Colloidal silver for quail

[Sarah1728]

Hello everyone,
I have an injured quail with a swollen leg. It was so swollen her leg and foot were over twice the size. I'm still not sure what type if injury it is. I don't see signs of bumble foot. She was kinda flopping around to get to food and water that I thought it was her wing. But when I examined her, discovered it was her leg. I've put her in her own cage so she wouldn't be bothered. I made a poultice from cabbage and coconut oil to put on her leg over night for the last 5 days. Swelling is greatly down but still there. I've heard of using colloidal silver and thought I'd give it a try but I'm not sure on dosages. I really don't want to put her down. We don't have many bird vets where I am and am not sure what else to try. She is eating and drinking and doesn't seem to be in pain.

 

[Quailobsessed]

I'm not sure. Could you post a picture of her leg?

 

[Nabiki]

There is no clinical evidence that colloidal silver has any effect at all. In small or recommended doses, it does no harm, but in large doses it can be harmful.

 

[Sarah1728]

I'm not sure. Could you post a picture of her leg?

Here are some photos. The leg on the right is the one that is the issue. It was 2x bigger than it is now. The poultice really helped but hasn't brought it down anymore after a weeks. There is a bit of purple on the side of leg in second photo. Kinda hard to see. She hasn't layed any eggs since I've had her seporated either

 

[Nabiki]

I'm not a vet and I'm not an expert. That being said, with the bruising, it looks like a sprain or fracture? If that's the case, warmth, rest, and time is what she needs most. I don't know if a vet is an option for you, but that would be my next step.

 

[FloorCandy]

Looking at the photo I think a fracture or dislocation may be the issue. Does she kick the leg when you hold her? Does she try to put weight on it?

 

[Sarah1728]

She doesn't act like it's painful when I'm putting the poultice on. As soon as I put it on her foot she actually closes her eyes and looks like it feels great. She stumbles around to get to food and water. Flapping her wings a bit. It's been close to two weeks now. She is still eating and drinking fine. When we forst noticed her injury her poop was watery but now looks normal. We don't have a local vet here with experience with quail. I'm not sure what else to do to help her

 

[Quailobsessed]

You'll probably have a hard time finding a quail vet. Could you take her to any vet? They may at least be able to tell if it's broken.

 

[Sarah1728]

You'll probably have a hard time finding a quail vet. Could you take her to any vet? They may at least be able to tell if it's broken.

We called our vet. They said they would take a look but said most likely recommend putting down if it's broken. And we could do that ourselves so if rather save the $300 emergency appointment fee since they are booked up for a week for normal appointments. Our quail aren't really pets but I really wanted to give her a chance. Was hoping there was something we could do. I'm not sure if she just needs time to heal or if it won't get better than it has

 

[Nabiki]

We called our vet. They said they would take a look but said most likely recommend putting down if it's broken. And we could do that ourselves so if rather save the $300 emergency appointment fee since they are booked up for a week for normal appointments. Our quail aren't really pets but I really wanted to give her a chance. Was hoping there was something we could do. I'm not sure if she just needs time to heal or if it won't get better than it has

If it were just a sprain or contusion it would already be healed. 2 weeks points toward fracture or break in my mind. I don't know how long those take to heal in a quail. A human is about 6 weeks, so I imagine faster for a quail, but I don't know how much.