Speaking of silicone, it reminded me of the noise ear plugs I recently got from Walmart. This material might be just the thing for Matilda's stumps. They're soft, moldable, and they are sticky. The stay where they are stuck.
They are the most effective ear plugs I've ever used, making a...
Cheers for Matilda! Cheers for her keeper! It's lucky you caught the ulcerations of her stumps. That could have really set her back. You did a marvelous job of treating her "bumble-shank". They look to be healing wonderfully.
The best padding to protect her stumps, in my experience, is foam...
If BYC gave awards for terrific threads, this thread would surely win one. Matilda's heartwarming journey has been inspirational.
I've filed the thread in my reference files and have already linked to it in other frostbite threads.
Matilda has a bit more healing to do and she'll be...
It will take about six weeks from the point of amputation to fully heal, but it should not prevent Matilda from test-driving her peg legs. When a chicken is facing a stressful situation, it's best to make the world small for them, less to deal with.
So, a small enclosure, say four to six square...
I think Matilda is healing well. Has she tried to walk yet?
I would keep the stumps wrapped and with some good padding to reduce the pain of trying to use them. Matilda may need some PT and encouragement.
Someone posted a video of someone giving PT to a chicken learning to walk again after a...
I'm not easily grossed out. But the photo of that detached foot did it.
I wouldn't worry too much about infection other than keeping the raw stumps covered until a glaze of tissue forms. The whole point of chickens being able to jettison dead extremities like this is to protect them from...
It's possible, though we can't know for sure, that the necrotic tissue is only surface tissue. There's reason to hope this is the case because the pad has maintained a healthy blood supply. But that can change and it could eventually die, too.
You won't know until it happens. Frostbite...
The swelling of tissue is the "walling off" process. It really is quite fascinating to watch as it progresses. This walling off protects the chicken from systemic infection. The swelling eventually blocks the blood supply to the damaged tissue, and then the damaged tissue dies completely, no...
Feet and comb frostbite injuries we leave alone to resolve on their own. The chicken's response to damaged extremities is a bit different than humans. Whereas humans often need intervention, debridement, to prevent infection and encourage new tissue growth, chickens' immune systems wall off the...