Hi all, thanks for all the kind good wishes for Wigs. We are back from the vets, she is all bandaged up and resting in my downstairs loo. Pleased to say her appetite is not diminished although her foot is bothering her and she is holding it up a bit. But it must feel very strange indeed.
The vet said it wasn't too dreadful under the scab. He has cleaned out all the necrotic tissue and packed the wound with some Antirobe/Intrasite gel, which I guess is antiseptic? antibiotic? but which he said will also draw out any infection.
He said one of the things they worry about with Bumblefoot is the infection damaging the tendons, causing the foot to draw closed and be unable to open flat. He is optimistic that we have a "good chance" of having dealt with it.
Apparently the wound is only about the size of an adult's little fingernail. He put a stitch in it to help draw it together, to speed up the healing process.
It is wrapped in a rather neat and very appropriate little bandage.
I have to take her back on Monday to have the bandage changed and be taught how to do it.
Our run leaks a bit and the dressing is not waterproof. We did discuss this, as it would be better for her to get back in with the girls, even if they do take the odd peck at her beautifully decorated foot. The thing is, he says it really does need to be kept dry (although treading in poop doesn't count - which is blooming lucky because the first thing she did was a great big poo, then trod in it with the bandaged foot ). The vet says not to try strapping a waterproof layer of, say, duct tape over it, as it needs to breathe. So hubby is on "make the run super waterproof" duty this weekend to enable us to get her back in there ASAP. And I will buy another load of fresh, dry woodchip. A rest indoors for the remainder of today/tonight will probably be a good thing.
Good luck with the recovery - I hope all is repaired. Bumble came out with vet-wrap bandage showing sheep and so got laughed at.
I tried to replace the bandage once but ended up with a huge clump of it - no good. Rebecca mastered it though and found it easiest to wrap the hen completely in a towel - head and all - so it goes dark and they stop struggling. One can then just lay them on their side get to work. Have all your strips of bandage and dressing cut and ready to speed it all up.
Aww brings back memories. Had a few with this from the sheds. I bought another hen inside with mine, so she had company and didn't go back on her own Get well soon, Wiggy.
What a cute dressing, bet it wont stay like that for long! If you're anywhere within reach of Kettering/Northampton area I have some clear tarps I'm not using right now that you could borrow to keep part of your run dry. (they were my winter anti-snow-in-the-run ones)
"He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." --Immanuel Kant
Thank you everyone else too. Mike, oh dear, it all sounds pretty complex, I just hope I am up to doing the bandage myself, I shall enlist my daughter and follow your advice.
Apparently madam is not too poorly, as you will see. First I brought in Miranda, while I checked her feet, but she was most stressed to be in the house for the first time and not much fun for Wiggy, since she just stood about looking haughty and occasionally pooping.
Then I swapped over and brought in Ginger. Glad I did because her bumble has flared back up unfortunately. So I soaked it in salt water and called the vet who has set aside more antibiotics for me to collect tomorrow. Afterwards she decided to take over, rearranging Wiggy's bedding, kicking most of it out, and helping with the diet by eating most of Wigs' food.
And as we took our supper into the other room, I did notice a brave and curious Wiggy peeping around the stairgate - we wove cardboard through it to stop them getting scared. I underestimated them. Ginger decided to lead my good girl astray... it turns out even porkers with huge bandages on their feet can get to the top of the stair gate, as I found when I finished my food:
Sorry, grainy photo as it's getting a bit dark in there.
Lucky we locked the dog in the back of the house,
Ps I am so glad I made up the nice, cosy, straw- filled nest box - they are, of course, sleeping on top of it. Mind you, I did only have one heffalump of a chicken in mind when I made it up, not a heffalump and a companion.
Please don't let my lack of expertise worry you - I was not shown how to do it. I often tape up electric wires which have 3 inner wires which you separate like hens toes and just wrap up as much as you wish (the power is off anyway but 'rules is rules') but it didn't work very well on a hen. You'll be fine!
Oh bless their little cotton bandages! So good to hear Wigs is doing so well already and i hope Ginger's bumble can be sorted with more meds and her salty foot spas.
Sounds like they are both getting far too cozy in your house. I look forward to getting a chickens' eye view of their amazing adventures in the Human Coop on the Henpals Diary (hint hint!)!
Karen Alpha chick to: Smudge, Matisse and Bluebell
Chief servant to Marley the cat
Remembering Weeps, Rexie, Sage, Cassie, Toffee, Captain Gabby, Commander Nugget, Ronnie, Juno, Special Poetry and Reading Casper, Tigger, Tophenanall Rembrandt, Chestnut, Tiddly, Willow, Mango, Coco, Dorian Grey and Pokey.
Also my lost furries Charlie and Jasper
You are doing such a good job, hope they are both better soon. I have been worrying over my feather pulling problem and Ambers egg laying problem but at least I am dealing with my girls outside rather than in the house. It paints a comic picture, how much trouble they can get up to indoors.
We had to keep a couple of ours indoors for a few weeks when it was too cold here for them to stay outside, and it's amazing how quickly we all got used to each other. There was loads of newspaper on the floor, and we changed it often so they could have new things to read! The day it was warm enough to go outside was really memorable as they hesitated in the doorway, realised that was the sun on their feathers and then the cockerel ran out and bok bok-ed to his little hen to come and have something to eat. Aaaaah. They've both departed now, but a lovely memory.
Freeranger wrote:There was loads of newspaper on the floor, and we changed it often so they could have new things to read!
I came down this morning to find Ginger in the basin. She is so inquisitive. I noticed she was very restless so I put a towel over the makeshift nest box and within 15mins she had laid an egg (she didn't lay yesterday. I think it was all a bit much for her, so this one had a band of darker colour on it, I guess from where it had been held in).
Yesterday, I suddenly realised the vet had said he was giving 14 antibiotic tablets, but we actually only got 10. I shall have to tell him when I take her back for the foot wrapping lesson on Monday.
Giving them their meds and keeping their feet clean is much easier when they are indoors, but I would love to get them back outside with their friends. However the weather forecast is rain until Thursday (plus thunder storms tomorrow) and I have yet to find out if Hubby's hard work waterproofing the run has paid off. I am not sure if it is possible to make it completely dry without hermetically sealing it! I am worried about the effect on the flock of too long a separation (and I am probably going to have to redecorate...). FR,your story does give me hope, but is Thursday too long apart?
I can't help much with the flock issue, I'm afraid because our two little bantams always lived separately from the rough big girls because the size difference was very pronounced. Eventually, we did let the big girls free range out with the bantams, but they never had the close grouping that a flock does and always went back to separate coops.
bandage.
). The vet says not to try strapping a waterproof layer of, say, duct tape over it, as it needs to breathe. So hubby is on "make the run super waterproof" duty this weekend to enable us to get her back in there ASAP. And I will buy another load of fresh, dry woodchip. A rest indoors for the remainder of today/tonight will probably be a good thing.
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