stinky infection help? (graphic photos) w/ frostbite

silky smooth

In the Brooder
Mar 3, 2015
85
13
38
Michigan

can anyone identify his breeding besides the phoenix. he is 8 lbs.
this is Einstein
at my best guess the attack happened shortly after evening feed up. his foot was bitten by a rat. and because of the pain it caused him he was unable to climb the ramp with the hens. and sat alone to freeze to death. we caught it at night check ( coyotes, racoon, fox are a real threat and most of my birds are prize winners. ) his legs were frozen completely stiff and slightly enlarged. he was brought in and thawed slowly with ambient heat and body heat (my very young daughter wouldn't let him go, intermittently crying into his feathers, and commanding/begging him not to die ). after he was good and tear soaked and thawed, the real swelling began only in the one foot. but he was eating, drinking, and perching. i treated him for frost bite on his rear thumb toe and the tips of his comb and waddles. when the swelling seemed to stop getting worse, i let him rest the night. the bite was apparent the next morning when i checked on him after morning feed up. i flushed it with hydrogen peroxide 70% solution squirted on triple antibiotic and set him into the makeshift perch box with new geegan pad, and a sterile dowel rod. day two, a horrible stench ensued akin to the smell of rotting seafood or a dead rat. i debrided the site. i injected with penecillin. day three, this morning i am prepping to perform a second small invasive surgery to remove the rotting flesh and infection. you can see that his one toe pinky is split open. bright mac and cheese powder is visable. sure it is the source of the stink. i think it is dead. hoping it will fall off on it's own. there is a large abcess between it and the middle toe. the middle seems okay no infection no frost bite. the tip of his pointer toe looks dead as well. i hope not, we will see. his pad on the underside is completely swollen.


i literally broke him out of his shell, i will not give up on him.
i will keep you updated.
 
You may want to start giving him warm epsom salt soaks to his feet every day. Apply either betadine or plain Neosporin ointment after drying his feet. Sometimes it takes several weeks for a frostbitten to fall off, but most chickens can survive this.
 
i have been treating him with epsom salt baths. before and after surgery. he has now had three.


these are the results after the second.


this is during the third to remove the sloughing rotted skin,
,and infection.


i am about to change his dressing so i will get more results pictures.
 
this is my post out on someone elses thread
i raise show birds and layers. i have several different breeds. silkies- Cotton, Sunny, cochin/ frizzle- Frazzle, mini easter egg americana/bantam - Jinx, James, , 6 sassy red rock layers- Holly, Hilda, Mabel, Lacy, Tootsie, Georgia, and their rooster Einstein. This winter i have had to locate my birds inside one at a time for various levels of medical attention. frazzle fell pray to rat attack he lost a huge chunk of skin off his back 3"l x 2"w and all his feathers were plucked from the waist down. i caught it at the morning feedup. i cleaned him up with peroxide 70% solution, added a dose of fowl cut'n'heal and stopped the bleeding with wonderdust. it healed. the feathers grew back. ready for release and he decided to molt. so he is still living in my utility room. sub zero temps. prevent me from releasing a bald bird to the elements. next the rats targeted my jinx a sweet shy little girl ( no injuries), her handsome prissy hubby came to the rescue, and almost froze to death in the process the rat was bigger than him. i caught this one at morning feed up. brought in for warm up and frostbite treatment. weak heart and sub zero prevent his release. his hen would have died of broken heart so they are living in my bedroom in a roost coop ( don't judge, remember i said he is prissy, which makes him very clean, they will only waste on a towel ). the next to fall was Einstein. by the way can anyone identify his breeding besides the phoenix. he is 8 lbs.

at my best guess the attack happened shortly after evening feed up. his foot was bitten. and because of the pain it caused him he was unable to climb the ramp with the hens. and sat alone to freeze to death. we caught it at night check ( coyotes, racoon, fox are a real threat and most of my birds are prize winners. ) his legs were frozen completely stiff and slightly enlarged. he was brought in and thawed slowly with ambient heat and body heat (my very young daughter wouldn't let him go, intermittently crying into his feathers, and commanding him not to die ). she did this with the others as well, it worked for them. after he was good and tear soaked and thawed, the real swelling began only in the one foot. but he was eating, drinking, and perching. i treated him for frost bite on his rear thumb toe and the tips of his comb and waddles. when the swelling seemed to stabalize, i let him rest the night. the bite was apparent the next morning when i checked on him after morning feed up. i flushed it with hydrogen peroxide 70% solution squirted on triple antibiotic and set him into the makeshift perch box with new geegan pad, and a steralized dowel rod. day two, a horrible stench ensued akin to the smell of rotting seafood or a dead rat. i am prepping to perform small invasive surgery to remove the rotting flesh and infection. you can see that his one toe pinky is split open already. and bright mac and cheese power is visable. sure it is the sourse of the stink. i think it is dead. hoping it will fall off on it's own. there is a large absess between it and the middle toe. the middle seems okay no infection no frost bite. the tip of his pointer toe looks dead as well. i hope not, we will see. his pad on the underside is completely swollen.



i will keep you updated.
 
boy was i wrong. his entire foot was gross. the skin just fell away. the stench has lessened though. going to change his bandage again and finally get those new photos i promised.
 
here are the most recent photos. during a dressing change and penicillin inj. i noted a sever decrease in odor.

this is just after removing his dressing before soaking it in epsomsalt bath.


can you see how thin his toes are now?

bottom pad still very swollen.




these are after his bath.

the odor has decreased. but it still looks pretty rough.

do you see any problem spots that i missed?
 
You may want to give a stronger antibiotic, available through a vet, such as Baytril or enrofloxacin. Some order it online, but you may not have enough time to spare.
 
I have both to hand. but, this is only day 3 for the penicillin inj. my vet is on vacation. I was thinking more along the lines of anything else I might do or try. before I up the anty. ? (I am no longer dressing it, as it seems to exaserbate the problem.) I am applying triple antibiotic ointment as well ,and the odor vanishes for several hours. then returns. should i be cleaning and treating it more frequently? i am dosing only twice a day with the penicillin. can i up it.?
 
You may want to give a stronger antibiotic, available through a vet, such as Baytril or enrofloxacin. Some order it online, but you may not have enough time to spare.
I have both to hand. but, this is only day 3 for the penicillin inj. my vet is on vacation. I was thinking more along the lines of anything else I might do or try. before I up the anty. ? (I am no longer dressing it, as it seems to exaserbate the problem.) I am applying triple antibiotic ointment as well ,and the odor vanishes for several hours. then returns. should i be cleaning and treating it more frequently? i am dosing only twice a day with the penicillin. can i up it.?
 

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