HELPPP!!! GUINEA HEN Head Injury

[ak4204]

Hello,
Hoping someone out there might be able to lend some advice.
I have a guinea hen that was trying to fly away off my lawn, ran into a tree and dropped. Not hand tamed and instantly let us pick him up. It had a blood covered eye, you couldn't see anything but blood and then it swelled up about 1/2 inch off his face and pinned shut.
It has been 3 weeks almost and I have put everything on his eye that was swollen, it finally came open. While taken care of that eye noticed the other eye he could not see out of even though it was open. Neither pupil will get bigger or little with a light flashed by it's eye. He doesn't seem to see anything. We know he is blind but, now he is walking circles over and over and over again. I know it isn't normal but is it for a blind guinea? (He did fly into a tree vet narrowed it down over the phone that he has a concussion so, it could be his concussion or cracked skull if one.) But he is hitting his head in his confined coop and even if I confine him to a nesting box he is doing it....I think it has been almost 3 weeks and I don't believe there is anything more I can do. If someone knows something out there that I don't that will keep me keeping him alive let me know.
Also, doesn't find his food or water on his on. I feed by spoon all the time just wet food though and dip his beak in water and he never takes much only a sip. He will eat baby feed but not much and I can't tell if he is actually getting any or not when it is dry. I only know he is consuming food when I have it damp with something.

Thanks for any help!!!! I love this little guy and really don't want to let him go but if it is that time I don't want to make him suffer. The vet has never seen him only talks to me over the phone and says to just let him do his thing and not to put him down.

 

[GitaBooks]

I'm sorry to hear that.


I sounds like a concussion. It may have permanent damage, or it may heal up when the swelling goes down. Keep the eye clean and keep it warm. However, my silkie that hit her head walked in circles just because of brain damage. She acted blind, but I don't think she really was. She could eat and drink, but she couldn't really do anything else besides sun bathe and walk in circles.

Put him in a crate with blankets or towels for padding. Right now I wouldn't suggest trying to feed him at all. Just keep him calm until the swelling goes down. After a day you can try tube-feeding him a puree of vitamins, food, and water.

Mavis, my silkie, was my baby girl. She lived in the basement. Unfortunately, the basement was so damp she got a respiratory infection and passed.

Mavis going for a walk in a hat


Mavis, sitting on my hand

 

[ak4204]

Oh my how cute!!! Your pictures are cute, thank you for sharing. I'm sorry for your loss.
It has been 3 weeks now his eye and all the swelling went down about 3 days ago, I'm sure there is still more swelling internally in his head. His eye has also gone down and opened but still a little bruising above it and he seems to be blind in both eyes. He may have broken something, if he doesn't seem to improve and get worse I will have to bring him to the vet. If he seems to be the same all the time I may try to keep him and just baby him like a baby every day.
I'm very attached to this Guinea in particular due to the fact I had three and had given the other two away because they were so mean to the 3rd one so I kept him. He eats out our hands and we have a little keet that was hatched by our chicken because it was the only one I could save from the fox who took 15 guinea eggs from the female guinea I had gotten rid of. So once old enough we may try to migrate the blind one with this baby to see if maybe they can stick together and the one that can see can hopefully guide the other. It will be a long time before that happens though because of the age difference. I just hope my 1 yr old injured blind guinea makes it.
My baby looking handsome!
Bathing/relaxing in the sun.
Looking cute <3

 

[GitaBooks]

He is a very handsome bird! I love the coloring.

 

[ak4204]

Thank you! He is my baby that's for sure.
Have you ever had Guinea's before?

 

[GitaBooks]

No, but I want to get them soon. I'm just afraid they would bully my chickens or cats, or get chased by the dogs. However, we have a ton of ticks and I'm sure they would love our 5 acres of field that is full of bugs.

 

[ak4204]

They do, do a good job at eating ticks. I had bought 3 hens, rooster and 3 baby guinea's all at the same time last year. They got along fine for the most part. Free ranged everyday together and went to bed together at the same time every night in the same coop. But I think once one of the male guinea's figured out he had matured started to stay with my female and pick on my 3rd guinea all the time (the other male). Eventually the dominant male guinea started to fight with my rooster every now and then and ripped all his tail feathers out this last time before I got rid of him and the female guinea. I just had to bring them to a new home so they wouldn't continue the picking on the chickens and rooster and the other guinea. Also they killed one of there babies for no apparent reason. (I guess that can be common.) I just did this 2 weeks ago and I miss them soooooooo much!!!! Not so much the male but my white guinea because she was really sweet.
I did notice also that my female guinea would pick on my hens while in the nesting box and I believe it was because she wanted that particular box but who knows...I would suggest getting them though for tick control and I find them to be a neat bird, they are extremely loud, and they really do like going in a coop at night. Some ppl will say they love to be in tree's and be wild and leave and venture to your neighbors but, mine never did either no matter how far I walked on the trails on our 6 acres they would be just like my chickens, follow me back never roamed further then the door yard and tried sleeping out side in a tree once or twice and they seemed very petrified and never did it again.
They seem to have not minded the cats I have, the dominant male would do his little flare and run side ways up to the cat but never do anything...
I have herd many different stories with guineas and how they can be and how to raise them. I would suggest definitely doing a little research on them if you haven't already and do ever decide to get them. I worked really hard with mine as babies by training them to go in and out of the coop at certain times. Mine I could never hold. The harder you work with them the better the turn out tame wise.

 

[GitaBooks]

Thank you for the advise!

Yeah, none of my chickens really like being held either. I guess its because in the wild the mother never holds her chicks, unlike lots of mammals like dogs or cats.

 

[ak4204]

Really?! I have 3 mini cochins, 2 buff orpington's, and 4 light brahmas and they are all about a yr. old and follow us all around sit in our laps if we sit down (they can get annoying sometimes lol.) They jump on our shoulders to perch it is funny but never really held them either they just do that.
Guinea's I worked with in hopes to keep them good with chickens.

Do you have just chickens or any other type of birds?

 

[GitaBooks]

My chicks that I am raising now love to sit on my lap and shoulder, and my adults love to follow me and get treats. I just mean none of them like to be held in my hands or restrained.

I really hope to get other poultry species, but for now we only have chickens. I've been doing all sorts of research on the other species, hopefully I can get some in a year or two.

Chickens, playing around my feet