Severe string foot injury (caution-pictures)

I picked up a bird yesterday from the avian vet who treats my birds. A young hen was rescued in New York City with severe string feet. The vet removed all the visible string. She was not positive that there is no more in the deep cut in the worse foot. She told me to soak the feet daily to see if that would loosen anything left. The poor bird has lost 2 toes on one foot, one toe on the bad foot. She's eating ok. Is there anything else I can do for the feet? She does have some use of the bad foot although the remaining toes are bent.

bad foot, she doesn't extend the toes but has feeling and a little movement
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This foot works pretty well despite missing 2 toes

Oh--- poor poor baby!

Arnica Montana...would be very helpful in the pellet form...disolved and given orally... You could also soak the feet in a tub of Epsom Salts...very mild... once dry... you could apply arnica in the cream formula... I myself and with my birds have had great success with it!

another idea: http://www.vitacost.com/Natural-Immunogenics-Sovereign-Silver-First-Aid-Gel in place of the arnica cream....



"Sovereign Silver First Aid Gel works in 4 ways to help minor wounds heal fast:"

Reduces Topical Pain: Sovereign Silver First Aid Gel reduces pain quickly, taking the sting out of skin irritations.
Calms Skin Inflammation: Sovereign Silver First Aid Gel calms inflammation, reducing the swelling, redness and heat that often accompany minor skin wounds.
Fights Minor Skin Infection: Sovereign Silver First Aid Gel helps the body keep minor skin infection at bay, allowing minor wounds to heal quickly.
Promotes Healing of the Skin: By reducing topical pain, calming skin inflammation, and fighting minor skin infection, Sovereign Silver First Aid Gel helps skin recover from all kinds of minor wounds.

I agree.

It's heartbreaking to see the damage strings can do! I'm sorry she's lost three toes, but the remaining ones are looking good. I'm sure she will gradually uncurl her toes on the bad foot as it becomes less sore and the tissues continue to heal.
I looked after a similar string injury, and he recovered the use of all his remaining toes. While he was recovering I made him a soft mattress: a piece of wood covered with foam, then wrapped in plastic for ease of cleaning. He loved it.

Bless her heart.
String issues can be just awful.

It looks like she's got good circulation in her feet.

I'm just wondering if there might still be a bit of string in the crease where the arrow is pointed. It looks a little suspicious.
And the lower toe doesn't look as colorful as the other two.
Or is it just the angle of the picture?


I'll be thinking positive thoughts that she fully recovers without incident.
Please keep us posted, Jen.

Fancyfeathers wrote:

Bless her heart.
String issues can be just awful.

It looks like she's got good circulation in her feet.

I'm just wondering if there might still be a bit of string in the crease where the arrow is pointed. It looks a little suspicious.
And the lower toe doesn't look as colorful as the other two.
Or is it just the angle of the picture?


I'll be thinking positive thoughts that she fully recovers without incident.
Please keep us posted, Jen.

That's just the angle of the picture, but that toe is off color. The deep crease up higher above the toes near my fingernail is a bit concerning. It's very deep and there's something blackish there. It may be some dead tissue. I just soaked the feet and it seems to be loosening up somewhat.

Have you thought of giving her some metacam for the pain?

Matilda wrote:

Have you thought of giving her some metacam for the pain?

I can get some from work. The dose is one drop? Do you know which concentration? It comes in 1.5mg per ml, and 0.5mg per ml liquid.

I've got the 1.5mg/ml, and I use one drop a day for an adult pigeon.

I've seen the dosage quoted as 0.2mg/Kg/day, so for a pigeon weighing about 330g it would be 0.066mg. If we consider a drop as being approximately 0.04ml, it would contain 0.04x1.5mg, that's to say, 0.06mg, so that's the right amount.

A quick update on this bird. The toe that the arrow is pointing to is getting ready to fall off I think. It's turned a dark color and feels "loose" when I touch it. What should I do if it falls off? Is there a chance of bleeding? I'm not sure what to expect. The rest of the foot looks good and pink but is still swollen. The deep cut is starting to fill out. I'm still soaking twice a day. I'll try to get new pictures soon.

Jen...I don't have experience with this kind of thing. I suspect that if it falls off, there won't be much bleeding because the toe is dead.

Hi Jen,
I've had a few that their toes have fallen off, but never actually 'found' the toe, but I don't believe there would be much if any bleeding as there is no blood circulating to the toe.

I certainly could be mistaken, so I would suggest just keeping a close eye on it.
The remaining toes do look good.

Let us know how things go.

I would try Arnica for swelling. When the toe falls, there is no much bleeding, but it is good to use oinment against infections.

