Serious Foot Injury

[Raleighwheels]

I came home the other night to find blood all over the bottom of one of my cages, and a little zebra female babying her foot. After catching her, it seems that she caught foot somewhere on the bottom of the cage and managed to push her leg band over her three front toes. I was about to cut it off though. Right now she is in a hospital cage with a heat lamp and no perches. I've been wiping her foot and applying a children's antibacterial cream to it twice a day. Is there anything more I can do?

[Sally]

Lucky you found her in time. I think you are doing about all you can do for the moment. Some would suggest you give her an antibiotic as a preventative, but I just don't do meds very often.

[Raleighwheels]

Lucky you found her in time. I think you are doing about all you can do for the moment. Some would suggest you give her an antibiotic as a preventative, but I just don't do meds very often.

Thanks Sally. I'll work in some antibiotics into her water. She's doing her best to stay on flat surfaces so she doesn't use the foot.

[MiaCarter]

Raleighwheels -- Aw, poor girl.

Those toes appear necrotic, so I would expect her to lose those toes. Unless it's severe bruising? You'll know soon. If the dark color expands, it's necrosis. If the dark color recedes, it's bruising.

I personally prefer to give antibiotics as a prophylactic measure when there's this degree of trauma and necrosis, especially since the skin was broken.
But it's your choice. Some prefer to only give antibiotics after an infection forms. I prefer a proactive approach, as it's very easy for the bacteria-ridden necrotic tissue to harbor bacteria that's then transferred to the live portion of the foot/leg.

I would also remove the floor grate or cover it with paper towels or newspaper. If it's necrosis, she'll lose sensation in those toes very quickly and she'll be at risk of getting them caught up.

Also, if you're certain those toes are necrotic, I would dip the foot into hydrogen peroxide for about 30 sec 2x daily. (Or a bit longer - around 2 min if you have an established infection) This will cleanse away bacteria and the full strength hydrogen peroxide will speed tissue death in the dying toes. Then, pat dry and apply antibiotic ointment.
I usually take a little piece of vet wrap (also sold for humans as self-adhering bandage) and I'll make a semi-loose sleeve to go over the affected limb. I'll apply a liberal amount of antibiotic ointment and then the little sleeve to hold it on the leg/foot. (Otherwise it mucks up the feathers or just wipes off.) I'll leave it on for about half an hour, then remove the sleeve and wipe off the excess ointment. I'll do this 2x per day. It really helps when there's an established infection, as the antibiotics are absorbed through the skin (and it softens the necrotic tissue too, which speeds deterioration so it falls off faster.) But notably, I've never used this procedure on a less-than-tame finch. I'm not sure if it would be more upset than it's worth. So that's something you'll need to decide.

I prefer ointment over cream as ointment tends to stay on better.

[Raleighwheels]

Raleighwheels -- Aw, poor girl.

Those toes appear necrotic, so I would expect her to lose those toes. Unless it's severe bruising? You'll know soon. If the dark color expands, it's necrosis. If the dark color recedes, it's bruising.

I personally prefer to give antibiotics as a prophylactic measure when there's this degree of trauma and necrosis, especially since the skin was broken.
But it's your choice. Some prefer to only give antibiotics after an infection forms. I prefer a proactive approach, as it's very easy for the bacteria-ridden necrotic tissue to harbor bacteria that's then transferred to the live portion of the foot/leg.

I would also remove the floor grate or cover it with paper towels or newspaper. If it's necrosis, she'll lose sensation in those toes very quickly and she'll be at risk of getting them caught up.

Also, if you're certain those toes are necrotic, I would dip the foot into hydrogen peroxide for about 30 sec 2x daily. (Or a bit longer - around 2 min if you have an established infection) This will cleanse away bacteria and the full strength hydrogen peroxide will speed tissue death in the dying toes. Then, pat dry and apply antibiotic ointment.
I usually take a little piece of vet wrap (also sold for humans as self-adhering bandage) and I'll make a semi-loose sleeve to go over the affected limb. I'll apply a liberal amount of antibiotic ointment and then the little sleeve to hold it on the leg/foot. (Otherwise it mucks up the feathers or just wipes off.) I'll leave it on for about half an hour, then remove the sleeve and wipe off the excess ointment. I'll do this 2x per day. It really helps when there's an established infection, as the antibiotics are absorbed through the skin (and it softens the necrotic tissue too, which speeds deterioration so it falls off faster.) But notably, I've never used this procedure on a less-than-tame finch. I'm not sure if it would be more upset than it's worth. So that's something you'll need to decide.

I prefer ointment over cream as ointment tends to stay on better.

Thanks for the advice! I'll try the hydrogen peroxide tomorrow. While she is sort of use to the routine, she struggles and fights me. She is in a cage with no grate right now. She hangs out on the floor, or in her food dish.

[Raleighwheels]

A quick update.. She ended up losing the foot yesterday. She's flying a bit and seems more active in the hospital cage. I'm going to move her to a new cage in a few days and make it up for her special needs.

[MiaCarter]

Well that's great news!

That means she's likely through the worst of it.
Once the dead tissue falls off, the stump can finally heal. So hopefully it's all downhill from here!

How is the stump looking?
Has she had any issues with infection? (e.g. redness, pus, etc.)
Or have you been able to keep it infection free for the most part?

[Raleighwheels]

Well that's great news!

That means she's likely through the worst of it.
Once the dead tissue falls off, the stump can finally heal. So hopefully it's all downhill from here!

How is the stump looking?
Has she had any issues with infection? (e.g. redness, pus, etc.)
Or have you been able to keep it infection free for the most part?

The stump looks okay. She won't let me inspect it now that the foot is gone. There is a bit of dried blood where the foot connected to the leg. I've tried to wipe it, but she tucks it up and I can't get ahold of it. Otherwise, it is a normal leg color.

[monotwine]

She'll recover just fine by the sounds of it. Shame. BIrds are remarkable... I don't know if I would be happy just to tuck my foot up for a bit, while it healed, if I lost mine!

[Sally]

Yes, I've had birds that lost toes, feet, and even partial leg loss and still they adjusted and got around quite well. As monotwine said, they are remarkable in their ability to cope.