String on chicken leg cutting in

[aohare]

I found one of my girls this morning with a string tightly drawn around her leg. She seemed okay yesterday but today she was just standing on one leg keeping the other tucked up.

The string was through the leg on 3 sides and flush with the leg on one, she was not gripping with the injured leg.

I was able to get the string cut off today, however I'm not sure what the future of the leg will be.

I've cleaned the area as best I could with iodine and Veterycin however I'm not sure exactly how to support an injury to the leg like this.

I'm checking the rest of the flock to make sure, it looks like she found twine somewhere while roaming.

Any thoughts on how to support the leg or if amputation may be required?

Any help would be appreciated!

AJ

<PIC to follow>

 

[aohare]

 

[Eggcessive]

Is the leg swollen or darker colored? Can she move the toes and the leg? It depends on how long the string was cutting off circulation to know if the leg will live or not. If she can move toes it may be okay, but if she can't move them there could be some nerve damage.

 

[aohare]

There is notable swelling (see second picture) however she is walking on it today, her toes feel limp but she does curl them when a press against the bottom of her foot.

I guess I'll just keep an eye on it at this point, what is the best way to tell if amputation would be warranted?

AO

 

[Eggcessive]

I wouldn't attempt an amputation at home. If there was a black leg just hanging there it would fall off on it's own like they do with frostbite. If she is walking on it, I would guess that she won't lose it, that there isn't too much nerve damage. I really hope so.

 

[aohare]

I guess its watch and see, my vet recommended an amputation but also openly admitted that chickens are not her specialty. Since she doesn't appear to be in pain I'll continue cleaning the wound and monitoring her. She's separated now because the others started attacking her.

Thank you for your advice
AO

 

[Eggcessive]

If it needs amputation because of infection, I would leave it to the vet to do. Let us know how she gets along. Vetericyn is great for wounds.

 

[aohare]

Don't worry I'm not about to start doing amputations myself, I'm just trying to determine if she needs the 4 hour drive to the avian vet at UCF.

AO

 

[ChickenRaiser15]

I have a chicken that has a string around her foot, and it has cut in some all the way around the foot, how am I to remove it, and how should I treat the cut afterwards?

 

[Mutchi]

today i had a string around my roo's foot but no cuts