Toes are gone!

[PrairiePeckers]

This chick was fine yesterday! Where did its toes go?!?! And what should I do?! The rest of flock is ok.

 

[PrairiePeckers]

Update: No frostbite, no critters….I hired a man to do lawn work because I hurt my back. I wasn’t home when he working.
He told me today that he was weed eating around fence. Coop is about 3 in from fence. Weeds were tall back there. The chick had wedged herself behind fence and he didn’t see her until weeds were down. He thought she was ok because “she flew off”. Mystery solved.
She’s getting around really well and healing up great.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Photos attached

This was what I was leaning towards because outside temps are above freezing and coop is plenty warm.

Where are you located in the world and how old is this pullet/chick?

How cold were your temperatures oh say a month or so ago?

Looks like Frostbite to me, you may have seen her with toes/feet yesterday. She has horn coloring on her legs and probably did on the toes too. Frostbite usually turns dark, so at a glance, the toes may have looked perfectly fine for a long time.
It takes weeks and weeks/months for frostbitten toes to auto amputate. Looks like this is what has finally happened.

Doesn't look like fresh bites from an overnight toe eating session from a rat. The toes are healed up very well, nothing to indicate fresh wounds.

Read this article and look at the long thread (photos). This will be helpful. She's walking on her stumps and the may harden up o.k. but you may find that she needs to wrapped to help her get around better. Prosthetics, you can try, but I've seen most report they are fiddly and the bird actually gets around better with just wrapped stumps if necessary.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...to-know-about-injury-care-and-recovery.78168/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/matilda-is-going-to-lose-her-feet.1454933/

This one too. If you note, the initial post was in January. The latest update was just a few days ago. You're looking at 4(ish) months and toes are just now being lost. A lot depends on the severity of damage and how fast the body auto amputates. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/frostbite-frozen-foot.1609875/page-3#post-27670052

 

[PrairiePeckers]

Photos attached

 

[paradisepentacoop]

Update: No frostbite, no critters….I hired a man to do lawn work because I hurt my back. I wasn’t home when he working.
He told me today that he was weed eating around fence. Coop is about 3 in from fence. Weeds were tall back there. The chick had wedged herself behind fence and he didn’t see her until weeds were down. He thought she was ok because “she flew off”. Mystery solved.
She’s getting around really well and healing up great.

Oh my word! I don't think ANY of us expected that!
I am so sorry to hear that she had that happen to her. Glad she is doing the best she can though. Little champion chicki

 

[FunClucks]

Looks like somehow it got frostbite on all its toes. Either that or a rat or something ate them all. But it looks to me like frostbite, and there's one toe that will also soon fall off. What have your night time temperatures been like in the coop? Do you feed water from flat containers the chick might have stepped in? Could it have roosted in a cold location last night?

But I'm not entirely sure, what does everyone else think?

 

[FunClucks]

I soaked her feet and applied antibiotic. I’ve never had a problem happen like this. She was out running around yesterday. They have plenty of room. It’s not been cold outside. So I’m at a loss. It’s not mites if it was I don’t see how she could lose her toes in 12 hours. I’m at a loss.

If it hasn't been below freezing where they are roosting at night, then you have rats. You can put them in a secure brooder at night if needed. Cover an XXL dog crate with 1/2" hardware cloth over every single opening, nothing more than 1/2" wide. Also, put sheets of metal on sides/bottom to prevent rat access of them while they're sleeping. If they'll roost, then put the metal over the sides right where the roost connects to the crate, and make the metal large enough that a rat can't reach around it. If they're roosting on the ground, then put metal on sides and bottom of crate. You'll want to put some shavings and clean them daily in this case. Often chicks will roost lower than adult hens, or on the floor of the coop, so will be prey for rats where adult hens are out of reach. But rats can for sure climb and go after adult hens if nothing easier is available. Sorry you're dealing with this. Rats can be VERY hard to eradicate.

ETA: There's not much you can do for your chick. They do sell chicken prosthetics, but those can be heavy/bulky, especially for chicks. Can your chick still walk around on its stubs and do chicken things and get to the food/water? If not, might have to seriously consider if it has adequate quality of life.

 

[LaFleche]

Thank you for the update. Hopefully she will be able to heal well and carry her body weight without problems when fully grown.

Some people help protect the stumps from getting sore by customizing little leather booties.

 

[LaFleche]

I soaked her feet and applied antibiotic. I’ve never had a problem happen like this. She was out running around yesterday. They have plenty of room. It’s not been cold outside. So I’m at a loss. It’s not mites if it was I don’t see how she could lose her toes in 12 hours. I’m at a loss.

Rats have very likely bitten her toes off during the night.

You should keep them somewhere safe.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Update: No frostbite, no critters….I hired a man to do lawn work because I hurt my back. I wasn’t home when he working.
He told me today that he was weed eating around fence. Coop is about 3 in from fence. Weeds were tall back there. The chick had wedged herself behind fence and he didn’t see her until weeds were down. He thought she was ok because “she flew off”. Mystery solved.
She’s getting around really well and healing up great.

Oh wow!
I'm glad you figured it out. He got both feet too, that's something else.

She will lose that last toe that's hanging on, it will eventually fall off.

I agree, the feet look to be healing up very well. If you do run into trouble and need to treat the feet for some reason, follow the care suggestions in the Frostbite threads.