Disabled bird getting a pressure sore on breast bone

[Sheriloo3]

Hello all,

A couple weeks ago, I posted about one of my Ayam Cemani's suddenly losing balance and the ability to walk on her own. I started B and E vitamins and she has been making some progress. Albeit, slow progress, but she is certainly better than she was.

My first question is, how long should I expect the treatments take to get her back up and running enough to go back to her flock? How long should I wait to decide if it isn't just a vitamin deficiency and there might be another issue?

Also, I gave her a bath the other day, as I do every few days to rid her of the poo crusties she gets from sitting around all day, and while I was blow drying her, I noticed she is getting what looks to be a pressure sore on her beast bone. I currently have her in a playpen, to give her space to move about and it is lined with a soft fleece blanket. I assumed that would be good enough, but I also assumed she would be better and outside before now. It's been about 3 weeks.

What is the best way to treat this sore and prevent it from getting worse? Should I put shavings down for a softer place to rest? Should I pull the scab, clean it out, wrap it, etc.? Should I leave it alone in addition to the bedding change?

Shes a beautiful and expensive bird. I really am trying to do everything in my power to get her back on her feet again. Other than the balance issue, she is in great health. Shiny feathers, clear eyes, eats and drinks well, poo is normal, etc. I don't want my "treatment" to cause her more harm because of something as simple as incorrect bedding!!

Also, if anyone else has any other suggestions of things I can do or treatments I can try to get her balance and walking back up to par, that would be great!

Attached pic shows her current living quarters (I added a couple stickers to spare the added poo shots! Haha! It is cleaned daily, though, just a bit of clarification there)

 

[Painted Calls]

As far as your question about time, I always say "As much time as you both are willing to give it." As long as you have the time to devote to her, and she has the will to survive, I don't put a time limit on it.

If she gets to the point that she is deteriorating, or you just don't have to time to devote to caring for her, then I would call it. Until then it's always sort of a wait-and-see. It's hard to predict recovery time in situations like this.

How old is she? Was she vaccinated for Marek's?

The first thing I would do is make her a sling. If she is somewhat mobile, just use it for a few hours on and off during the day. Making sure to put her in it at night to sleep in. A sling will prevent pressure sores and a messy bum.
Here is the one I use. Super easy to make/clean/maintain.

 

[Sheriloo3]

As far as your question about time, I always say "As much time as you both are willing to give it." As long as you have the time to devote to her, and she has the will to survive, I don't put a time limit on it.

If she gets to the point that she is deteriorating, or you just don't have to time to devote to caring for her, then I would call it. Until then it's always sort of a wait-and-see. It's hard to predict recovery time in situations like this.

How old is she? Was she vaccinated for Marek's?

The first thing I would do is make her a sling. If she is somewhat mobile, just use it for a few hours on and off during the day. Making sure to put her in it at night to sleep in. A sling will prevent pressure sores and a messy bum.
Here is the one I use. Super easy to make/clean/maintain.
View attachment 2481346

That is really cool! I thought about doing something like that but didn't really know if it was a "thing" or how to do it. I assume that is just dome kind of soft cloth? Is the extra cloth inside at a height where the bird can put her feet down and not just dangle? Any tips on cloth types?

She is about 5 months old and yes, I did vaccinate her and her clutchmates after hatching.

If you look at my past thread, you'll see I had an issue with one of the chicks having wry neck when they were babies. I'm not sure if she is the same bird or not, but it seems there may have been deficiency issues with the hens that laid the eggs or something. Quite unfortunate because these are not cheap birds, nor were their eggs. I'm not pointing fingers at the farm, but it seems this was not an isolated incident, at least in my home.

I have been working from home since the beginning of the pandemic and Pigeon (the disabled chicken) lives in her pen in my office, so I have plenty of time to attend to her. As for her current state of health, she has been improving, mobility-wise and other than the pressure sore, I have not noticed any decline in her overall health and well being. She is a sweet bird, which all my Cemani's are (little attention hogging goofballs, really!!) and I am truly devoted 100% to making sure she survives and thrives.

I will most certainly make a sling of some kind this weekend and see if that helps. As for the scab/wound that is there now, should I just leave it be and hope the sling helps prevent it from getting worse, or is there a way to treat it for a fast goofball,

Thank you so much for your advice!

