Urgent: post-amputation care, advice needed/I thought I would spend my Saturday doing this...

[darlingdarla]

Just my own $.02 worth of free advice- at this point I would leave it unwrapped- take care of the feather issues mentioned above- Spray the areas with Vetricyn hydrogel and let air/light in. Edited to add: And of course finish the course of antibiotics.

It looks like the bottom of the stump is going to die off to a certain point, but right now wrapping and keeping it wrapped might be doing more harm than good as most of the other issues are above the actual amputation-- not at the tip of the stump.

That's what I was wondering. I guess I would keep putting ointment on it in this case to keep it clean?

 

[Shezadandy]

That's what I was wondering. I guess I would keep putting ointment on it in this case to keep it clean?

If you use Vetricyn Hydrogel, it acts as the ointment without attracting dirt. It sprays on and then dries to the skin, coating it. Ointment will stay moist and then everything sticks to it.

Most farm supply stores carry it, pretty sure it's on Amazon too. The all-species vetricyn hydrogel is fine, no need to get the "poultry" version. There is a disinfecting spray as well which many of us use and have on hand, but for this, make sure you have the "hydrogel". A little goes a long way.

If you scroll down past the first part with the order sheet (again, you should be able to find it locally without a problem), just past the informational video, it will give features - and then scroll down for a bunch of reviews with pictures of critter wounds people have treated using it.

https://vetericyn.com/product/vetericyn-plus-antimicrobial-hydrogel/

 

[darlingdarla]

If you use Vetricyn Hydrogel, it acts as the ointment without attracting dirt. It sprays on and then dries to the skin, coating it. Ointment will stay moist and then everything sticks to it.

Most farm supply stores carry it, pretty sure it's on Amazon too. The all-species vetricyn hydrogel is fine, no need to get the "poultry" version. There is a disinfecting spray as well which many of us use and have on hand, but for this, make sure you have the "hydrogel". A little goes a long way.

If you scroll down past the first part with the order sheet (again, you should be able to find it locally without a problem), just past the informational video, it will give features - and then scroll down for a bunch of reviews with pictures of critter wounds people have treated using it.

https://vetericyn.com/product/vetericyn-plus-antimicrobial-hydrogel/

Okay thanks I'll look into it.

 

[darlingdarla]

If you use Vetricyn Hydrogel, it acts as the ointment without attracting dirt. It sprays on and then dries to the skin, coating it. Ointment will stay moist and then everything sticks to it.

Most farm supply stores carry it, pretty sure it's on Amazon too. The all-species vetricyn hydrogel is fine, no need to get the "poultry" version. There is a disinfecting spray as well which many of us use and have on hand, but for this, make sure you have the "hydrogel". A little goes a long way.

If you scroll down past the first part with the order sheet (again, you should be able to find it locally without a problem), just past the informational video, it will give features - and then scroll down for a bunch of reviews with pictures of critter wounds people have treated using it.

https://vetericyn.com/product/vetericyn-plus-antimicrobial-hydrogel/

Just got home from work and I was wondering if this might work temporarily until I get the vetericyn? It might be a day or two before I can get to the feedstore, I'm having car trouble.

Edit: I just ordered the vetericyn because I don't know when I'll be able to get to the store. It comes Thursday.

 

[Shezadandy]

Just got home from work and I was wondering if this might work temporarily until I get the vetericyn? It might be a day or two before I can get to the feedstore, I'm having car trouble.

Edit: I just ordered the vetericyn because I don't know when I'll be able to get to the store. It comes Thursday.

Oh fun!

I haven't used curad's version but I have used the "New Skin" liquid bandage on blood feather injuries (when the hens help themselves to their friend's tasty new tail blood feather) and it has worked pretty well.

Check for odor before applying it. The New Skin stuff definitely has some stink to it- so be prepared to keep her out of a confined area, i.e. not right back in her small coop - until it is dry and the smell has gone away.

To be safe because we're improvising for a couple of days - for the areas with the feathers tip issues, I would cover those with gauze, a stretched out cotton ball or a quick layer of vet wrap while you apply the Curad to the rest of the area. Don't want to in effect glue those shut- then remove the covering once you've sprayed it so they are open to the air. The liquid bandage products are made to replace a band-aid.


Once the Hydrogel comes, of course give everything a good cleaning and you can spray that on everything.

 

[darlingdarla]

Oh fun!

I haven't used curad's version but I have used the "New Skin" liquid bandage on blood feather injuries (when the hens help themselves to their friend's tasty new tail blood feather) and it has worked pretty well.

Check for odor before applying it. The New Skin stuff definitely has some stink to it- so be prepared to keep her out of a confined area, i.e. not right back in her small coop - until it is dry and the smell has gone away.

To be safe because we're improvising for a couple of days - for the areas with the feathers tip issues, I would cover those with gauze, a stretched out cotton ball or a quick layer of vet wrap while you apply the Curad to the rest of the area. Don't want to in effect glue those shut- then remove the covering once you've sprayed it so they are open to the air. The liquid bandage products are made to replace a band-aid.


Once the Hydrogel comes, of course give everything a good cleaning and you can spray that on everything.

Okay gotcha, hadn't thought of "sealing" the pin feathers in, thanks!
Would a soak be okay to do before applying the veterycin? Just wondering if that would help clear out any debris and wash out the liquid bandage.

 

[darlingdarla]

Just put her in her coop with the liquid bandage on her leg. Cleaned the coop first, added some fresh bedding, and then set her up with the liquid bandage. I plucked what feathers I could, there is one that will need to be lanced but I'll do that tomorrow, it's not urgent. I kicked the bantams out of the coop just in case, they're roosting in their mini run that is inside my large run so still predator safe.
Veterycin is shipping,
Just gave her day four of her antibiotics,
Honestly everything is looking pretty good, I don't see the infection advancing and she is in good spirits, I had her eating some treats on my porch while the bandage dried.
Here are some pictures today, I took them after i applied the bandage so her leg looks shiny.
Thoughts?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I think you are on the right track.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Although her pictures you posted today are not pretty, they look Much better than the ones from last week. Consider giving her a probiotic as a daily treat since the antibiotics may mess up her gut flora. Plain yogurt (no sugar), kefir or simply fermenting her feed would all be good "treats" right now. Knocking out infection is much more important than dealing with loose stools, but cleaning up that is not fun either.

What did you decide as far as her bedding?

 

[darlingdarla]

Although her pictures you posted today are not pretty, they look Much better than the ones from last week. Consider giving her a probiotic as a daily treat since the antibiotics may mess up her gut flora. Plain yogurt (no sugar), kefir or simply fermenting her feed would all be good "treats" right now. Knocking out infection is much more important than dealing with loose stools, but cleaning up that is not fun either.

What did you decide as far as her bedding?

I was thinking it was looking better too, but thought it was just my wishful thinking. But yes, I think the antibiotics may be helping, although clearly the end of that leg is dead and dying
Is it okay to start probiotics before the antibiotics are done? It's probably a stupid question but I'm asking anyway lol, thank you so much.

Currently she is on shavings, unfortunately the feed stores near me only have the finer shavings right now, so it'll have to do until they get another shipment. I am spot cleaning as best I can daily and topping off the shavings. They've stayed pretty clean so far. I put down a thick layer just in case she puts some weight on the leg so there's some kind of cushion, especially now that there's no bandage taking the edge off. And she always has food and water.