9 month old peacock lost leg to frostbite

[vtfarma]

We are in extreme northern VT. We have a mom with 3 "babies" (9 months old) who would roost in an evergreen and the male always got the outside so his feet weren't as protected as the other 3 were. The rest of our Peafowl all roosted where we wanted them to so that they could get their feet up under them on (they roost on boards and then they can get their feet covered by their bodies/feathers). Anyway, Blue showed signs of frostbite about 6 weeks ago and we brought him inside to take care of him. We have been giving him antibiotics and feed him good food. He had settled in well but we figured with a black leg that he would probably lose it. A couple of days ago he did. He is doing well getting around actually. It breaks my heart that he had this happen. These peafowl can stay in the barn but this mom is adamant about being outside. She is 4 and that is all she has ever done. We have chickens and turkeys that stay in the the trees through the blizzards and deep freezes. We learned long ago to stop fighting. As soon as we get them in they escape.

My questions is does anyone have any experience with this and whether he will be able to mate? I am sure there is nothing we can do for some type of a prosthesis? That is a far stretch though we are handy and have been fiddling with ideas.

Any ideas would be helpful.

Laurie

 

[the Old Rebel]

I'm sooooooo sorry about your bird!!! I'm also sorry that I'm just getting around to seeing this. I don't get to be on the computer very often.

I don't know about your peacock. How is he doing now?? But we had a guinea rooster that lost his leg in a tragic accident. It had a compound fracture just below the elbow. We set the leg, splinted it, and bandaged it. For three days all was well. Then I got distracted with out-of-town company for a couple of days. When I checked back, the foot was cold. Over time the leg sloughed off. Mikey has gotten along fabulously without it. I don't know how successful his attempts at mating are, but he sure acted like the father of one brood we had last year, keeping them warm under his wings, etc. It took him a little time to build his strength, but now you can hardly tell he is missing a leg.

Good luck with your peacock. Let us know back how he is doing, please.

Thanks! Hope you have a GREAT EVENING!!

 

[vtfarma]

Thanks for the reply. He is actually doing much better than I would have expected. He is starting to try to bear weight on the leg that is just a stub at the "feather - line". Otherwise he is doing quite well hopping on one leg. He is resting watching the Olympics now in the house being in northern VT I think it will be another few weeks before I will feel comfortable letting him outside. He seems to be working very hard on getting more mobile with his leg and he is quite strong. He has the ends on 2 toes on his other foot - just the very ends that are having issues but those are almost off. How this guy has so much trouble while the rest of them did so well is beyond me. I will let you know how he is doing when we let him out. Hopefully he will be able to mate.

Laurie

 

[Choctaw Valley Farm]

I don't think he will be able to mate

they use both legs to balance on the hens, so more then likely he will never be able to mount or stay on.

Steve

 

[Cacklin" Hens]

Quote:
That is sad yet hilarious!

I had no idea they could make it on one leg. Could you post a pic of him please?

 

[vtfarma]

I will post a pic. I have a couple of him. I am okay with him not mating but he is a really amazing little guy. If any peacock with be able to do it he will.

 

[texascowboy1979]

What state are you in?

 

[vtfarma]

Extreme Northern VT. Almost the Canadian border.

 

[vtfarma]

I am giving this a try for a picture of the little guys foot thats missing. Hopefully this works

 

[texascowboy1979]

Oh My.... poor thing.