One of our layers has a recurring case of bumblefoot (staph infection/abscess). When we first noticed the problem almost 2 months ago, we separated her for 4 days while washing her foot, applying antibiotic ointment, and keeping her on clean bedding. At first she seemed to be improving, so we returned her to her flock (we needed to balance caring for her foot with the hassle and stress of keeping her separated from her flock both for her and for us). But her limping worsened, and now the abscess is bigger, firmer, and the swelling seems to be creeping up her leg. She limps badly, and she is in obvious pain because she often stands on her one good foot, and doesn’t like to bear weight on the infected foot. She is not laying, but she is eating, drinking, and socializing normally. We have once again separated her, and this time we are being as aggressive as possible with her treatment. We performed minor foot surgery and attempted to drain the abscess by excising the scab, removing as much of the infected core as we could (given how firm the pus is), rebandaging, and giving her a round of intramuscular penicillin injections. This regimen was decided on after online research, reading the experiences of other keepers on the internet, and also discussing the standard treatment of staph infected abscesses on humans with some physician friends. We hope that between the draining, clean bandaging, and the penicillin we can drastically improve her condition.
My question is – if we cannot cure her foot with the penicillin and the draining, at what point do we make the decision to put her down? I really don’t like the idea of just waiting months for the infection to kill her, but I am torn because she does seem to still have decent quality of life, as indicated by her appetite/drinking/socializing/foraging despite her painful foot. The idea of constantly separating her and subjecting her to the stress of ongoing bandaging/surgeries/injections is also a really poor option, but I also don't want to just give up on her either. Our vet will put her down for a minimal fee, so the actual euthanasia will be as good a death as one can hope for in this world. I simply do not trust myself to do a clean, swift kill so a DIY cull is just not an option.
I have never had to make the tough decision to put an animal down - all of my pets so far have died of natural causes.
So mustachians with livestock or small companion animals - what would you do in this situation?