One legged quail with recurring infection, maybe bumblefoot-what can I do to fix it? Prosthetic leg?

[mtgrl]

I have a pair of bobwhite quail, and the hen lost her leg last March. At first I didn't realize that she was even missing a leg, and within a few days it healed over and she was able to hop around just fine. Over the months, she started adjusting to the missing leg and was able to walk on the remaining tiny stump almost as well as her leg.

Anyway, in May she got a very bad infection and nearly died from a very high fever. I took her to the vet who looked her over and put her on antibiotics. The vet said that she looked to be doing great for a one legged bird, and was not sure if her sickness had been caused by an infection that had spread from the leg or something else. She said if it was from the leg, it would have probably infected the stomach first, but it was her lungs that were infected.

After I put her on antibiotics, she made a quick recovery. It's been months later now, but I fear that the missing leg is taking a toll on her health and making her more susceptible to illness. I can't really put my finger on any specific symptoms, she just seems generally not well, like her health is diminishing. The last couple days she's been panting again, which may be normal since it's been a hot summer, and seems to be breathing harder, but then it's not near like it was when she was really sick. Today, though, she went into the upstairs of their coop into the little dark room and just sat in the corner for a long time while her mate wandered around calling for her. She never does that.

I've been thinking a lot about her condition and even though she gets around fine, I just am concerned about her physical health. I am always worried about a recurring infection, since hopping around on that stump has to leave her open to bacteria constantly. I can see her body is making lots of adjustments to compensate for her missing leg. The tiny stump has stretched out quite a bit, and has started bending in the middle, and she's using the bent bottom like a foot. Which really causes concern, because if it's bent that much I'm thinking it must be broken. Even though she seems to have a fine life without her foot, I know it must be taking a toll on her health and will probably ultimately do her in.

So I have been considering over the past few weeks the idea of making a prosthetic leg for her. I've read about it being done on other poultry in some cases, usually for several hundred dollars by some innovative vet. I didn't think it would be too hard to do it myself, so today I sat down and made a first attempt at a fake foot. I constructed it out of a bendy straw with a stick in it and some wire taped at the bottom for toes. It actually seemed like a very sound design, was sturdy and could stand on its own but could also bend and had enough pressure to spring back. The top had sponge for cushioning.

When I tried to attach the prosthesis to her stump with some bandaids, it didn't quite work out. She couldn't stand on it straight because her stump has bent so much that it's crooked and the prosthesis was at the wrong angle, so she was essentially sitting on it instead of standing on it. She fluttered around and managed to get it off. I examined her again and her stump was bleeding after the incident, and some scabs had come off of the bottom of her stump and were oozing greenish yellow pus. Also, she really smelled bad. From the articles I have read it looked like it might be bumblefoot developing in her stump, maybe not exactly bumblefoot but some kind of infection, it definitely looks infected though not really as swollen as the bumblefoot pics, and it also looked like her other foot may have some small sores. I guess that would happen if she's not balanced properly and having to put too much weight on them.

For now, I put some hydrogen peroxide on her stump and put her back into her coop. I don't know how I can help her, but I really want to do something before it causes further complications. I can't keep taking her to the vet, it was $100 last time, or putting her on antibiotics for the rest of her life, but I really can't let her get worse. The whole family of birds would be devastated if they lost her, she's the matriarch of the flock. Although I might visit the vet once more if I have to get some help with a permanent solution. I think the prosthesis would help but I can't really put it on with the way her stump is bent now. Are there any suggestions-what can I do? Good ideas for a prosthesis, cure for bumblefoot, ideas on how to keep her feet from developing sores (maybe padding of some kind), how to treat her recurring infection and improve her health?

Also, what's a good way to attach the prosthesis so she can't kick it off? I don't think I should use anything that could restrict air flow, like tape.

 

[chooks4life]

This is a bit of a difficult case but you need to stop worrying about the prosthetic for now and deal with that green pus coming out of her leg. If all she has left is a stump then it's very likely the infection is in her legbone. That can kick her immune system in the teeth and then anything can kill her.

