6 week old pheasant, listless, cant walk, not growing much - ticks?

[spish]

i was given 2 pheasant chicks as freebies when i bought my turkeys, sadly one died withing days and since then the other has been alone.
it hasnt grown much in all the weeks ive had it. now today it seems very still, lethargic and has problems walking. it keeps one leg up and the 'joint' looks swollen? there was also a big 'bubble' on its thigh of what looked like blood, but stuck under the skin, i wiped this gently and it came off, but wasnt runny like blood, more congeled and firm? am wondering now if it was the body of a tick and ive left the head under the skin

would a ticks body just look like a big blood bubble? and would that account for the pheasants inability to thrive as it should? its on game starter food and still eating/pooping well but just seems to lack energy to get up and move around. it also has a lot of feather loss

 

[pwand]

It almost sounds like a tick. If the head is in there, it needs to come out. I wonder if you should take it to a vet.

 

[MotherJean]

The ticks we have around here look like a rosy-pink smooth wart when fully engorged with blood. If you crush the body during removal, you will see blood. If the head remains under the skin the body's natural immune system will try to expel it and you'll see a pussy sore (a small abscess) that will bring the head out with the pus and serum when it ruptures. If you don't want to wait for that, you can use a sharp exacto knife point to dig it out of the skin. I would never try that alone. Much better to have someone holding the bird still so you don't cause more damage than necessary.

 

[spish]

sadly the little pheasant died during the night
but thanks for the replies