Penny the one legged chicken has lost her other leg. What on earth is going on?

[TinyLittleFarm]

Original thread is here. It's been a week since Penny's right foot was found dangling off her leg and I amputated it. Her leg was healing rather nicely. Eating, drinking, pooping, being spoiled living inside and whatnot. I didn't pick her up at all yesterday.This morning I picked her up to check on things spend some time and I found that HER OTHER FOOT FELL OFF. She has been living in a small brooder and there was no way for her to injure herself in there. What the heck?

Her left foot was perfectly fine a week ago. Both feet came off with just a clean "break" right at the spot where the foot meets the leg. Penny is about 7 and she came to us last summer already having foot problems. Missing her nails, gnarled toes, etc. We kept her feet clean and things looked ok.

Clearly there was some sort of foot disease going on. What on earth would cause a chicken's feet to just fall off?

We're going to put her down today.

 

[Pyxis]

What does her leg look like? Is it rough and are the scales raised? You may have a very severe case of scaly leg mites. When they get really bad I've heard of chickens losing nails and toes, but I've never heard of the whole foot going. That's all I can think of that would cause this - maybe someone else will have other ideas? I'm so sorry for you and your hen

 

[TinyLittleFarm]

Nope, no scaly leg mites. Both the feet that fell off and the leg above it have no signs of mites. And it's a super clean "break." so bizarre.

 

[realsis]

im soooooooo sorry for you! this is very strange indeed! poor thing! so sorry you have to put her down. very sad story! il do some searching and see if i can find a reason if i can il post back

 

[realsis]

i found a few reasons, bumble foot, frost bite, mites, those are some causes

 

[Pyxis]

That is SO weird. Now I'm compelled to research like realsis. Is there anything else going on? Like bad smell around the area, skin turning black, etc, or did both feet just kind of fall off?

 

[Chickenfan4life]

My greatest condolences to you, it sounds like a horrible situation. You are doing the right thing by letting her go. You are brave, and a fine chicken Mama.

Humane Euthanasia: When, Why, and How - BackYard Chickens Community

 

[nok13]

gangrene? brittle bones?

 

[TinyLittleFarm]

I would guess brittle bones of all those choices. Ever since we adopted her last summer her feet have been funky looking, but they never looked gangrenous or infected or whatever. She's also seven years old, so I'm sure her age is a factor.

This is a pic of her leg that lost the first foot. The black stump is weird to me. I've been keeping it clean and with antibiotic on it and up until today it was more pink than black. The scales look very thin--almost like dry skin. You can also see that there is a dark spot about an inch up from the stump. She also has patches on her torso of missing feathers and the skin is dry and flaky. My main concern at this point is whether or not it could possibly be something contagious.

We are currently snuggling her and giving her some favorite treats, but I'll be putting her down soon. Poor thing.

 

[TinyLittleFarm]

Well, I just sent Penny to chicken heaven, if there is such a thing. I have never had to kill one of my birds before. Heck, I've never killed anything larger than a bug. It went pretty well. I don't think she suffered much if at all.

Still, I am surprised at how overwhelming my emotions were right afterwards and still are. I am still crying. Even when it needs to be done in mercy for the animal, killing feels horrible. Just horrible. RIP Penny.