If it's green, and it smells very bad, there's a very good chance it's septic, and if septic blood is circulating her body her organs will go into shutdown and she will of course fail to survive unless you tend that stump. It's a good thing you knocked the scabs off, sounds like the problem was hidden before then. I'd bet the infection is why she's acting ill, not depression unless it's depression caused by feeling so ill.

Hydrogen peroxide won't cure it alone, or at least it's unlikely in a case like this, because you need a drawing agent. Stockholm tar will pull out poisons but so will many things, well, natural things anyway, pharmaceutical treatments aren't too well known for pulling out toxins. Comfrey leaf will do it too but in this case I'd use the tar, pure and undiluted, I've used it against deep gangrenous infections before as well as bumblefoot, golden staph infections, and more, so I reckon it's one of the few things that can do the job.

I would also put her onto a diet involving freshly minced raw garlic mixed with her feed, that's a very powerful natural antibiotic which won't harm her gut unlike the artificial ones do. Raw garlic has over 30 natural antibiotics in it and when it's freshly damaged it creates Allicin which has been shown in hospitals to defeat bacteria that even the strongest man-made antibiotics cannot. She may not like it at first but that's normal, they don't generally like sudden diet changes. Garlic also has sulfur in it and that aids in recovery as our tissues, as well as hair, fur, feathers etc are largely composed of sulfur, but asides from that sulfur is antiparasitic, antiviral, etc. A clove per day should be enough for such a small bird, I wouldn't forcefeed her, but if she wants more then you should give her more.

You can get Stockholm tar online or from produce stores in some countries anyway, it's just parts (roots, boughs etc) of pine trees of a certain species that have been boiled down over and over again into a thick black liquid, or tar. It's highly antiseptic and healing for all sorts of wounds and pulls out infections and foreign objects rather like magic. I've saved quite a few lives of various species both domestic and wild with it now. Unfortunately you can get various diluted, adulterated mixes and alternatives to it too, so if you just look for pure stockholm tar, that is what you're best using.

If the male is trying to mate her, she may need separating though I'd keep them right beside one another to avoid stress, but if he's leaving her be then she may be best kept with him. But softer flooring, while not being a struggle for her to move across, would probably help. Right now I'd just tar her and leave it, and repeat that every day or two for about a week. If she heals in that time you can start working on a prosthesis but I would not put one on her before she's healed. It may take a two weeks for her to heal but you should start seeing results quite quickly with the S.Tar. If she's not too far gone that is, she sounds like she's already in deep trouble.

Best wishes.

Best wishes.

 

[mtgrl]

A natural drawing agent is exactly what I had in mind. I think I'm going to try to use clay, since that's always worked well for me and I have it on hand, if it doesn't work I'll try the tar. After the pus is out I'll soak it in some epsom salt to disinfect and apply topical antibacterial and a padded bandage to protect the wound from further damage and probably buy a bird shoe for her other foot to reduce friction. I'm also going to move them out into a larger coop with a carpeted floor in the next few days, so being on a softer surface should help her a lot. I'll start giving her some salads with fresh garlic too. Good to know it's so healthy for them. Wonderful advice. Thanks!

Do you know if adding a natural antibiotic or immune booster like agrisept or goldenseal to her water might be something to think about too?

 

[mtgrl]

Bought some ointment and bandage pads today, and I have some grapefruit seed extract and goldenseal so I'll try it all out and see if anything helps. I've seen her through much worse, so hopefully I can get the infection cleared up this time.

One thing I'm really concerned about though is that bend in her stump. If the bone is broken then maybe the infection is festering inside the marrow and preventing the wound from healing properly. I almost feel like she would be better off without that little half inch of stump where the pus is oozing out from. I wonder if it needs to be set or maybe amputated to improve. If it was, then I could attach the prosthetic, too, and prevent more damage to her leg happening anymore. Anybody have experience with broken bones? Will it heal by itself or should I see the vet one more time and get her opinion? I'd hate to just keep fighting this thing forever without it ever actually healing.

