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Turkey with an abcess on its ankle. (WARNING SOME PUSS)

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Dogfish

Dogfish

Rube Goldberg incarnate
9 Years
Mar 17, 2010
1,922
16
161
Western Washington
One of my 3 Naragansett hens has developed a limp over the past week. Today I got a good look at her (they are all skittish), and I can see where her ankle is extremely swollen, to the point that it looks like there is a (just smaller than a) ping-pong ball sized abcess on the inside part of her ankle. Any suggestions on what to do?

Trained first responder, so I have surgical tools. I'm not up for spending $100's of dollars to treat her, but I would be willing to lance, irrigate, stitch, keep her from the flock, and treat with antibiotics.

Thanks
 
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Hi Dogfish,

You may have dealt with this by now. I'm a doctor, not a vet, but I think the principle is probably the same.

I don't know what kind of equipment you have, but I'm assuming the basics. First fill up 3 or 4 50mL syringes with sterile water and set them aside. You'll have to have someone else hold her. Wash her leg with soap and water, then dry it and wipe it with betadine (or some other wound antiseptic, hydrogen peroxide is probably fine, just use whatever you have).

You said about golf ball size. Try to look where there's a head on the abscess, or at least a part that feels thinner than the rest of the swelling. Use one of those disposable scalpels and angle it at about 45 degrees... don't push straight in from the top, you might go through the abscess and there won't be enough of an incision to drain it. Push in the scalpel until you feel a 'give' or get a gush of pus/bloody fluid. Pull down slowly with the scalpel until you have an incision about an inch long. Now take your syringes (no needles on them!) and insert the plastic tip into the incision. You want to flush out the abscess really well until the water runs clear, and try to get into every part of the pocket. Now for closing... I wouldn't make more than one stitch across the middle, cuz the wound needs to drain over the next couple of days. Bandage it but not too tightly.

This is assuming it's an abscess. If you push in and there is no pus or 'give', it's probably not an abscess and there's no point in poking around her leg with a scalpel. Could she have broken a bone?

Hope this helps.
 
Sorry, forgot to add... I know zip about antibiotics for turkeys, but generally antibiotics don't work for abscesses, because they're completely enclosed... if it was a person, you would pack the incision with antibiotic tape and then look at the wound after 24 hours. It it looks a lot worse, change out the tape, if not just remove it and bandage it dry.
 
Thanks. That was pretty much my plan of action. Just wanted somebody else to confirm the plan. Not sure about a broken bone. Don't know what could have caused it. I'll go catch her and go from there. I'm sure she won't like living in a dog crated for a few days, but considering the alternative.....
 
Went pretty well. Caught her, put her in the shop, and then I got things ready. Sterilized everything, then we caught her again and once her head was wrapped in a towel she was quite docile, not a peep, and NO struggle at all.

Cleaned up the area with hydrogen peroxide,
0327111133.jpg



....then set to lancing. A fair amount of puss and clear liquid. No bad smell.
0327111135.jpg


Ran 250 ml of saline through the wound until I no longer got anything but a bit of blood.
0327111142.jpg


Stitched her up and she was good to go.
0327111146.jpg


I also covered her wound up with a sterile pad and some tape.

Set her in the mobile trap (2x2x4), as it had more room than the small dog kennel (1.5x1.5x2). She'll stay in there over the next two or three days. She's calling to the other birds, and they are calling back. Gave her some food and laced her water with some electrolytes and Tetracycline.
 
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Fantastic Post!

Please keep us informed as to her recovery,

What is your plan to prevent infection, her nails appear as though she is free range.
 
She's standing on both legs this morning, so there is some relief for her. She had chosen to stand one footed before and then limp while walking. I'll let her walk around the shop tonight to check her mobility.

As far as keeping the infection at bay, I'll need to keep her penned up for a few days until the wound heals, so I'm thinking until Saturday I'll let her out after I remove the stitch (6lb test mono). I'll continue to feed tetracycline in her water source and I'll see if I can get her to take some treats from me. She's been pretty skittish. I'll see what types of antibiotics I can get at the feed store.

Wound care will be just like I would do on myself. Keep clean and covered for the first few days, changing dressings once per day, then once the wound has started to close up and seeping has stopped I'll remove the dressing and let the air get to it.
 
She re-joined the flock today, with some expected pecking order issues, but I can tell she is happy to be back in the flock.
 
Just an update. She has regained her status in the flock and started to lay eggs again beginning May 1st. You can't tell that there was ever anything wrong with her, except for a small black dot on her ankle where the abcess was. Actually saw her being mated by the tom this past Sunday.
 

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