snake bite or bumblefoot?

[yellowfinns]

I've got two mamas with 11 babies, just hatched Monday through Wednesday.

The day before yesterday I found a snake eating the one egg that didn't hatch (it never developed) while the mamas & chicks huddled in another corner of the coop (not 3 feet away). I killed the snake, and I think it was probably a rat snake, about 3 feet in length. It looks like a queen snake, but they aren't supposed to be on this side of the state.

Today we just noticed one mama limping badly, and when we checked on her we found one swollen, red foot with a purplish spot slightly larger than a nickel with several openings on top, between two toes. The pad is quite swollen, but not hard. We cleaned her up with water, then hydrogen peroxide. When submerged, the wound bled.

Then we checked the other mama & she has a swollen foot too. Hers is only slightly swollen with no noticeable openings.

Does this sound like snake bite or bumble foot, and what else can we do for the poor chickies??

 

[tulie13]

I'm guessing snake bite, but I strongly suggest posting pictures so the experts on here can give you a real opinion.

 

[Glenda L Heywood]

the hen has jumped down from a height place
probably was looking for food
then hit a clod od dirt or stones and bruised her foot
yes is bumble foot
keep her where you can doctor the foot
put pure iodine 9on the foot twice a day
it will heal and make a hard spot she may never walk normal as the sore will be hard and she will limp
doctor the sore as told

I would feed her and the chicks some
wet mash probiotic
with Vit E
3 tbsp od dry crumbles
3 tbsp of milk any kind
1 tbsp of yoguart
1 tbsp of apple sauce after mixing the Vit E into the mix
cut vitE 1000 mg tip off the capsule and add Vit E to the mix and then add apple sauce
feed this twice a day to her and the chicks
the Vit E will help her nervous system to be okay and the wet mash probiotic will help her good gut flora also the chicks

any questions email me

 

[yellowfinns]

After doing lots more reading, we think it probably is snake bite, but will treat like bumblefoot (w/out the scab picking). It could well be the first stages of bumblefoot caused by the snake bite, and treating the feet for bacterial infection & keeping them clean should contribute to healing in any case.

I'll try to snap some pics tomorrow when we're treating.

 

[Mahonri]

Yes... my thoughts too... treat it like bumble foot.

 

[yellowfinns]

Rosie's foot is all better! We treated her for 5 days. Each day we soaked the foot in water, then hydrogen peroxide, then put neosporin on it. We could see visible improvement by the day. The pics are from day 2. Thanks for your help!

You can actually see one of the lacerations in this one:

 

[beakkeeper]

Nice job!

I like your treatment ideas. Just one question: what sort of Neosporin did you use? Triple antibiotic, regular, other?

 

[yellowfinns]

We used regular neosporin.