HEEEEELLLPP!!!! OMG! Guys! I need your help like pronto! Evie is limping and her foot doesn't look right to me. Could this be bumble foot? What do I do!?! Which antibiotic do I need to buy? Please tell me I'm not going to have to do surgery or any kind of cutting on her.
I'd be scared spitless to even attempt anything like that.
OK, this all started about 5-6 days ago when I noticed her starting to favor her right leg when she walked across the driveway. All of our driveway and parking areas are done in crushed stone and I just figured at first that she gave herself a stone bruise on the bottom of her foot. It happens all of the time out here. Because of where we're located [it's a long story] there is a considerable amount of broken glass and pottery shards around here. We've pretty much gotten most of it out of the immediate vicinity of the house and the coop, but occasionally, pieces do still crop up. So, it's entirely possible that she did sustain a nick or cut to the underside of her foot at some point.
I did inspect her fairly closely that first day, trying to decide what was causing her to have a slight limp and to favor her right leg. At that time I could find nothing to indicate that she had broken the skin of her foot anywhere on the bottom. So, I decided to just keep an eye on her and see how things went. Either she would get better in a few days or she wouldn't.
Day before yesterday, I noticed her spending a lot of time laying down. She'd get up to gimp along to a new space to peck at things on the ground and then lay down, rolled to her left side slightly, and peck about, and then repeat the whole routine again when she wanted new places to forage. Last night she was one of the last ones in through the gate when I called them for evening treats. Usually she's the first!
And now today, though she's getting around about the same as she has been for the last 5 or 6 days, she now won't put any weight on her right foot if she's standing up, but keeps the foot curled up and tucked almost all the way up to her tummy. I took a look at it just a short while ago and it is definitely swollen. But I still can't find a point of entry of a flesh wound of any kind in her foot. Nor her leg, or thigh or
ANYWHERE! There is just no signs of an injury other than the swelling of the foot itself. It might be just my imagination, but the leg looks as though it might be slightly swollen too. Oh! And the right foot is warmer than the left. Could that also be indicative of some kind of an infection?
Please guys. I know you all to be wise and kind in the matter of bird injuries. Which is why I came here with this and not to the disease and injuries forum. I trust y'all. I know I'll get a straight forward answer and guidance on what to do!
You guys are the best! Let me know if any of you need me to post a picture of her foot to help with a diagnosis. I might be able to get her to cooperate.
That whole "Birds of a Feather" thing ya know. I'm just wondering how this all came about. I'm with Kathy here. A tarp works wonders when it comes to the view. Might not be all that much of a happy sight for us to look out on, but if it helps Ultrasuede to settle into life with his new ladies, all the better! In time, the visual barrier can come down and your view will be just the way you want it! Good luck! Keep us posted on how he and his Orp girls do.
