Possible Necrotic Foot ? (GRAPHIC PHOTO!) RIP, Vada

[MandyH]

Sure thing. PM me if you need too, I usually don't go to bed til 2am CST. You are having the kind of luck I have had today. Had to take the dog to the E.R. and then slammed a chickens head in the coop door when I went out UGHHHHHHHHH. IS it Monday already??!!

 

[CarriBrown]

Poor Vada!

I would try the Blue Kote or Mandy's idea. I was thinking, though, wouldn't a necrotic part feel cold to the touch due to the lack of blood flow?

Good luck, Cyn.

 

[speckledhen]

At first, she wasn't moving the foot, but I realized that she is flexing the toes a bit and she does get up and walk a few steps to her water and food, so maybe it is just old blood pooled in the tissues.

I'm thinking that maybe we'll try the sugar and iodine (if I can find my iodine) and continue the sulfadiazene on her foot. Mandy, should I remove the peeling skin or let it come off on its own? Thank you--you gave me some hope here! And I'm sorry about your day, too. On the bright side, Glenda has one egg pipped! We are just entering Day 20 now.

 

[vnploveschickens]

Hi Cynthia, I just found your thread and sending you & DH lots of prayers for Vada. I thinking positively that she will be ok!


Val

 

[speckledhen]

Here is Vada when she was younger. I know I have an older pic, but can't find it at the moment. I appreciate all the positive thoughts and prayer for my sweet girl.

 

[Zoopathy]

Hiya...

Sorry about your girl. I'm new to the chicken world, but know a little bit about necrotic tissue (I work in pathology at the San Diego Zoo). Without being able to examine it in person, I would say that the foot looks bruised, rather than rotten. Several people have suggested that they think the coloration comes from pooled blood inside, and that would be my guess, too. But the infection *could* be spreading. I don't know about the recommended approaches to healing that the others have suggested, since I have no experience of my own. Do you have a vet that could prescribe some antibiotics? Bad tissue breeds more bad tissue, so debriding the icky stuff and continuing to clean it out is important. Aside from the foot, how is she acting? A systemic infection will start to show itself in her behavior.

Good luck!

 

[speckledhen]

She is very subdued and lets me handle her without complaint, not like herself at all. She seems a bit thin, but in the last four days, she hasn't been eating much at all, probably in too much pain. Tomorrow, she gets her second injection of penicillin, not sure how many days to go with this--most of the time you dont go more than four days on this antibiotic. Other than penicillin, we have Lincomycin injectible, so if the pen doesn't work, guess we could try that. We'll begin to remove the dead skin and see what happens. Thank you for your input!

 

[MandyH]

Cyn, I know with dead tissue its important to debride it, but just with injured tissue, i don't know that I would open up anymore paths for bacteria to get a good start. That's just me. I would wait and watch a couple more days myself, but you do what you feel comfortable doing

 

[speckledhen]

Thanks, Mandy. What we may do is see how loose it is and not pull on it too much. I dont want to start anything. I so appreciate all the advice of our nurses here. I've dealt with alot of stuff, but this is a new one for me and I wanted advice from folks who know more than me! ***See, you guys? I don't know everything!

 

[Ellie]

Pipper says that she would not take the tissue off. If it is intact, leave it.

Just an emergency RN's advice... do what you think is best.