Chicken with odd scab on foot starting to smell rotten...

[Fluffy_Feathers]

I have a hen who got severe frost bite on her feet two winters ago. The dead tissue fell off and her feet healed fine. She now basically has two stumps and has been getting around okay all things considered, and hasn't had much of a problem health wise up until now.

Towards the beginning of this summer I noticed something that looked like a small piece of weird looking dead skin protruding and hanging off one of her feet. I decided to leave it alone and thought it would fall off naturally.

June comes around and it looked like an actual scab and it seemed to have gotten bigger. I was concerned but decided to leave it alone, still in hopes it would just fall off naturally. At some point between then and now it even started to look loose like it was going to fall off, but then it just reattached itself.
June 2nd

Now it is July and the scab has gotten bigger still, and it has now developed a dead smell. I don't think it is going to fall off, and I don't know exactly what it is or why it formed. I don't know why it is getting bigger and bigger.
Today (July 22nd)

There has been no change in how my hen has been acting, and she has continued to lay eggs. Does anyone have an idea about why this scab formed, and what it is exactly? Do I need to remove this scab myself, since it is starting to smell (I would assume so because it could cause an infection)? If so, how should I go about doing that? I've never cut anything off a chicken, or any living animal, before. Do I even need to cut it off or can I just... break it off?

 

[coach723]

Is vet care an option for you? In this case I think it might be best. I'm a little concerned that what you thought was bit of weird skin protruding could have possibly been bone, due to the previous injuries to the feet and how she walks on them. If there is infection in the bone it would be serious. It also could be bumblefoot, but the rotten smell has me concerned that it's more. I'm going to tag some others to see what they think. If vet care is not an option then I would soak the foot, and treat like bumblefoot, and see what it looks like cleaned up, but lets see what the others may have to say.
@Wyorp Rock , @Eggcessive , @casportpony

 

[Sunshine_Chick]

I second soaking in Epsom salts bath it will not cause further damage regardless of what it is. Necrosis is never good. After soaking I'd apply Betadine too

 

[Fluffy_Feathers]

Is vet care an option for you? In this case I think it might be best. I'm a little concerned that what you thought was bit of weird skin protruding could have possibly been bone, due to the previous injuries to the feet and how she walks on them. If there is infection in the bone it would be serious. It also could be bumblefoot, but the rotten smell has me concerned that it's more. I'm going to tag some others to see what they think. If vet care is not an option then I would soak the foot, and treat like bumblefoot, and see what it looks like cleaned up, but lets see what the others may have to say.
@Wyorp Rock , @Eggcessive , @casportpony

Thank you for replying. I'd like to elaborate on the weird skin at the beginning. The weird skin protruding was flabby and thin. I could place it between two fingers and move it up and down, not by much since it was small. It wasn't hard. It's hard to explain, but it looked kind of sectioned off, kind of like weird looking scales coming out of the foot. It didn't quite look like bone, unless I'm mistaken. Since I've gone into more detail, does it still sound like bone?

 

[Fluffy_Feathers]

I second soaking in Epsom salts bath it will not cause further damage regardless of what it is. Necrosis is never good. After soaking I'd apply Betadine too

I don't think I have any Betadine. would Vetericyn work?

 

[Sunshine_Chick]

I don't think I have any Betadine. would Vetericyn work?

It certainly won't hurt. I use it on every animal I have including myself. I've renamed it wonder spray!

 

[HeatherKellyB]

@azygous

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Is vet care an option for you? In this case I think it might be best. I'm a little concerned that what you thought was bit of weird skin protruding could have possibly been bone, due to the previous injuries to the feet and how she walks on them. If there is infection in the bone it would be serious. It also could be bumblefoot, but the rotten smell has me concerned that it's more. I'm going to tag some others to see what they think. If vet care is not an option then I would soak the foot, and treat like bumblefoot, and see what it looks like cleaned up, but lets see what the others may have to say.
@Wyorp Rock , @Eggcessive , @casportpony

I agree, if Vet care is an option that would be good.

I will give my 2¢ I am not a vet or expert, but looking at the initial photos of when this sort of started, I would have been more inclined to think that was debris (poop/dirt) accumulating in a crevice of the foot. Could be a scab too, hard to know.
Over time, it could be a buildup of hardened debris - it almost looks "crumbly" like a poop ball and a "corner" if you will, has "broken" off.

First photo I'm pointing to the "pocket", in the second photo pointing to the crumbly looking "stuff" along with what looks "broken" to me. Circled the other foot so OP can also take a look at that foot, I see a black spot(?)

If going to treat at home, I would be inclined to soak well in a warm epsom salts bath, then gently start working on seeing if the whole thing will loosen or if it will soften and come off in chunks. If it's still fairly intact after the first soaking/working on it, I would apply a generous amount of neosporin/triple antibiotic ointment, working it around the edges, apply small well fit gauze pad and wrap the foot with vet wrap. Leave alone overnight, then see what happens the next day - try soaking/working on the "scab".

Again...vet care is best and that's my 2¢

 

[Fluffy_Feathers]

I agree, if Vet care is an option that would be good.

I will give my 2¢ I am not a vet or expert, but looking at the initial photos of when this sort of started, I would have been more inclined to think that was debris (poop/dirt) accumulating in a crevice of the foot. Could be a scab too, hard to know.
Over time, it could be a buildup of hardened debris - it almost looks "crumbly" like a poop ball and a "corner" if you will, has "broken" off.

First photo I'm pointing to the "pocket", in the second photo pointing to the crumbly looking "stuff" along with what looks "broken" to me. Circled the other foot so OP can also take a look at that foot, I see a black spot(?)

If going to treat at home, I would be inclined to soak well in a warm epsom salts bath, then gently start working on seeing if the whole thing will loosen or if it will soften and come off in chunks. If it's still fairly intact after the first soaking/working on it, I would apply a generous amount of neosporin/triple antibiotic ointment, working it around the edges, apply small well fit gauze pad and wrap the foot with vet wrap. Leave alone overnight, then see what happens the next day - try soaking/working on the "scab".

Again...vet care is best and that's my 2¢

View attachment 2257937

Thank you so much. I see what you mean, I never thought it would be build up. I'm hoping that's what it is instead of a bone infection. I forgot to mention in my earlier comment that vet care is probably not an option.

That black dot on the other foot I saw as well, it just showed up today. It is just a scratch and some blood, but I'll be sure to keep an eye on that though.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you so much. I see what you mean, I never thought it would be build up. I'm hoping that's what it is instead of a bone infection. I forgot to mention in my earlier comment that vet care is probably not an option.

That black dot on the other foot I saw as well, it just showed up today. It is just a scratch and some blood, but I'll be sure to keep an eye on that though.

I could be totally wrong, it could be bone infection or even if it is debris that's hardened in there it's possible that the skin is infected underneath all that. You just don't know unless you take a look.

If you work on it, have someone take some photos - yes, I probably have a morbid curiosity, but photos are also educational to me and others that are here on your thread and that may read it in the future as well.