Coyote attack

[c4ck4]

Yesterday we let him eat some of his regular grain ration from a bowl held near his face. His crooked neck made it hard but eventually he got the hang of it and gobbled down quite a bit. Hopefully it wasn't too soon to start on that. He's also been eating a little bit of yogurt mash and some boiled egg yolks but not a lot.

He was listless the first couple days and then started getting more lively and hungry though his damage hindered his movements. This morning he seems like he's still hungry, but he just seems exhausted, like the number of days of not eating and drinking normally is taking it's toll on him. He's interested in food but seems weaker. He's not taking water from the syringe as well either.

The wound on his neck looks a little puffy, but I pushed on it and it seems solid and not abscessed. I'm considering starting the penicillin, does this sound like a bad time?

 

[Michael Apple]

Aspirin is often used for birds. Give it one baby aspirin after eating. Start this once a day and see if the swelling reduces in a couple days. Is the turkey eating on his own out of a feeder, and drinking out of a waterer on his own yet?

 

[c4ck4]

His neck is still too sore for him to eat or drink on his own. This has made it hard to feed and water him constantly and consistently but we are doing our best. We're still giving water and electrolyte/probiotic by syringe but he's showing less interest in it. We have to hold the food dish (or yogurt on a spoon) right in front of his beak for a while and sometimes he'll stretch to try and eat and then not take anything and I think it's because his neck is hurting when he reaches out.

He's been sleeping with his face on the ground too and I think it's to rest his neck because when we come in he pops up and shuffles around.

 

[Michael Apple]

His neck is still too sore for him to eat or drink on his own. This has made it hard to feed and water him constantly and consistently but we are doing our best. We're still giving water and electrolyte/probiotic by syringe but he's showing less interest in it. We have to hold the food dish (or yogurt on a spoon) right in front of his beak for a while and sometimes he'll stretch to try and eat and then not take anything and I think it's because his neck is hurting when he reaches out.

He's been sleeping with his face on the ground too and I think it's to rest his neck because when we come in he pops up and shuffles around.

Gotcha. Keep giving the water mixed with vitamins-probiotics. I've found birds don't care for yogurt, but like buttermilk moistening their crumbles. The only way to know the extent of the neck injury is by x-ray. I hope this is an injury that will heal and improve in time with good nutrition. I would try some aspirin therapy like I stated and see if that relieves his neck. The bite wounds look clean and are healing?

 

[c4ck4]

The swelling I spoke of was around the largest patch of missing skin. It felt firm and not pus filled, but I'm not sure if it's a good or bad sign for healing. Other than that they have scabbed over and look like they are doing well.

 

[Michael Apple]

The swelling I spoke of was around the largest patch of missing skin. It felt firm and not pus filled, but I'm not sure if it's a good or bad sign for healing. Other than that they have scabbed over and look like they are doing well.

Could you take a close up picture of the swollen area?

 

[c4ck4]

Here is a video of him eating some grain, he finally started trying again today. Notice how he tries and tries but doesn't eat anything and then he finally gets some some of the time if he gets the neck angle right so it doesn't hurt as much. There are also some pics showing the neck swelling. It looks better now than earlier today.

This other photo shows how he's resting his head on his neck and the arrow shows where the extra tight crooked part is that seems to be injured.

I picked up some low dose 81mg aspirin but haven't given it to him yet. I'm going to try and build a grain bowl holder that will keep it at his head height so he can maybe start to self feed.

 

[Michael Apple]

Great pictures. Thank you. I'd start the turkey on Penn G injections in the breast muscle like I mentioned earlier. 1/4 cc/ml dosage is suggested for a 5lb hen since 30000 IU/kg is suggested, so if your bird is about 10 lbs., 1/2 cc/ml would be the dosage. Do it once a day, alternating each side of the breast each day for 7 days. Penn G is great for wounds. It is important to keep the bird hydrated during this time. Keep the probiotics in the diet. Again, you are doing a great job.

 

[c4ck4]

I gave him a baby aspirin yesterday and waited till this morning to start the Penn G procaine so that he wouldn't get dehydrated overnight. I read somewhere that the Penn G Procaine specifically was long acting and stayed in the system for 48 hours instead of 24, is it still okay to dose him daily on this stuff vs just regular Penn G?

 

[Michael Apple]

I gave him a baby aspirin yesterday and waited till this morning to start the Penn G procaine so that he wouldn't get dehydrated overnight. I read somewhere that the Penn G Procaine specifically was long acting and stayed in the system for 48 hours instead of 24, is it still okay to dose him daily on this stuff vs just regular Penn G?

Yes, it is alright to do it once a day. Penn G Pro diffuses through the bird's body rapidly, and is toxic to bacteria, but practically non toxic to animals. What this will do is prevent any secondary infection. Here's a link that may provide more details. I've found them to be accurate when it comes to dosage charts despite some of their articles: https://sites.google.com/a/poultryp...oultry-podiatry#chickens_penicillin_injection

One detail i'd like to mention is that after you shake Penn G up in the bottle vigorously for a minute, an 16 gauge needle can draw it out easier because it is a thick solution. Draw up more than you need to push out air bubbles. Then replace the 16 gauge needle with a 22 gauge animal needle for injection. Don't push the needle in too far. No more than 1/4".

Back off the 1 baby aspirin for a day, and see how the turkey is behaving. Continue providing vitamin-probiotic water and game bird crumbles. If he gets picky, moisten the crumbles with some watered down buttermilk or yogurt. If you make it too pasty, I've found they don't like it and spend more time wiping food off their beak than actually eating it.