Advice please! Broken foot + degloving injury

[StPaulieGirls]

Here's what we're dealing with. It's necrotic and the friend who was willing to help amputate feels clear that it's time to euthanize him. This looks fatal to us: the necrosis is above the foot joint and we'd have to amputate mid-bone to get back to healthy tissues. He's still lively today, but we're running out of time and I don't have help.

 

[KsKingBee]

OK, your picture is much different than your description of 'hanging on by just the tendon'. There is no reason to cut the foot off or put the bird down unless you just don't want to deal with the healing process. Birds in the wild get frostbite all the time and live, the dead parts just fall off in time back to the good living tissue. Cutting it back to the live tissue is not necessary.

I have shown you pics of my birds that were worse off than yours that are still alive and fully recovered and shared how to treat them. Honestly, if you want to put it down or amputate that is your choice but I am telling you that neither is necessary. Keeping it clean and bandaged is all you need to do.

 

[StPaulieGirls]

Okay! Thanks for looking at the pictures. It just looks and smells so much worse than I thought it would. I figured it's gangrene and he's doomed. We'll keep changing the bandages. I'll move him in with my chickens over the weekend so he has company.
Thanks for taking the time to respond.

 

[StPaulieGirls]

@KsKingBee Thanks again for taking the time to reply. I don't mean to be frustrating, I'm just out of my depth. I'm willing to keep washing and applying antibiotic every few days. I'll try to figure out the best way to splint it. He's still strong, though stressed. I hear you saying clearly that this could be completely adequate care.

Two questions:
1. Did your birds' feet smell just awful? It looks like your birds had a dry kind of necrosis. Pascal's feet are a stinking, slimy mess which added a lot to my alarm. But if the antibiotic ointment will do what needs to be done even with this wet necrosis, that's great.

2. I need to move him out of my house and wonder where you kept your birds as they healed? I'm thinking about putting Pascal inside the chicken coop where my chooks are happily wintering over. I'd have him in an x-pen to keep the roosters from beating him up. He'd have a sweeter heater to sleep under. It's a bio-risk to my flock, but I guess it's the best way forward for me. I have serious asthma and am having to use my rescue inhaler as the bird dander is hard to contain.

Again, thanks a lot for following in this and for sharing all your experience. If I can get him through, he might be able to move to a farm in a warmer place.

Best,
Kerri

 

[casportpony]

@CatWhisperer and @Folly's place, do either of you have any advice?

 

[Folly's place]

I'm confused; is it one or both feet? The foot in the photo looks terrible, is it only that one?
Penicillin injectable would be a good idea, as well as Silvadene ointment from the vet. i second checking with LA veterinarians, and also check at the vet path lab for names of veterinarians who do poultry testing, or who also treat chickens. Our state vet path lab has a list, maybe yours does too.
Dead tissue will fall off, and enough live tissue, and blood supply, needs to be in the foot, or it's totally dead and needs to go. Both feet, that's just wrong!
I also have asthma, and no birds can live in my house either. Get him out, how about a garage? If you get sick, he's not going to do well either. Your survival is more important, period!
Mary

 

[Folly's place]

If he's still eating, that's good. There's no way that doesn't hurt!
Mary

 

[Folly's place]

How about a good wildlife rescue? Any licenced places nearby? Your veterinarian, the DNR, or the veterinary school may know of one, or take him on.
Mary

 

[CatWhisperer]

I would get some hibiclens or betadine soap and wash the foot as frequently as necessary to keep in smelling and looking healthy. If you can get some clavamox or clindamycin from a large animal veterinarian those would be preferred over amoxicillin or penicillin. I have treated my silkie with clavamox tablets just by feeding it to her with a piece of raspberry. Clavamox requires that you also treat with probiotics because it wipes out gut bacteria and can cause raging diarrhea. Keep bandages clean. I think it would be easier to manage in a heated garage, cleaner, warmer, easier to access for care. Because of the asthma I wonder if it wouldn’t be better to find someone else who may take on your project bird. You might put up a notice at some veterinarians offices. Of course I would be very careful who I would let have the bird, not many have proper facilities for maintaining peacocks. Of course anything an experienced peafowl keeper like KsKingBee says I would heed 100%.

 

[CatWhisperer]

You could also call the U of M veterinary teaching hospital and see if you could donate your bird for care there.