Need Advice On Amputation ASAP - Rooster Has Frostbitten Leg - UPDATE: Leg Has Been Amputated Succes

[GravelBeak]

Glad it went well. He probably did not have much feeling left in leg,with 3rd degree frostbite tissues/muscles/tendons/blood vessels are dead. Did you manage to remove all the dead tissue? Watch for infection,he might not even want/use a prosthetic leg,just hop on one. Keep an eye on him as he will not be able escape predators.

I cut above the gangrene, into healthy tissue, so he certainly could feel the cut. I guess it's a lot less hard on a chicken than it would be on a bigger animal, with a bigger leg and more tissue on the leg though.

I'm going to keep treating the stump with antibiotics, and maybe a bit of fresh aloe, and keep feeding him garlic. I dunno about the prosthetic. It'll have to be an experiment. I have no idea if it would actually work for him or if he'll prefer hopping around.

He's going to be living with the main flock from now on, and will be better off with them, but I'll certainly be keeping an eye on him once he's ready to go back outside.

 

[GravelBeak]

Time for another little update (also, hope everyone had/is having a great holiday season!).

Jonsi is doing really well so far. I clean and change his bandage every day. I put a small square of gauze with some antibiotic cream directly on the wound, then secure it with medical tape, and sometimes a bit of duct tape over that to hold it all on. His stump showing signs of healing over, which is a relief. I feared that it would heal in such a way that it wouldn't have skin over the exposed area (although that still remains to be seen), because of the fact that I couldn't really suture the skin over the wound since it's so thick and scaly.

Mostly he stays indoors for now, and is such a mellow, lazy guy that he doesn't mind. He crows every morning and wakes everyone up! So yeah, he seems to be feeling just fine. I feed him mostly grain, with a clove of garlic every few days, and some treats from the kitchen - bread, noodles, yogurt, etc.

On a somewhat related note, if anyone has to do this in the future (goodness forbid that will be necessary though!), do NOT cut at the joint. Even though I was considering it at first, there was no way I would do it now. It's possible it could work, but I think it would probably be a lot more painful, and would be a bit of a mess. If you look at human amputation (there isn't a whole lot of info on bird amputation), the cut is always above or below the knee, never at it. I can't imagine how, or if it would even heal over the joint and cartilage.

 

[Six Chickies]

I'm do glad someone showed me this thread! My serama rooster has the exact same thing - frost bitten left foot that developed gangrene. Now I think I have the confidence to do the deed either tonight or tomorrow.

 

[luvmigrls]

Gravelbeak Sooo glad so far so good. You mentioned you might make a peg leg, HA that is exactly what I thought of while checking on my one legged still recovering R.R. But that is as far as I have gotten.

 

[Six Chickies]

Just wondering GravelBeak, how long did you leave the tourniquet on before and after, and is Jonsi a bantam or large fowl rooster?

 

[GravelBeak]

Gravelbeak Sooo glad so far so good. You mentioned you might make a peg leg, HA that is exactly what I thought of while checking on my one legged still recovering R.R. But that is as far as I have gotten.

Thanks! Jonsi appreciates the support (maybe that's what his early-morning crowing means

). I think he's still a long ways off from a peg leg, but it's something to think about in the future, for sure. I'm totally going to feel like Hiccup the whole time I'm designing a prosthetic for him, which is just fine with me.

 

[bertiesmum]

Wow, I'm so pleased your chicken is getting on well. I admire your perseverance with your chicken and helping him get better. Well done and all the best

 

[Six Chickies]

Thank you for answering my questions GravelBeak! I have a container of cornstarch that has been dedicated to medicinal use, so I do have blood-stop. His foot has been stinking for 2-3 days, but this morning it stunk just to be near him, and it is moving up his leg, so it will have to be done today.

I think the amount of time you used (couple minutes) will work fine for the tourniquet because his legs are so small and he has a lot less blood than Jonsi. I really don't feel comfortable pulling scales, but I'll try because I don't want any infection left above the cut.
I will make sure to give an update when it's through.

PS, I love How to Train Your Dragon

 

[Six Chickies]

Well it's done. He appears to be okay, but I can't get a bandage to stay on... I'm not sure if we got it all cut off, but I've put him on neochlor so here's hoping

 

[ten chicks]

Well it's done. He appears to be okay, but I can't get a bandage to stay on... I'm not sure if we got it all cut off, but I've put him on neochlor so here's hoping

Place bandage on stump,then wrap around leg,going back under stump and around leg again,you can use a clean baby sock to place over bandage. Check for infection,keep very clean. This skin on bottom of stump will eventually harden and probably form a callus,he will be able to get around just fine,may use wing for balance.