EMERGENCY - 2 Coturnix Quail foot broken OFF

[NinjaGamer2022]

This morning I went to check my sweet quails. My favorite quail I found with her foot broken off and bleeding.
I immediately brought her in. I put cornstarch on her wound, but it's still bleeding a bit.
The foot is connected to her leg by a very small amount of skin and/or flesh.

What do I do?! Do I cauterize her wound? Advice is needed. Thank you for your time.

 

[Traffie Chickens]

That is awful! I don’t know anything about broken off limbs, but this is what I would do. If you have any gauze and tape, wrap that around its leg and tape around on top of the gauze. Then put it in a separate area with blankets and food and water right where it can reach it without moving. But if you really love it, bring it to the vet.

 

[Nabiki]

A vet will be able to do a clean amputation and treatment, but your bird will need special care for the rest of her life. If you are not able to take her to a vet and provide the special care she will need, it might be kinder to cull.

 

[NinjaGamer2022]

Sadly her foot was connected only by a thin amount of skin, so I carefully removed her foot with sharp scissors (the foot was mostly off, so it took no effort to remove). Then I held her and pressed cornstarch to her wound for about 20 or so minutes.

The bleeding seems to have stopped, she is panting a bit here and there which is concerning.

I am going to clean out a pet carrier for her to stay in. I will use paper towel as litter to try and keep her wound safe.

I will give her sugar water and eggs!
Sadly I am unable to take her to a vet, I don't believe any vets around me take quails
She is a pet quail. As long as she isn't suffering, I am willing to give her extra care as a disabled quail. But if I have to, I will cull her to prevent suffering ... I've had her for 2 years, she is the friendliest quail I own, she loves being pat which is so cute <3

I will keep everyone posted,

 

[Nabiki]

See if you can get some Nutri-Drench to give her an energy boost. Boiled egg yolk is okay if she's not eating anything else, but getting her back onto a good game bird diet as soon as possible will be best for her, since that has all of the proper nutrition that she needs.

You'll see what her quality of life is as she heals.

Take this with a grain of salt. I have no experience doing this, but I know that veterinary prosthetics have come a long way with 3D printing. If she has a very hard time getting around, you might see if you know anyone with a 3D printer to try making a prosthesis for her. I don't know how well that would work, but it might be worth trying. You could attach it with a bandaid and make sure to take it off every day to check the stump and keep everything clean.

 

[Susan Skylark]

The biggest long term issues will be wear and tear on the stump and the other foot. It helps they are small and don't weigh a lot (less strain on the joints/stump, that's why adult horses and cattle with broken legs have to be put down, they are just too heavy). Keep her on soft/solid bedding (deep pine shavings, cloth towels) and in a confined space (less movement to get feed/water) and away from anything that will pick on her (though as a social animal she'll need company within sight, perhaps in an adjacent cage?). Don't let her get stressed out by heat/cold/elements.

As far as immediate care, cutting off the hanging foot was necessary, stop the bleeding, keep the scab clean and dry, infection should be minimal if you keep her on clean, solid bedding but watch for redness, swelling, lethargy, depression. Keep other birds away but within sight/sound. Prosthetics aren't an option at the moment!

 

[Nabiki]

The biggest long term issues will be wear and tear on the stump and the other foot. It helps they are small and don't weigh a lot (less strain on the joints/stump, that's why adult horses and cattle with broken legs have to be put down, they are just too heavy). Keep her on soft/solid bedding (deep pine shavings, cloth towels) and in a confined space (less movement to get feed/water) and away from anything that will pick on her (though as a social animal she'll need company within sight, perhaps in an adjacent cage?). Don't let her get stressed out by heat/cold/elements.

As far as immediate care, cutting off the hanging foot was necessary, stop the bleeding, keep the scab clean and dry, infection should be minimal if you keep her on clean, solid bedding but watch for redness, swelling, lethargy, depression. Keep other birds away but within sight/sound. Prosthetics aren't an option at the moment!

This is all good advice. Prosthetics wouldn't be an option until the stump is fully healed. I realise that I didn't put that into my little bit of conjecture.

 

[Susan Skylark]

I have a friend who had a pea hen that frostbit both feet and gets around pretty well on two stumps. I’ve also seen a two legged dog (lost opposite front/back legs chasing cars!) that still chases cars. Animals can be pretty resilient!

 

[NinjaGamer2022]

I soaked her wound in an Epsom Salt bath for 5 - 10 mins (The water turned red from the cornstarch, but I thought it was her wound, so I took her out of the water for a bit, so I am unsure exactly how long she was in the water). Afterwards I trimmed the exposed bone, then drenched her wound with Vetericyn Plus. Then I replaced the paper towel in her cage. Tomorrow I will post pictures of her wound.
She isn't panting right now which is great.
I will keep you guys posted.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

The only thing I was going to add to the advice you have already been given was to keep the wound coated in Veterycin or triple antibiotic ointment, but you have now said you are doing that. Continue with the Epsom salts soaks, that will help draw out any infection as well as provide soothing pain relief. Cephalexin is an excellent antibiotic to treat potential bone infections, but it is no longer available otc, so unless you already have some on hand that is a moot point. Hopefully the wound will heal with no complications.