfectants also kill the healer cells, slowing the healing process or even causing necrosis.
In my experience, if a bird is not visibly sick (which means not eating, puffed up or visibly limping) the less I interfere, the better.
Thank you. Me being an ignorant in this matters and the limited resources I can get where I live, I try to keep in mind that too, but last year I lost a chick who only looked sick the day he died and I knew it was too late to help him, that's why I came here in case I could be a step ahead of whatever could happen.
 
My dom lost one of his spurs completely back in January
View attachment 4185617
That photo shows it on discovery; it had no treatment. Evidently had bled and then dried up and healed. Recently he lost the other one
View attachment 4185618
apparently in the same sort of way - where it emerges from the shank, and again has healed fine on its own.

Your roo may be enduring something different - the photos aren't very clear - but I second what @Altairsky said; the less I interfere, the better the birds do on the whole. I fear we are liable to cause unintended and unwanted consequences when we meddle with these birds' systems, especially since our understanding of their immune system is poor.
I'm sorry if the pictures are not clear, my phone camera is not the best and neither my photographer skills, and on top of that he does not like the phone near him. I'm glad yours did good. Can I ask you how long took to cure it? Even when is not exactly the same injury I wish I can have a reference. Thank you for share your case, I feel more relieved.
 
I took this pictures today, it's weird because like I told you when I see him directly I see it completely black, but in the pictures taked with the cell phone flashlight on (it's morning but cloudy and without it the picture is dark) it does look greenish parts(it could be poop because there are green poop there), black (blood maybe), normal, mate transparent (could be this from the blisters that I'm not seeing anymore?, it has feathers too, apparently it's exuding something because looks moisty too. Should I try to remove at least the feather? I've tried in case it was not glued but I think is already a bit glued, so I leave it like that. Any new ideas?
 

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