Vaseline on Feet: Roost, Barn, or House?

[Wyorp Rock]

Many updates. First, my power was knocked out by a storm Saturday and I just got it back, so it's been a hectic week to say the least!

On Monday I took Poppy to a vet. A long drive (90 minutes each way), but they did a great job evaluating him. It's a good news/bad news situation. He has an infection that is in his bone, but it's in the part of the bone of what remains of that middle toe. Tomorrow (Friday), they are going to attempt to fully amputate the toe and hopefully take the infected bone fully out. We'll then treat and hope it doesn't spread any further.

This is a lot (and expensive), and I'm still kind of processing it. I hope he does well tomorrow. In a little bit I'll post a picture of the X-ray for you all to see. Naturally I'll update as things go along.

The vet had an interesting theory about what all happened, because he said he was surprised that the infection was only in that bone in the toe and not spread further. He said there's a tendon in their foot that runs down to the middle toe. That tendon slipping/dislocating could cause swelling, but also cut off circulation to part of the toe. This could explain the initial swelling with no visible injury, the loss of the middle toe (with no damage to any other toe), and then if the infection really started with the loss of the toe, why the infection hasn't spread very far.

Thank you for the update on Poppy and the information, it's interesting.

I hope the Vet is able to remove the toe successfully and stop the infection so Poppy can make a full recovery.

You've done a good job taking care of him. I look forward to seeing another update about how Poppy is doing.

 

[Anon112]

Poppy had his surgery today, and hopefully I will pick him up tomorrow. I did not realize how attached I was to this rooster until I dropped like 2/3 of my emergency fund on fixing his foot.

This is the x-ray of his foot. You can see the infection in the middle toe bone, which is what they removed today.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Poppy had his surgery today, and hopefully I will pick him up tomorrow. I did not realize how attached I was to this rooster until I dropped like 2/3 of my emergency fund on fixing his foot.

View attachment 4107565
This is the x-ray of his foot. You can see the infection in the middle toe bone, which is what they removed today.

I hope he came through surgery well and there will be no complications.

They sure can wiggle their way into your heart. Poppy is lucky to have you.

Thank you for the photo and information, this is interesting.

 

[Anon112]

I hope he came through surgery well and there will be no complications.

They sure can wiggle their way into your heart. Poppy is lucky to have you.

Thank you for the photo and information, this is interesting.

Thank you for your continued cheerleading! I know that this is the place to go to confess that I'm spending my hard-earned money on a chicken's foot!

They said he had some respiratory issues coming out of the anesthesia. I'm hoping that's an anesthesia specific issue and not that he has some bigger issues. During the exam on Monday the vet said his heart and lungs sounded good, so I'm going to not think too hard about that.

I am also finding this whole process interesting, and I hope that in the future if people have a rooster/chicken with mystery swelling, this thread could be helpful for them.

 

[Anon112]

Poppy is recovering in a dog kennel in my barn. It's been hard to totally tell how he's doing, because one of the painkillers he's on is pretty heavy stuff and has a sedating effect. But today he ate really well, drank water, and he was standing up a bit more than he has been.

I had to change his foot bandage last night (I'm to change it every three days) and that was an adventure. Like 4 different layers of things (sterile non-stick bandage, gauze, plastic donut to take pressure off the bottom of the foot, more gauze, self-adhesive wrap). I'll post a progress picture of the incision site later.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Poppy is recovering in a dog kennel in my barn. It's been hard to totally tell how he's doing, because one of the painkillers he's on is pretty heavy stuff and has a sedating effect. But today he ate really well, drank water, and he was standing up a bit more than he has been.

I had to change his foot bandage last night (I'm to change it every three days) and that was an adventure. Like 4 different layers of things (sterile non-stick bandage, gauze, plastic donut to take pressure off the bottom of the foot, more gauze, self-adhesive wrap). I'll post a progress picture of the incision site later.

Thank you for the update.
It's good to hear he ate and drank today and was able to stand a little more.

I look forward to the progress photos and report.

 

[Anon112]

Sorry for the delay in updates. I've had two broodies hatching, plus the school year is coming to an end.

Poppy had his follow-up appointment last Thursday evening (this was quite an odyssey: 7.5 hours, most of it driving!). The vet thinks he is looking well. He finished his medications.

He is still in the crate in the barn, but got permission to no longer have the foot wrapped (I was changing a complex bandage every three days), and he can have like 15-20 minutes with the hens outside, slowly ramping up to a full reintegration.

On Monday I was super stressed because I ran in to help a chick and Monroe the rooster slipped out while Poppy was out and the two exchanged a few kicks. The next day Poppy's foot was distinctly warm to the touch. I had him on anti-inflammatories for two days, and the foot seems mostly back to normal.

I'm going to continue to slowly increase his time outside, and then hopefully in a week or so he can fully be back in the run. (In his absence, the second-tier rooster has been in charge AND a clutch of chicks are now in there, so I am trying to go slow and keep the peace).

The photos are Poppy at the vet, standing without his bandage for the first time; Poppy outside with the hens for a little bit of free range time; and what his foot looked like about a week and a half ago.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Sorry for the delay in updates. I've had two broodies hatching, plus the school year is coming to an end.

Poppy had his follow-up appointment last Thursday evening (this was quite an odyssey: 7.5 hours, most of it driving!). The vet thinks he is looking well. He finished his medications.

He is still in the crate in the barn, but got permission to no longer have the foot wrapped (I was changing a complex bandage every three days), and he can have like 15-20 minutes with the hens outside, slowly ramping up to a full reintegration.

On Monday I was super stressed because I ran in to help a chick and Monroe the rooster slipped out while Poppy was out and the two exchanged a few kicks. The next day Poppy's foot was distinctly warm to the touch. I had him on anti-inflammatories for two days, and the foot seems mostly back to normal.

I'm going to continue to slowly increase his time outside, and then hopefully in a week or so he can fully be back in the run. (In his absence, the second-tier rooster has been in charge AND a clutch of chicks are now in there, so I am trying to go slow and keep the peace).

The photos are Poppy at the vet, standing without his bandage for the first time; Poppy outside with the hens for a little bit of free range time; and what his foot looked like about a week and a half ago.

Congratulations on the chicks!

Go Poppy! He's got enough zest to let Monroe have a few kicks. I hope this didn't set him back too much.

It sounds like he's still improving and it's good to hear he's able to get outside if even for a short while.

I'm glad you were able to see the Vet again and get a good report, this is promising!

You've done a very good job taking care of him. As always, I enjoy seeing an update and I appreciate you taking the time to give one.

 

[Anon112]

Poppy is back in with his girls in the run, roosting with them as we speak. Hopefully he continues on his path to recovery. I can tell that he's still getting the hang of doing certain movements with one less toe on that right foot.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Poppy is back in with his girls in the run, roosting with them as we speak. Hopefully he continues on his path to recovery. I can tell that he's still getting the hang of doing certain movements with one less toe on that right foot.

I bet he's a happy boy being back with his ladies!