Swollen side of foot - toe injury?

[zinnia_flower]

Hi all! My apologies for not having better close ups of the possible injury.

I have a 2 year old Wyandotte hen who suddenly has a swollen side of her foot. It seems to be stemming from the area of her back toe and wrapping around the side. The swelling is firm and not exceptionally hot. I found no scabbing or puncture/laceration marks. She is walking on it and barely limps. It is very possible she injured or twisted her foot - she free ranges in our backyard and we have sweet gum balls and plenty of things to run, jump, and trip over. She is perky and happily eating.

I did an epsom salt soak today and put some salve on the area and let her back out with her sisters since she was extremely irritated to be on her own. I was going to continue with soaking for the next couple of days and monitor swelling/limping to see if it gets worse. Is there anything else I can do at the moment?

 

[zinnia_flower]

Hi all! My apologies for not having better close ups of the possible injury.

I have a 2 year old Wyandotte hen who suddenly has a swollen side of her foot. It seems to be stemming from the area of her back toe and wrapping around the side. The swelling is firm and not exceptionally hot. I found no scabbing or puncture/laceration marks. She is walking on it and barely limps. It is very possible she injured or twisted her foot - she free ranges in our backyard and we have sweet gum balls and plenty of things to run, jump, and trip over. She is perky and happily eating.

I did an epsom salt soak today and put some salve on the area and let her back out with her sisters since she was extremely irritated to be on her own. I was going to continue with soaking for the next couple of days and monitor swelling/limping to see if it gets worse. Is there anything else I can do at the moment?

Note - the back toe had a dirt clod on it in the picture, that’s not an injury.

 

[Eggcessive]

Is the swelling hard or soft? What does the bottom of her foot pad look like—any cuts or scabs? Is she limiting her activity, or is she still jumping up and down from a roost, and running around? I would limit her activity if possible. A wire dog crate with food and water is good for that.

 

[zinnia_flower]

Swelling is hard, no cuts or scabs on bottom of foot pad (I was looking for Bumblefoot). She is not limiting her activity - she’s jumping off rocks, standing on it independently (picks up the non injured foot and stands on the swollen one), running through the yard after the flock. Thank you for the suggestion on limiting her activity!

 

[zinnia_flower]

Checked on her at bedtime, and I’m now concerned it’s a foot injury/infection. Now that the foot is clean from the soak, it’s apparent that the scales on the top of her back toe are darker than the surrounding scales and the swelling is radiating up and around from the toe. I’m going to kennel her tomorrow and apply neosporin to the toe and wrap with vet wrap. I’m thinking I should look for antibiotics - any ideas?

I will try to get a picture from the back of her foot tomorrow - I was handling her on my own so I couldn’t see it well this afternoon but could tell when she was heading in to roost.

 

[zinnia_flower]

Here is the back of her foot this morning. Foot pad is clean and free of swelling, you can see how the swelling wraps up from the big toe. I’m concerned about the top of the toe scales - they seem darker and the tissue surrounding seems dark. Is this an injury that has caused swelling?

I applied more salve and antibiotic ointment this morning and do another Epsom soak. She continues to not limp, or barely favor it - which makes me think it’s an issue with the toe and not a general foot issue since she puts most of her weight towards the front toes.

 

[theoldchick]

I'd soak the foot in warm mild betadine solution-mixed to look like weak tea twice daily for 3 days and reevaluate. I'm wondering if she was bitten by a spider or got her foot caught in something that temporarily stopped blood flow. If there is no improvement she may need oral antibiotics and debride the area. Some people do this on their own and some to to the vet.

 

[zinnia_flower]

I'd soak the foot in warm mild betadine solution-mixed to look like weak tea twice daily for 3 days and reevaluate. I'm wondering if she was bitten by a spider or got her foot caught in something that temporarily stopped blood flow. If there is no improvement she may need oral antibiotics and debride the area. Some people do this on their own and some to to the vet.

I have Vetericyn on hand, is that similar to betadine? (Thank you for the help - this is my first injury in our flock!)

 

[zinnia_flower]

Update on Dolly - she still has the significant bump on her “ankle” and daily Epsom salt soaks don’t seem to have given us any progress (5 days of soaks). Her comb remains bright and she is peppy and happy - no change to her affect or appetite at all. From tummy up, you couldn’t tell anything was wrong with her, and she doesn’t limp.

The back toe skin looks less dark - I don’t know if it was actually bruising or just dirt under the scales that have cleaned with soaks. I have been applying neosporin and an herbal salve daily and the epsom salt water has also had a smashed clove of garlic plus yarrow and comfrey added.

Should I be trying something different? Or do I just wait and see if the bump clears up on its own?