Merlin lost two toes whilst in captivity, so I actually saw it happen. :eek:
With the first, there was no bleeding; with the second, a tiny spec -- an application of hydrogen peroxide to the spot stops any minor bleeding immediately and disinfects the stump.
I totally agree with Plamenh's advice to use an antibiotic ointment.

I'm including a link to Merlin's photo album so you can see for yourself the stages of the separation and what the stump looked like -- especially the photos entitled 'Standing on toe', 'Hanging' and 'Severed'. (Beware, GRAPHIC and potentially upsetting):
https://s333.photobucket.com/albums/m381/Skbllz/Merlin/

Best wishes for your patient!

The questionable toe finally turned black and fell off. No bleeding and the area is healing. I am a bit worried about the deep cut into the foot above the toes. It isn't closing up as it should. She had a recheck at the vet today and the vet is still not sure if there's something still embedded in the crevasse. She gave me a new topical medication to message into the foot and to continue soaking daily. I wish someone would give me daily foot messages! If the crevasse doesn't heal up the vet will have to sedate her and probe the area. She will also need a splint on the 2 bent toes.

Here is Violet. She's all puffy because I had just given her her foot spa treatments and she was angry at being handled.

She is a gorgeous bird. It does appear she still has something cutting into her foot. Hair, if it's that, can be so hard to see with the naked eye, as it almost becomes invisable.

She's gorgeous!

About your question: Is there still any string there, or something else cutting the circulation?
It is possible that all the string has come out but there is still something there: when a string has cut into a foot or toe quite deep and for a while, a callous is formed which, if not removed together with the string, will continue to constrict the area and cause pain, and it will prevent new tissue growth.
This callous feels like hard plastic and it's almost colourless. You can test for its presence, and the possibility of removing it, by massaging sterile vaseline into the area for a couple of minutes, leaving it to soak in for about 15 minutes, and then very gently, and providing there is no bleeding teasing it away from the underlying tissue with a plastic tip (or another implement that won't cut). If it is a callous, it will come clean off, but take your time. I always give the bird a drop of Metacam before applying the vaseline, as it takes 15-20 minutes to take effect.
The best time to do this is when the string itself is removed, as the string is embeded in it and often the two will come out together, and the swelling starts to come down straight away.

New tool:
I've discovered something called a Flashlight Earpick (yuk!) which is perfect for teasing away embeded string (when you use the smallest tip). It lights up the area you're working on, and it's almost as effective as a seam picker -- and much gentler! I bought it at a Chinese store, and I can get you one if it's unavailable there.
Here's a photo of the pick and packaging:



And it lights up like this:



And here's an example of a severely constricted toe with string and callous completely removed:

Violet is a little beauty, Jen.
It may be just the normal crease but her left foot does look like something is still there.

I know human hair can be a son-of-a- gun to see and remove.
I hope you're able to find whatever is irritating her foot.

That flashlight earpick is pretty cool. Teresa. Is it kind of like a seam ripper only with a light?

I don't know that I would want to go sticking that in a child's ear, but for string removal it might be great.

P.S. The way her toes are curling, there is still pain, so there may be still a constriction. My Merlin did that, I splinted his toe, and as soon as I took off the splint, he'd curl the toe again.
It only straightened up when the foot healed completely.

Fancyfeathers wrote:

That flashlight earpick is pretty cool. Teresa. Is it kind of like a seam ripper only with a light?

I don't know that I would want to go sticking that in a child's ear, but for string removal it might be great.

I totally agree, and yes, it's brilliant for string removal -- and not only: As even the very tip lights up it lets you see inside wounds and behind scabs. It was a godsend when treating Scarlet's wing. And the plastic tip is like a tiny rounded spatula, so no cutting edges, even if the bird moves suddenly.

Are thoe Merlin's feet, Teresa?
The string really did a job on those poor toes. It's amazing how well they can get along with missing toes.

Teresa wrote:

Fancyfeathers wrote:

That flashlight earpick is pretty cool. Teresa. Is it kind of like a seam ripper only with a light?

I don't know that I would want to go sticking that in a child's ear, but for string removal it might be great.

I totally agree, and yes, it's brilliant for string removal -- and not only: As even the very tip lights up it lets you see inside wounds and behind scabs. It was a godsend when treating Scarlet's wing. And the plastic tip is like a tiny rounded spatula, so no cutting edges, even if the bird moves suddenly.

I'm going to see if I can find anything like that around here.
What a wonderful tool to have on hand.

Teresa, this is a great tool!!!

This tool can be bought via internet - just check this link f.e. and there are much more.....
And it's cheap on top of it!