 

[chooks4life]

Bought some ointment and bandage pads today, and I have some grapefruit seed extract and goldenseal so I'll try it all out and see if anything helps. I've seen her through much worse, so hopefully I can get the infection cleared up this time.

One thing I'm really concerned about though is that bend in her stump. If the bone is broken then maybe the infection is festering inside the marrow and preventing the wound from healing properly. I almost feel like she would be better off without that little half inch of stump where the pus is oozing out from. I wonder if it needs to be set or maybe amputated to improve. If it was, then I could attach the prosthetic, too, and prevent more damage to her leg happening anymore. Anybody have experience with broken bones? Will it heal by itself or should I see the vet one more time and get her opinion? I'd hate to just keep fighting this thing forever without it ever actually healing.

Well, I haven't seen it and I'm not a vet so can't advise you on amputation or not, but if the skin is black I would probably amputate that area, but if it's any other color, even green or purple, it's still salvageable. If you go cutting prematurely you can introduce the septic material and bacteria into the healthy tissues and cause it to spread too far or infect healthy flesh.

So unless it's blackened I'd just use topical treatments for now. Heck, even with blackened flesh amputation is not always the answer. I guess I would qualify it as, if you see virulent color spreading up the leg, amputate. But, again, I'm not a vet so take that opinion with a pinch of salt! Best wishes with whatever your choice is.

Birds' broken legs tend to heal amazingly well given a chance, but of course there are always those that won't. The wild bush turkey population where I lived last had the most hideous twisted broken legs and they coped fine despite being wild birds. They were aggressive to an extreme and you'd see legs and toes healed into completely unnatural positions, twisted upside down and multiple times around and back to front... They coped.

I reckon the bend in her leg is immaterial, I have had (and still have) birds with banana'd legs, they heal bent but solid without human intervention. Generally all we do is splint it but the healing occurs whether it's splinted or not, all we do is help it end up straight... Birds heal broken bones rapidly, the fact that her stump was bending suggests maybe more bone was lost than was apparent to begin with. It should still heal once you stop the infection.

Best wishes.

 

[mtgrl]

Ahh, sorry-agrisept, more commonly known as grapefruit seed extract. From some posts I've read on here it sounds like it's good for infection, but none of them give any specific dosage to use...

The skin looks normal, it's just the bone underneath that looks really goofed up... I guess you're right though, it should find a way to heal by itself as long as I keep it from infection. Thanks for your help!

 

[chooks4life]

Very interesting. Hope it works out well. Could you possibly let us know in future how it goes? It'd be very educational for myself and the others who haven't posted but have viewed, and those who will view this thread in future.

Best wishes.

 

[mtgrl]

Sure thing.

So far, I'm really concerned about her. She is hardly eating or drinking anything and she won't move unless she's forced to. She won't even sit down. She's just standing there for some reason, and has been for the past few days. Hasn't been laying. I'm starting to wonder if I should take her to the vet. The stump looks better, though...

I wasn't able to get any bandage to stay on her, so I'll have to wait until the shoes come in the mail. I hope they fit.

 

[chooks4life]

Have you given her regular minced raw garlic? Or something antibiotic? There's a fairly decent chance the infection may have moved into the rest of her body, perhaps settled in an organ. Doesn't sound like she's feeling okay.

Best wishes.

 

[mtgrl]

I tried, but she wouldn't eat anything at all. I gave her all sorts of treats and she would take a peck or two at them and then stop. She ate one blueberry and a couple of oats is all. Her water also was not going down at all. She finally started eating again today. I figured she might have lost her appetite due to the stress of being separated from her mate and two children, so I put her cage outside next to theirs and gave her some fresh feed. Sure enough, she started digging in right away. Hopefully she will go back to normal now. I'll try to gradually introduce some foods for her infection like the garlic and goldenseal once I'm sure she's eating regularly again and see how it goes. I don't think she's very sick really; I think most of her behavior is just due to the stress of separation. The only real symptoms of infection I observed was a brief fever she got while I was holding her, but it went away within a few minutes.