Pullet with Shriveled Toe... what caused it??

[Bleenie]

Went by my moms tonight and she insisted i take home one of the pullets her friend gave her. I ended up taking both since they're "sisters" and mom doesn't like them anyway. They were both underweight from not getting fed, one has a crossed beak(i have been trimming to help). and the other was perfectly fine until a few days ago.

The end of her middle toe looked like it had been smashed, i thought maybe someone(one of the bigger pullets) knocked a piece of firewood on her toe when they were out running around. it looked flat on the underside of the toe and was purple-ish. WELL, tonight when i checked her out her toe looks AWFUL. It's totally shriveled up around the bone and brown, almost half way up the to then it just Stops and turns back into healthy-looking fleshy toe.
It literally looks like the tip of her toe just died off.

what can i/should i do for this? She seems OK otherwise, interested in the water and was headed for the food when i left them.


I have them isolated(together) in a brooder area.
They're approximately 3-4 months old
bantam EE mixed girls
eating "all flock" feed.
bug/worm free too
still underweight but gaining it back.

 

[Wisher1000]

Sounds like the end of that toe needs to come off. You could take her to a vet and have it cut off or let nature take it's course. There is a chance gangrene could set in and take the whole foot oe leg or hen. There are people who would take it off themselves but I don't recommend you do that without some expert guidance. The choice on what to do is up to you. Good Luck

 

[Bleenie]

I have been thinking about that. So far it seems to be localized to the end of that toe and then comes to a clean stop and back to normal flesh. It almost looks like it might come off on it's own at this point but if it starts to get worse-looking I will have to consider removing it.

If i did have to remove it I think i would probably get as close to the base of the toe as possible so it would be easier to wrap and also in a better place for quick healing(not getting bumped and stuff).

I am going to put a picture up shortly. have to check on them again...

 

[Wisher1000]

Chickens heal remarkably. If it is not looking like it needs attention, I would leave it alone. If it comes off on it's own, that would be great! Search on amputations and you will find lots of people who have done it on broken or injured appendages. I would like to see a pic, though.

 

[Bleenie]

Okay, here's a few pictures. It looked worse when i picked her up out of the brooder tonight. I brought her in so i could take a better look and clean it up.

It's definitely worse! I used alcohol to clean off her feet, both of them because there was some questionable color on other toes as well. well the underside of her feet was flaking BADLY and where the alcohol was applied it turned the dead areas white. It doesn't look good and I really don't feel like it's worth putting her through extra pain right now. I cleaned her feet up and gave her some antibiotics.

here's the feet.



My mother suggested it might be frostbite because the chicks weren't able to get out of the cold at her friends place. It's been getting pretty dang icy here so i wouldn't be suprised but I have never dealt with it before so i am not sure. I did tell my mother that it didn't look good for her(the chick) since the "infection" has moved into other toes too, and on both feet now. Needless to say, she's pretty upset... for the bird and at her friend.

 

[Wisher1000]

Frostbite would be my guess. I know you don't want to cull her, but it may be the kindest thing to do. If you can't, leave her inside, give her some Tylan or other antibiotic, and wait. She may lose the toes and recover on her own, but she will always be a special needs bird. She will likely not be able to roost and will have to sleep in a nestbox from now own. How sad. I'm sorry you are having to deal with this. You are sweet to take it on.

 

[what did I do]

Frostbite, if you leave it alone the damaged part should fall off - sounds pretty doesn't it. I had one loose the tips of a few toes last winter. She is doing fine this winter.

Btw, mine roosts just fine. In fact the hen to the left is her chick. She did a good job protecting the chicks and teaching them how to scratch.

I would not give up on a hen with that little frostbite damage.

 

[Bleenie]

I am going to see how she does over the next few days. My mother nearly had a breakdown when i said she might have to be culled so i am going to do the antibiotics for the next few days and see how she does.

if it's frostbite it shouldn't spread, right?

her & her sister are in a brooder together(they're tiny girls) with a regular light bulb but they should be alright. There's baby chicks right on the other side of their wall so i am sure the heat from their heat lamp is 'soaking through' to their side a little.

thanks for the help guys. I will try to remember to update in a few days, or sooner if something happens.

 

[what did I do]

What is black is dead. It will not get worse. I would just leave her alone and let nature take its course - I know, harder said than done. I just don't think it is bad enough to put her down but if, after the dead part falls off, she has trouble walking then you can put her down. If she was going to loose all of her toes then putting her down would be best. Within 2 months after loosing the frostbitten toes she will be just a normal hen.

 

[Bleenie]

I opened their roof this morning and both of them jumped up on the top of the wall and roosted for a little bit. I got sidetracked for a few minutes but when i checked on them again she had jumped down onto the ground. she seems to be moving around okay today. i removed some of the dead skin(flakes) and cleaned both feet up last night so i am a little suprised she's running around today. i did rub antibiotic ointment into her feet and gave her the shot so maybe it's helping.

. I am glad she's feeling better.