Very young baby with badly infected foot! Help!

[lovemyroos]

Brought home from the feed store today. The entire foot is swollen and purplish. Skin is split between toes, I think from being stretched so tight. There is also a small split in the bottom of her foot from the pressure, got a lot of clear yellow fluid out of that, but it is not bumblefoot. A couple of her toes seem necrotic at the tips. All toenails are black.

So far I’ve cleaned it and put on antibiotic ointment, and started Epsom salt soaks periodically. She is eating, drinking and even walking a bit (limping) but clearly in pain. Any advice? Would hate to lose her as we just suffered the loss of a loved one so emotions are a bit fragile.

Sorry for the crappy quality photo, my front facing camera is broken so it had to be a selfie

 

[AltonaAcres]

I would almost say have a vet amputate it. Have you tried ACV in her water??

 

[AltonaAcres]

Check VERY carefully all the way up to her thigh to make sure nothing is cutting off her circulation.

 

[lovemyroos]

I would almost say have a vet amputate it. Have you tried ACV in her water??

Haven’t tried AVC. I’m not familiar with that treatment.

I really hope amputation doesn’t become necessary. I had a roo born missing a leg and he did adapt and hop around, but it was very hard on his joints in his remaining leg. He had a greatly shortened lifespan and I suspect the wear and tear on his body contributed to that. This baby might lose toes but I’m really hoping to save the foot itself

Check VERY carefully all the way up to her thigh to make sure nothing is cutting off her circulation.

Oh, good idea! It’s really only the foot that’s affected so I’ll be surprised if there’s anything higher up, but it never hurts to check!

I did Epsom salt soaks and that seemed to help a bit with the swelling (and the pain, which was a relief). She’s not in much distress right now and just has the one buddy so she doesn’t have to compete for food/water. I’m hoping tomorrow the color will improve. I do not like that purple (although it’s a bit better than it looks in the pic).

 

[Weeg]

@Eggcessive @Wyorp Rock @azygous @MGG @shawluvsbirds Any ideas? This is crazy, no idea whats going on!

 

[MGG]

Brought home from the feed store today. The entire foot is swollen and purplish. Skin is split between toes, I think from being stretched so tight. There is also a small split in the bottom of her foot from the pressure, got a lot of clear yellow fluid out of that, but it is not bumblefoot. A couple of her toes seem necrotic at the tips. All toenails are black.

So far I’ve cleaned it and put on antibiotic ointment, and started Epsom salt soaks periodically. She is eating, drinking and even walking a bit (limping) but clearly in pain. Any advice? Would hate to lose her as we just suffered the loss of a loved one so emotions are a bit fragile.

Sorry for the crappy quality photo, my front facing camera is broken so it had to be a selfie

I'm sorry about your loved one. Losses are hard.
There's something wrapped around her foot. Inspect it and look for it. Most likely a hair. I had a chick that I ordered have a purple foot exactly like that. It was SO swollen. There was a tiny hair around her leg, just below her hock. Once I got that off her foot was ok. The swelling went diwn and the foot went back to a normal color over the course of a month or so. She lost all the nails, though they grew back eventually.
Let us know what you find.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Brought home from the feed store today. The entire foot is swollen and purplish. Skin is split between toes, I think from being stretched so tight. There is also a small split in the bottom of her foot from the pressure, got a lot of clear yellow fluid out of that, but it is not bumblefoot. A couple of her toes seem necrotic at the tips. All toenails are black.

So far I’ve cleaned it and put on antibiotic ointment, and started Epsom salt soaks periodically. She is eating, drinking and even walking a bit (limping) but clearly in pain. Any advice? Would hate to lose her as we just suffered the loss of a loved one so emotions are a bit fragile.

Sorry for the crappy quality photo, my front facing camera is broken so it had to be a selfie

Haven’t tried AVC. I’m not familiar with that treatment.

I really hope amputation doesn’t become necessary. I had a roo born missing a leg and he did adapt and hop around, but it was very hard on his joints in his remaining leg. He had a greatly shortened lifespan and I suspect the wear and tear on his body contributed to that. This baby might lose toes but I’m really hoping to save the foot itself



Oh, good idea! It’s really only the foot that’s affected so I’ll be surprised if there’s anything higher up, but it never hurts to check!

