swollen, oozing feet

[Rfle2195]

Alright, fellow chicken friends! I need some advice.

I live in New Mexico where the climate is dry and warm, but we just had 3 days of pretty intense snow and wetness. I have a dry area for the chickens and their coop is dry as well but 2 of my chickens 2 days later starting limping, and I noticed their feet were swollen, red, warm, with a foul odor. First thought! bumblefoot. I’m a PA at an urgent care, so I thought, easy, I’ll open it up and drain it/debride it. So about 3 days ago I opened the swollen feet up where it seemed most swollen and fluctuant, but was unable to successfully get any kind of dead tissue or pus out. I then soaked their feet, wrapped them, and gave them each a shot of rocephin. I have been soaking them daily and re-wraping them, keeping them separate from the others in a clean crate in my garage, changing the straw bedding out daily, as well as giving them antibiotic tablets in their water. I have not seem much improvement at all. Their feet are still oozy and swollen and red throughout. There is no obvious abscess, just swollen with oozing all over with a very foul, infectious odor. Now today the skin is very friable, where it just peels off their feet. The bandages are often wet with foul odor when I take them out the next day to soak.

Both chickens seem in pain, unable to bear weight on affected feet.
One of the chickens did have a scab on the bottom of the foot, but the other (which is the one who is worse off) did not have any visible scab/mark, but the foot is very swollen and oozy.

Any advice?

Thanks!

 

[Farm life101]

Could you get some photos of their feet please?

 

[micstrachan]

Oh, goodness. Photos would help, but I’m thinking frostbite.

 

[MeowthLover_ThatsRight]

photos please?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I would think frost bite. My birds get it almost every year, but can't tell without images

 

[Rfle2195]

The feather foot is a silkie, so her skin is naturally black.
The other is my mottled houdan roo.

If it’s frost bite, what do i need to do?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Keep them on clean (and I mean super clean) bedding. Try not to disturb the blisters more than you have to. With frost bite I've noticed they heal slower if the blisters pop. Are they walking like there's nothing wrong, or are they limping and trying not to put weight on the limb?

 

[rebeccaH86]

Ouch poor babies that poor silkie foot looks like quite a bit necrotic tissue ☹ I know the experts will give you some great advice .

 

[Rfle2195]

Keep them on clean (and I mean super clean) bedding. Try not to disturb the blisters more than you have to. With frost bite I've noticed they heal slower if the blisters pop. Are they walking like there's nothing wrong, or are they limping and trying not to put weight on the limb?

I definitely think there’s a secondary infection, because it smells infected with oozing pus.
The roo is still walking on it but my silkie hen, isn’t moving much and mostly keeping weight off of it completely.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I definitely think there’s a secondary infection, because it smells infected with oozing pus.
The roo is still walking on it but my silkie hen, isn’t moving much and mostly keeping weight off of it completely.

Then I would pop the blisters and clean them out. Still keep their bedding super clran, but if there's an infection and not just frostbite, waiting won't help it any. A sewing pin (disinfected) makes a good puncture tool