 

[Painted Calls]

How is your girl doing?

Sorry for the late reply. I didn't get any notifications!

 

[Sheriloo3]

How is your girl doing?

Sorry for the late reply. I didn't get any notifications!

So far, she has been improving quite a lot since I added the vitamin E to her vitamin B treatments. She has be standing a lot more lately and has been using her wings and tail as a means to help her balance when trying to walk around. She's learned new ways to sit, so she isn't sitting on her belly/chest all the time (it's funny to see her sitting on her butt or on her side at times). The pressure sore has not gotten any worse than it was when I found it, so that's a bonus.

I've been taking her out of her playpen during the day and just laying a blanket down on the floor for her to have more space to roam around and I think she likes that.

I attached a pic of her using her wing like a crutch to help balance herself. It's quite funny. One thing that I have noticed is that she is walking "Pigeon-toed" (which is interesting since we named her Pigeon) and tends to stumble a lot because she steps on her toes. You can see this in the picture. My hope is that this will get better as she has more practice walking again. She will figure it out eventually I'm sure.

Slowly but surely, she is getting better. I wish it was a faster recovery but ill take slow and steady or over dying any day of the week!!

 

[Kiki]

So far, she has been improving quite a lot since I added the vitamin E to her vitamin B treatments. She has be standing a lot more lately and has been using her wings and tail as a means to help her balance when trying to walk around. She's learned new ways to sit, so she isn't sitting on her belly/chest all the time (it's funny to see her sitting on her butt or on her side at times). The pressure sore has not gotten any worse than it was when I found it, so that's a bonus.

I've been taking her out of her playpen during the day and just laying a blanket down on the floor for her to have more space to roam around and I think she likes that.

I attached a pic of her using her wing like a crutch to help balance herself. It's quite funny. One thing that I have noticed is that she is walking "Pigeon-toed" (which is interesting since we named her Pigeon) and tends to stumble a lot because she steps on her toes. You can see this in the picture. My hope is that this will get better as she has more practice walking again. She will figure it out eventually I'm sure.

Slowly but surely, she is getting better. I wish it was a faster recovery but ill take slow and steady or over dying any day of the week!!
View attachment 2492074

How is this bird today?

 

[Sheriloo3]

How is this bird today?

I am super happy to report, He is totally fine!! Funny thing, we learned around February that "she" was a "he" when we were awoken to a super loud cockadoodle!!

Turns out, he was a slow bloomer in the comb department but not anymore! He has a huge beautiful comb, is walking and running with ease, and is a very health fella. I actually just paired him with one of my cemani hens in their own little enclosure. It was rough for a couple hours, lots of chasing and overly aggressive "loving" but they settled down pretty quickly and are happy together.

He lived in my office for about 5 months, but now he is out with his lady friend and living the life of a health roo. He is a big baby though and comes running to the gate when he sees me and hops on my feet telling me he wants me to pick him up. I hope that never changes!! I just love him to bits!!

I'll post a pic of him tomorrow, thank you for checking in. He is really doing great!!

 

[Sheriloo3]

Pidgeon and Dove in their new “little cabin in the woods”. Haha! They were both my ICU birds this past winter, Pidgeon much longer and worse off than Dove but now they are both doing super well and nearly 100% back to health. Pidgeon still walks a little Pidgeon-toed but has learned to “March” in such a way that he doesn’t trip on his feet anymore. I hate to say it but he walks like a little Nazi soldier!! Hahahah!! (It’s ironic, since he is completely black.... haha ).
****I hope that is funny to all who ready this and not offensive in any way. I truly don’t mean to offend, just my sense of humor is all!!****

 

[Painted Calls]

Pidgeon and Dove in their new “little cabin in the woods”. Haha! They were both my ICU birds this past winter, Pidgeon much longer and worse off than Dove but now they are both doing super well and nearly 100% back to health. Pidgeon still walks a little Pidgeon-toed but has learned to “March” in such a way that he doesn’t trip on his feet anymore. I hate to say it but he walks like a little Nazi soldier!! Hahahah!! (It’s ironic, since he is completely black.... haha ).
****I hope that is funny to all who ready this and not offensive in any way. I truly don’t mean to offend, just my sense of humor is all!!****

Glad that he is doing better!!!