Viola Foot NEED HELP

[welland]

Hi I posted a little information about my X Rooster Viola a little while ago, in the introduction section, but now he has a problem with his foot, yesterday I noticed he was limping, I caught him, his foot was swollen but I could find little wrong, Today it is much worse and causing him pain, I have looked on the site and there is a lot of talk about Bumble foot, the problem is there is no scab or wound other than a small flat almost patch on his toe, it almost looks like a tiny patch of rubbed skin, and his toe is not swollen.
I am going to the farm store to get some antibiotics. but any thoughts would be a great help.

 

[Marty1876]

He probobly has a small thorn or shard of glass/shale/rock etc. They can be quite discreet, until the wound opens up, which is een further down the road. Try soaking his foot (while you hold him) in warm water for about 5 minutes, then wiping dry, and inspecting more closely with a magnifying glass.

Maybe useful to take a CLOSE UP pic of the foot, top and bottem. Post it here. (I take mine and send to my e-amil,download to desktop, and then click pic butten (5 left of smiley) to post it here. Note exactly where the swelling is. Try to identify sore spot by gently pressing different area of his foot, and noting his eye/body responses.

 

[welland]

Thank you for the reply, I have caught him twice today and he does not welcome the attention, I will leave it to the afternoon to catch him again, to let him calm down. We have gone over his legs and feet and it does not feel excessively hot when compered to the other one, I am hoping this rules out infection, It looks as if he does not want to put all his weight on his foot (about 25lb), We have shut him and his ladys in I small pen so he stays off it as much as possable. will do as you say and post what I find Thanks Shaun

 

[Marty1876]

ok, I'll watch for you. He might have just landed on it wrong, or twisted it a bit. It may improve over the next several days.

 

[welland]

Thank you for your help, we have soaked and washed his foot and looked at with with a good magnifying glass, and can find nothing, it is not so swollen, and I can not feel any heat, when comparing to his other foot, there are no broken bones as far as I can feel, so maybe you are right and has has just hurt it, other than the limp he is eating and acting normally, he is a big boy, and I know he is on borrowed time, because of his breed, but we think the world of him, and I don't like to see him hurting. Thanks Shaun

 

[Marty1876]

Why don't you give him a duct tape splint for a few days, to help support the joint and immobilize it, which will help. Use chop sticks or popsicle sticks or something equally smooth. Put on on each side, just touching the floor equall on both side of his foot, just behind the toes. Cut duct tape into two 3" sections (or just long enough to wrap 1.5 times around the thickest part of his leg). Cut each lenth into 1/2 inch strips, so you have 1/2 x 3" strips of duct tape, barely hanging to the edge of your work surface (think wrapping presents here). Now, have someone hold him while he stands, and put the splints on both sides, so they touch the table/work surface while he stands normally. Tape them to his foot top and bottem, then in the center, and evenly in between. Now, keep him in his own flat surface space for about 2 days to rest his foot, and that should help if its an injury or arthritus. You might consider putting him on a bit of a diet to rest his limbs, if he's a special friend.

 

[welland]

Thank you that is not a bad idea, I will look at that in the morning, He is on a diet, but I am not sure if you looked at my other post when I introduced big Vi, but he is very good and eats no more then the hens, he even lets them take food from his beak, and will leave feed on the floor, he is very energetic, just ask the wife how fast he can run when chasing her.