Need help with chooks sore possibly infected toe

[microchick]

Thanks @Wyorp Rock.

@Featherlight I shudder at the thought of a 'civilian' doing an amputation of something as big as a toe. You would have to be able to control the bleeding afterwards or risk dangerous blood lose. Plus use of a tourniquet is in itself a tricky piece of business and the amount of pain the hen would experience would be off the chart.

Think about somebody lopping off one of your toes without the benefit of anesthesia, even local.

There is always a plan B. With the Coban/vet wrap on board you could conceivably keep the toe wrapped for her and life would go on without the friction of the mispositioned toe being rubbed by the other toe. I've had so many chickens with wrapped up feet that I can say beyond the shadow of a doubt that they don't mind the bandage. When I first wrap up one of my bird's feet it's funny. I plop them down on the ground and they will lift the bandage foot straight out and look at the Coban bandage on their foot. Now I use bright colored vet wrap. Yellow, red, orange. The tan stuff is too dull colored and too much like the color of a chicken's leg so I can't keep track of who is wrapped up. Bright colors make it easier. My birds will examine the bandage with a 'gee that's new' curiosity and then trot off life as usual.

This would also give you the opportunity to do some more research into finding a vet who would be willing to do the amputation for you at a reasonable price.

Do you have any veterinary colleges near you? A call to one may be beneficiary as they may know of somebody who would be willing to help you out.

 

[Featherlight-]

Unfortunately the prices for so much as a vet visit is too high in itself so we can’t really have that as much of an option.
I have tried to trim the nail by filing it down a bit which helped slightly but still didn’t solve anything, just made it a blunter friction rather than a sharp one, I couldn’t file it down any further or anything because I’d rather not hit anything important.

 

[Featherlight-]

Didn’t see the next reply sorry, I don’t know too much about all the vet stuff personally, I’ll have to check it out more, whenever I ask about it friends and family tell me the prices are ridiculous and even talking on the phone with them costs heaps.

I suppose it’s probably silly I didn’t look for myself but my family are the main decision makers with finance, (I have no job and still live at home) so I kinda just go with what they say for that stuff I guess.

I know home amputation would be horribly painful for the poor kid, wether she shows it or not, so I really would prefer to have it done properly, where they have the proper stuff to stop the pain and blood, without something as harsh as icing it, and burning the wound shut with a piece of metal like I see some do.
I‘ll ask my family again about all that stuff to see if they’d be willing to help out a bit more with that, they already said they’d get the stuff to treat the wound itself so here’s hoping.

Best part about this all is there’s actually atleast something I can do for the chook, thank you for replying and trying to help, I’ll definitely look around for what you suggested asap for her.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Looking at the photos, the nail is really what is rubbing the toe right? Maybe a photo of her standing on the foot so we can see the position of that overhanging toe or nail.

I'm wondering if you severely cut the nail back if that would be a "fix". Of course it will hurt some and will bleed, but it's not near as bad as trying to amputate a toe and deal with bone. I'm also wondering if just a bit of bare nail can stay and you commit to filing/maintaining that nail so it stays really short.

Of course, you are going to need to deal with the infected toe as well.

 

[Featherlight-]

The nail sits right in the hole when she’s standing so it I don’t think it could really be anything else, never been able to get a picture of it because I either forgot or wasn’t able to.
The problem with doing that to the nail is the pain that would cause her aswell, so we’ll atleast try to heal the impacted toe a fair amount before doing anything too drastic with the extra toe less we find a good cheap vet to help out.

 

[Featherlight-]

Got the stuff to treat the injured toe! Will be treating it all tomorrow so there’s enough time to do everything, hopefully it helps.

 

[Featherlight-]

Did the bath, cleaned it off and packed with gauze then wrapped up with some coban, as for the problem extra toe, we cut it back a fair bit, it bled a little but not for long luckily, to try and keep it away from causing problems as long as possible, might not have soaked it enough, and don’t know how much it’ll heal the inside, as it’s basically gone back to being closed over, but hopefully it soaked long enough to do something.
Will check and change it tomorrow, she’s all good, did the high step and proceeded to try and rip the coban off, ran away when I tried to grab her, then ate the food as I carried her and some food to where I was putting her, funny little chook that one.