This for sure isn't an emergency, and I am kicking myself now for not taking pics.
I have a hen that's about 1 1/2 years old. I was going through that pen & deciding who I would use for breeding, and looking at each hen very closely. I looked at this hen's foot, and HOLY COW - saw a growth in the webbing between her toes...it was huge, like the size of a large pencil eraser...a bit larger. It was a dark gray.
Before picking her up, I watched her walk, and she had no limp or any issue whatsoever with the foot.
Then, picked her up & examined it closely. SHAME ON ME for not getting pics...again, I'm just kicking myself. Anyway, this thing was hard, but not quite as hard as a beak or toenail. The weird this is that it was pointy, so like a tiny little mountain in shape. Anyway, I wiggled it a bit to see if it hurt her....and noticed it seemed....well....not solid, sort of loose, almost. So I wiggled some more, and the thing popped right out! It left a hole almost 1/2" in diameter! I quickly dropped the growth as it frankly sort of grossed me out.
Then, I inspected the hole, and noted there was black in the bottom, so started picking at it...then flipped her over and noted she had a black spot on the bottom of her foot. That, too, was sort of loose & wiggled freely. So, I pulled it lightly and it came right out. My gal now has a hole, almost 1/2" in diameter, clear through the webbing between 2 toes. After I inspected it thoroughly, rinsed it out and decided she needed no antiseptic on it, I put her back and began looking for the growth so I could get a pic of it, but never did find it. Ack.
Any ideas on what this may have been? There was no blood, and the tissue was not open/fresh/pinky looking, it was dry, just as normal foot skin would be. I got to wondering about bumblefoot, although I definitely would have noticed if I had a gimpy hen. The other odd thing. When I was inspecting her, I looked at her other foot for comparison, and THAT foot ALSO has a black growth on the bottom of it, but nothing coming out the top. I left that alone so could definitely get a pic of that later.
Is it possible that she stepped on something and her body's immune system kicked in & built up some gunk that later hardened around it? I just have no clue on this one! Man, I really wish I'd have taken a picture...
I have a hen that's about 1 1/2 years old. I was going through that pen & deciding who I would use for breeding, and looking at each hen very closely. I looked at this hen's foot, and HOLY COW - saw a growth in the webbing between her toes...it was huge, like the size of a large pencil eraser...a bit larger. It was a dark gray.
Before picking her up, I watched her walk, and she had no limp or any issue whatsoever with the foot.
Then, picked her up & examined it closely. SHAME ON ME for not getting pics...again, I'm just kicking myself. Anyway, this thing was hard, but not quite as hard as a beak or toenail. The weird this is that it was pointy, so like a tiny little mountain in shape. Anyway, I wiggled it a bit to see if it hurt her....and noticed it seemed....well....not solid, sort of loose, almost. So I wiggled some more, and the thing popped right out! It left a hole almost 1/2" in diameter! I quickly dropped the growth as it frankly sort of grossed me out.
Then, I inspected the hole, and noted there was black in the bottom, so started picking at it...then flipped her over and noted she had a black spot on the bottom of her foot. That, too, was sort of loose & wiggled freely. So, I pulled it lightly and it came right out. My gal now has a hole, almost 1/2" in diameter, clear through the webbing between 2 toes. After I inspected it thoroughly, rinsed it out and decided she needed no antiseptic on it, I put her back and began looking for the growth so I could get a pic of it, but never did find it. Ack.
Any ideas on what this may have been? There was no blood, and the tissue was not open/fresh/pinky looking, it was dry, just as normal foot skin would be. I got to wondering about bumblefoot, although I definitely would have noticed if I had a gimpy hen. The other odd thing. When I was inspecting her, I looked at her other foot for comparison, and THAT foot ALSO has a black growth on the bottom of it, but nothing coming out the top. I left that alone so could definitely get a pic of that later.
Is it possible that she stepped on something and her body's immune system kicked in & built up some gunk that later hardened around it? I just have no clue on this one! Man, I really wish I'd have taken a picture...