I did Epsom salt soaks and that seemed to help a bit with the swelling (and the pain, which was a relief). She’s not in much distress right now and just has the one buddy so she doesn’t have to compete for food/water. I’m hoping tomorrow the color will improve. I do not like that purple (although it’s a bit better than it looks in the pic).

Good idea @MGG looking for a hair wrapped around the foot.

@lovemyroos I think you are doing what most of us would do. If the skin is splitting, then I would put betadine or chlorhexidine (hibiclens) in the soaking water. If you don't have those, then the epsom salts are probably fine, but I would not use much since they may dry the skin making it worse.
Apply triple antibiotic ointment to the foot and use puppy pads for bedding in your brooder.

 

[azygous]

Reminds me of my Pearl. Pearl had a foot injury I discovered the first night I had her after bringing her home from the feed store a year ago. Chicks are treated pretty roughly as they're sorted after hatching. Sometimes these injuries aren't noticed and the chick is shipped out with the rest. Pearly lost her toe despite my attempts to heal the wound.

Likely, your chick got her foot caught in some hardware, and she managed to free herself or a store clerk freed her, but not before circulation to the foot was irreparably cut off.

Your chick will lose those toes that are black and crusty. The purple swollen upper parts might be saved with continued Epsom salt soaks. It's worth a try. No need to amputate anything. The chick's own immune system will auto-amputate any tissue that's been destroyed, even the entire foot.

By the way, AVC is apple cider vinegar that's unfiltered. It's a nice additive to chicken water, but it won't cure anything.

 

[lovemyroos]

There's something wrapped around her foot. Inspect it and look for it. Most likely a hair.

Honestly I wish it was! I have looked and looked and nothing! Circulation definitely seems impaired but the main part of her foot is not fluid-swollen so much as it feels like a hard, swollen joint. I am wondering if she got her foot caught on something, twisted/broke/crushed it trying to get loose and this was the result?

I think that first photo also makes it look uniformly purple (it’s not). The middle toe is almost ombre, darkest at the tip. It is curled as well. The side toes are a bit lighter and more mottled. It doesn’t even go all the way to her hock. Her back toe is almost normal except the nail is black like the others.

No bleeding, no pus, just a tiny bit more of that same clear fluid. Now that most of it’s drained out, the bottom of her foot is not puffy. In fact, the skin is loose there.

@lovemyroos I think you are doing what most of us would do. If the skin is splitting, then I would put betadine or chlorhexidine (hibiclens) in the soaking water. If you don't have those, then the epsom salts are probably fine, but I would not use much since they may dry the skin making it worse.
Apply triple antibiotic ointment to the foot and use puppy pads for bedding in your brooder.

Thank you for the advice. I don’t think I have either of those so I’ll stick with the Epsom salt for now. The skin’s not splitting anymore now that all that fluid is out. I may go see if I can find some tomorrow though.

I’m adding a few more photos, still crappy but hopefully they add some details. One of them makes her whole leg look droopy—it’s not, she just wiggled right before I took the picture. That outer toe is the only one that seems actually necrotic, it’s blackened and a bit shriveled at the tip.

 

[MGG]

Honestly I wish it was! I have looked and looked and nothing! Circulation definitely seems impaired but the main part of her foot is not fluid-swollen so much as it feels like a hard, swollen joint. I am wondering if she got her foot caught on something, twisted/broke/crushed it trying to get loose and this was the result?

I think that first photo also makes it look uniformly purple (it’s not). The middle toe is almost ombre, darkest at the tip. It is curled as well. The side toes are a bit lighter and more mottled. It doesn’t even go all the way to her hock. Her back toe is almost normal except the nail is black like the others.

No bleeding, no pus, just a tiny bit more of that same clear fluid. Now that most of it’s drained out, the bottom of her foot is not puffy. In fact, the skin is loose there.



Thank you for the advice. I don’t think I have either of those so I’ll stick with the Epsom salt for now. The skin’s not splitting anymore now that all that fluid is out. I may go see if I can find some tomorrow though.

I’m adding a few more photos, still crappy but hopefully they add some details. One of them makes her whole leg look droopy—it’s not, she just wiggled right before I took the picture. That outer toe is the only one that seems actually necrotic, it’s blackened and a bit shriveled at the tip.

I see that now. If it's not uniformly colored I agree with Azygous, she must have injured it somehow. These pics help a lot. Hopefully the soaks help and she doesn't lose the whole foot. She can live without a couple toes, but a foot, that's harder. I'll keep my fingers crossed for her. Let us know how she does! Good Night!