Tic Tac's Surgery

Well this was a first. Tack onto my long list of job descriptions...now I'm a vet too. Well, I'm nothing like a vet, but as a 'farmer', there are things that you just gotta do.

I noticed a couple of days ago that our poor Barred Rock hen Tic Tac started walking a bit gingerly. I also notice something hanging from the bottom of that foot. She wasn't roosting with all the other chickens and she was laying down often to rest. After much research I found out she has whats referred to as "Bumble Foot". Apparently it's quite common in bird species. She must have had something stuck in the pad of her foot that eventually turned into a Staph infection. YIKES!!!!!
Well, most chicken owners take it upon themselves to resolve the problem with the hopes that they don't kill their chicken in the process...Double YIKES!!

After scouring the internet and chicken forums it seemed easy enough. I just needed an extra pair of hands...Now being a mom, that would really be nice to have, but unfortunately I don't see that happening within my lifetime.

So after a quick trip into town to pick up some surgical supplies, I hired my dear hubby to portray the role of surgical nurse. I scooped her up this morning (after breakfast might I add...maybe not a good idea to have breaky first) then wrapped her up in a towel and handed her off to my surgical assistant. It was then I noticed that she had 'Bumble Foot' on both of her feet..That is my triple YIKES!!! Now I really started to feel the pressure (forehead wipe please). After a good soak in warm water with betadine and epsom salt I was ready to make the first cut. Surprisingly my hands were steady. The goal of all of this is to remove the scabbing and pull all of the 'crap' out of the padding of the foot. Then soak in more betadine, epsom salt and warm water, then triple anitbiotic cream and wrap. So here are some pics...not too bad, but maybe not for the squeemish!












So hopefully she will make a full recovery, and I hope I never have to do this again. It really wasn't bad at all, but you never want to have to do stuff like this. It was quite cute watching her get use to her new kicks though....




All in all, I think it went really well. Although when I put her back with her family, they all (including Tic Tac) started pecking at the blue vet wrap. I had to put her in a separate pen so she can rest and not get chewed on. LOL!

Crack N' Egg
Enjoying the Sunny Side!