Treated for bumble foot with incision, now foot is black.

[LesleyCMO]

The chicken is an Isa brown, 1 year old. She had bad bumble foot which was treated with incision and evacuation of pus. Unfortunately swelling did not go down and now the pad area and toes are turning black. She is acting normally and does appear in distress, except that she only walks 5-7 steps, favoring that foot, before she lies down. Eyes are clear, she is eating and drinking, though a little less, there does not appear to be any recent change in weight. She does not appear lethargic and really seems to be acting normally except for the reduced walking. The initial treatment was 2 weeks ago with soaking, incision and squeezing/pulling pus out. The wound was cleansed and treated with drawing salve and Bactroban topical antibiotic ointment, and dressed with gauze and self adhesive wrap. The foot has continued to be soaked 1-2 times per day. The initial incision is drying/

closing, but the foot remains very swollen and has a slight odor. Currently there is no discharge coming from the foot. The blackness started 3-4 days ago and is slowly getting worse. The chicken has been isolated and today we switched her bedding from wood shavings to a clean soft blanket. Our flock is small (7) and the other chickens also had bumble foot which we treated as above. They have all resolved and healed.

 

[LesleyCMO]

This is LesleyCMO again, i'm asking for any recommendation on what to do now with this foot.

 

[Flockandfowl46]

I'm not a vet but...i hate to be the bearer of bad news but she is most likely going to lose the foot...maybe others will chime in here but if it were me I would cull her and most definitely do not eat her. Im so sorry hun

 

[Eggcessive]

Is she moving her all her toes? The black skin looks dead. I would wonder if the bandage became too tight from swelling at some point, and cut off circulation. I think I would start soaking the foot in warm Epsom salts for 15 minutes twice a day. If she is able to move all the toes, it is possible that they could still be alive and able to heal. I really think that you need to see a vet, since she may lose part of the foot or toes. Sorry this happened to your chicken, but it can happen when dressings are tight.

 

[LesleyCMO]

I agree, the areas are necrotic, i.e. dry gangrene. Do you think amputation of the toes would help? Can a chicken walk without her toes?

 

[Eggcessive]

In chickens who have suffered frostbite in winter, they can have toes or even the whole foot turn black and die. Can you prick the skin with a pin or needle to see if the black skin bleeds? Try to take a pulse or feel the heartbeat in her foot. If there is live tissue underneath, it should bleed or have a pulse. There is a possibilty that you could soak the feet, and even though they may peel, there could be some live tissue underneath. Some people have treated some bad frostbite that way to try and save as much of the foot as possible. Amputation at home whould be very difficult and could cause bone infection. If it is necessary to save her life, I would consult a vet, even a large animal vet. If you do attempt this, I would use betadine to disinfect the skin.

 

[Eggcessive]

In this picture, the tissue below the fat white parts of the toes is necrotic and dead. Those toes probably fell off at some point possibly weeks later. The chicken can do well once that happens.

In this photo, there is a possibility that there is live tissue underneath, and after some sloughing off and bathing the feet in betadine and water, the toes could survive, but at least the feet should be okay.

 

[LesleyCMO]

Eggcessive and flockandflow46, thank you so much for your replies. There are very helpful. We will keep up the soaking, see what happens and hope for the best! Again, much appreciation, Lesley CMO

 

[Eggcessive]

Let us know what happens later.

 

[LesleyCMO]

Things look much better for my chick! She is up walking, occasionally a tad off balance, but eating great. The totally black toe (second one in my picture) is still black and she does not bend it. The other 2 affected toes she is able to bend and seem to be recovering. Overall I think she is going to make it. Should I expect that dead toe to eventually fall off?
Thanks again for all your help!!