[UPDATED] Cockerel with DEAD feet! Gangrenous toes!

[CMV]

That last pic looks fairly promising. I think I would let it go for now and see how it looks in a few days. Keep up with the iodine/betadine.

That main bone you are seeing cannot be removed. If I am not mistaken that is the main lower leg bone- the tarsometatarsus. If that is rotting then the bird has no chance of a meaningful recovery and should be euthanized. A bird can live without it's toes, but a bird cannot really live a good life when you need to start removing parts of its leg, too.

 

[RussianChickens]

That last pic looks fairly promising.  I think I would let it go for now and see how it looks in a few days.  Keep up with the iodine/betadine.  

That main bone you are seeing cannot be removed.  If I am not mistaken that is the main lower leg bone- the tarsometatarsus.  If that is rotting then the bird has no chance of a meaningful recovery and should be euthanized.  A bird can live without it's toes, but a bird cannot really live a good life when you need to start removing parts of its leg, too.

It is the last toe bone. Not leg bone. But it does look yellow and dead. If I could fine surgical tools I could attempt to take out that tip that's dead. I'm afraid it will start rotting and kill him.

Its the last bone on the middle toe. He still has his other toes. But I don't know what to do if half the bone is alive and half is dead????

 

[CMV]

I would think that a pair of needle-nosed pliers and an exacto/craft knife should do the trick as long as you sterilize them first. You're going to need a couple sets of hands.One person holds the bird, wrapped in a towel. If the bird isn't too feisty that person can also hold the leg stable, but if the bird is fighting too much you are going to need more hands to hold the leg. Grab onto the last bone with the pliers, and use the fine tip of your knife to cut it away at the joint capsule. The joint should be soft and relatively easy to cut through. Just remember- the closer you start to get to the leg, the more likely you are to find some major blood vessels. So far, you have just been cutting into dead areas. The game changes when you start cutting into living tissue.

That being said- I am pretty sure the last toe bone will eventually fall off on its own. The trick is going to be preventing an infection from setting in in the meantime.

 

[RussianChickens]

I would think that a pair of needle-nosed pliers and an exacto/craft knife should do the trick as long as you sterilize them first. You're going to need a couple sets of hands.One person holds the bird, wrapped in a towel. If the bird isn't too feisty that person can also hold the leg stable, but if the bird is fighting too much you are going to need more hands to hold the leg. Grab onto the last bone with the pliers, and use the fine tip of your knife to cut it away at the joint capsule. The joint should be soft and relatively easy to cut through. Just remember- the closer you start to get to the leg, the more likely you are to find some major blood vessels. So far, you have just been cutting into dead areas. The game changes when you start cutting into living tissue.

That being said- I am pretty sure the last toe bone will eventually fall off on its own. The trick is going to be preventing an infection from setting in in the meantime.

So do you mean cut it off at the bottom of the leg bone?

I have been thinking I could get some old surgical cutters and a bone scoop and if necessary cut that end off and dig out the dead bone much like what they do in humans when a portion of bone dies. That would spare him some more toe bone incase it doesn't heal properly. Other ways his other two toes would be at risk as well leaving him with a complete stump.

Is there any chance the dead bone will break off? I am trying my best to keep it clean.

 

[CMV]

Yes. If you are going to cut it off then that's where it needs to be removed. There is a chance the bone will break off on its own. You just need to decide if you want to wait for that to happen or not.

 

[RussianChickens]

Yes. If you are going to cut it off then that's where it needs to be removed. There is a chance the bone will break off on its own. You just need to decide if you want to wait for that to happen or not.

Well its looking ok. I think i will keep soaking it in the salts and using the betadine. Everytime the skin sloughs I put a little ointment which seems to help.

He is feeling well enough to fly out of his box and take his bandages off so right now they are off and i try to keep his beading clean.

 

[RussianChickens]

So far so good. Watching paint dry.

I still don't know what to do about the exposed bone though. Or how to remove the toes that are dead half way up a bone. Just get some cutters and snip it off?

 

[CMV]

The best place to remove them is at a joint should you opt to do that. Leave the exposed middle toe bone for now. You will likely have to deal with it sooner or later, but as long as it is not a major issue now, I would wait. The others will fall off in their own time. It is best to leave them to dry out fully before they come off. The bird's body is trying to re-route circulation away from the damaged/dead areas. That takes time. It is better if it happens in its own time, so you don't have a major bleed when/if you take them off. The wonderful about birds is that they tend to encapsulate infections. Rarely do birds get major systemic infections. Their bodies tend to put infections into a neat and tidy little package in the form of an abscess, especially in their feet. This is why I tend to wait and let nature take its course when it comes to feet injuries.

 

[RussianChickens]

The best place to remove them is at a joint should you opt to do that. Leave the exposed middle toe bone for now. You will likely have to deal with it sooner or later, but as long as it is not a major issue now, I would wait. The others will fall off in their own time. It is best to leave them to dry out fully before they come off. The bird's body is trying to re-route circulation away from the damaged/dead areas. That takes time. It is better if it happens in its own time, so you don't have a major bleed when/if you take them off. The wonderful about birds is that they tend to encapsulate infections. Rarely do birds get major systemic infections. Their bodies tend to put infections into a neat and tidy little package in the form of an abscess, especially in their feet. This is why I tend to wait and let nature take its course when it comes to feet injuries.

Well I looked at him again tonight and everything is nice and pink around the dead parts. So for now its improving. I just cleaned his beading again. I'll wait it out then. It looks like the skin is growing over the exposed bone. I left them wrapped with the paper towel. Looks like they are drying out nice.

 

[CMV]

Sounds good.