Cyn, we tried really really hard to save a horse that had osteomyelitis - bone infection - that started as a soft tissue infection. If Zane has an infection that has moved into his bone, I can tell you this about osteomyelitis:
1. if it's in an area that is not well perfused with blood, it's hard to get enough antibiotics into the area. I would think a chicken leg is not well perfused. A horse's hoof capsule/coffin bone is a hard area to get antibiotics into.
2. bacteria can very quickly mutate, and the antibiotic that was working for a few days may not work at all a few days later. We were doing cultures every few days, and the @#$% thing kept mutating. It is VERY hard to stay on top of it when that happens.
3. if bone itself becomes infected, it's nearly impossible to stop the infection without debriding the bad bone. The bone eventually de-calcifies and crumbles as the infection grows.
I hope it's not what you are up against, but I fear that it could be the type of infection you are dealing with.
1. if it's in an area that is not well perfused with blood, it's hard to get enough antibiotics into the area. I would think a chicken leg is not well perfused. A horse's hoof capsule/coffin bone is a hard area to get antibiotics into.
2. bacteria can very quickly mutate, and the antibiotic that was working for a few days may not work at all a few days later. We were doing cultures every few days, and the @#$% thing kept mutating. It is VERY hard to stay on top of it when that happens.
3. if bone itself becomes infected, it's nearly impossible to stop the infection without debriding the bad bone. The bone eventually de-calcifies and crumbles as the infection grows.
I hope it's not what you are up against, but I fear that it could be the type of infection you are dealing with.
