Infected Toe very swollen Help

[TerriL]

Chickerdoodle, Thank you so much - I will do the pic thing we have a vet teaching hospital in Missouri so I can start there. I will look at what the pen G is also.

Lynxs1981 that is a great thought, at least it would give me a place to try and get something out of. I will do that tonight when I get home from work, I always have have apple cidar vinigar around.

Thank you all so much for your ideas, I will let you know what works and what I learn. Terri

 

[TerriL]

Well this poor rooster is just not doing well at all. I have been giving him Penicilliam injections for 4 days now - he seems to feel better but his swollen toe is twice as big as it was.

I have tried to find somewhere to lance it to give him some help but I never have. I used the syringe to try an draw something out and blood squirts out. I dont want to slice the whole toe open from top to bottom but that what looks like needs to happen. I tried the opening at the nail but that got nothing except lots of blood.

This isn't bumblefoot that much I am sure of. He eats and drinks and talks. The injections seem to make him feel better. The chicken Doc has me giving vitamins and another antibotic in his water.

If I could just relieve the pressure on that darn toe I think he would be fine.
Any ideas would be appreciated. I dont want to put him down yet I believe he still has a good chance of recovery.

Thanks for listing!

 

[chickerdoodle]

Did you take the rooster to a chicken vet? Or did you talk to one over the phone? What did he/she think?

Darn, I wish the swelling would decrease.

 

[kylara70]

Wow! If it is twice as big as the first picture, that is something horribly amazing. If you look at the first picture, you will see that his whole foot is swollen, not just one toe. I know that the one toe is the biggest, but the whole foot is swollen if you look at the bad foot compared to his other foot. I just wanted to point out that it is not just the one toe as was previously stated. Any reply back from the vet schools yet? I will be checking back. Sorry your rooster is having a bad time of it.

 

[hudsonhousechicks]

Sheesh, it's hurts just to look at it. My little BO pullet was going down that road but I caught it early and soaked and cleaned it several days in a row. I'd definitely have a vet look at that.

 

[ruth]

It looks to me as if he lost a toe nail and then got an infection in the toe. In any event, it is swelling and most likely full of infection. The thing is, when a chicken gets an infection, it is NOT liquid pus and will not drain out nor can it be extracted with a needle. It will be hard and rubbery and looked like cooked rubbery egg yolk or thick cheese.

I would immediately follow the bumble foot thread steps. Meaning, soak it in warm Epsom salt water, then make a long, deep incision over the swollen area. Dig out any infection. Keep soaking. Once you get it cleaned out, pack with Neosporin and wrap. Leave the wrap on for few days then take it off and let the wound air dry/heal. If I had a dollar for every chicken I've had to cut open a wounded area and dig out the abcessed infection, I would be a weathier woman.

I did have a rooster that had something similar once but it was his small "back toe". I could not find any infection, just swollen. Eventually his whole foot swelled to the point that it cut off circulation and his toes began to dry up and die. Eventually his whole foot fell off and he was left with a stub leg and his spur. More than a year later, he is still alive and well and mates and runs around the farm with the best of them. So, as a final disclaimer, if there is no infection and he keeps getting worse and you want to try one final desperate act to save him, I would amputate the toe. I've amputated a hen's leg and she also did great and healed just fine. Her problem was at her hock and it was severly deformed and kept her from getting around.

Best of luck whatever you do but I would do something soon since it has been this way since the first of the month at least.

Edited to clarify: If you decide to lance it open, make a long deep incision LENGTHWISE down the BACK of the toe. That way you won't be cutting into bone or slicing across tendons, etc.

 

[TerriL]

Ruth, Thanks for being so specific. I have soaked with epson salts over a 2 wk perior about 3 weeks ago but that did not help. I talked to the guy at First State and he sent me the Penicellin and I have don that. The chicken feels a lot better but the toe is not.

I wanted to lance it but did not know where, at this point that cannot hurt him more that the swelling is. SO you are saying to make a long slice on the top of the toe, where there would have been scales correct. Is there anything I can do to help with the pain or is it so swollen that he probably wont feel it anyway?

I so want to help him! Terri

 

[ruth]

Quote:
No Terri - on the BOTTOM of the toe. The top of the toe would have scales and bone. Go under the toe, where it is swollen most, the pinkish area. And soaking in Epsom salt alone almost never works with an infection. Soak, slice, dig out infection if its there, and continue soaking once you've sliced the foot open so the warm salt water can flush the wound.

Good luck.

 

[ruth]

Quote:
No Terri - on the BOTTOM of the toe. The top of the toe would have scales and bone. Go under the toe, where it is swollen most, the pinkish area. And soaking in Epsom salt alone almost never works with an infection. Soak, slice, dig out infection if its there, and continue soaking once you've sliced the foot open so the warm salt water can flush the wound.

Good luck.

Whenever I operate on my birds, I wrap them in a towel and make sure their head is covered and they never move. I've done operations where I had to sew up the inside muscle first and then outer tissue and I operate alone and they never seem to feel it or move.

 

[NC29mom]

You need to do something about the swelling ASAP!!!!!! His circulation to his foot/toes is being compromised due to the swelling (swelling compresses vessels). You don't want him to loose his foot. I would do as the others have been saying and lance it to get the infection out. I think you should have done it several days ago. The antibiotic is good, but it's not going to heal by itself. Please lance his foot, poor thing. It makes me hurt just to look at the pictures.

BEST OF LUCK! Amazing how many hats we wear as mothers, wives, teachers, nurses, chicken vets, taxi drivers, hmmmmmmmmmmm the list goes on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on......................................................................