Hodgepodge Farm
In the Brooder
- Mar 18, 2021
- 2
- 2
- 14
Our sweet “Maggie” is about 1 year old. When she was 5month old, she started limping. We noticed there was a small bump between toes. We figured it was like a bumblefoot. We have treated bumblefoot on chicken and geese by ourselves before, but we were not able to hold her down to provide the same treatment. She is sweet for cuddling and apple slices, but not for medical treatment... We could not find vet who has experience with ratites, but found a horse doctor who was willing to take a look at her. He gave us water soluble antibiotic (I believe it was Pennchlor), treated her for 2wks and her limp went away and we were relieved.
A month later, she started limping again...same left leg. We gave her same treatment, but this time it didn’t work. It made it worse. She started losing scales and feathers from her left leg. Light scratching or scraping against something would give her open wounds. She started losing feathers on her stomach and chest too.
We called vet again and he thinks antibiotic also killed good bacterias in her system and now fungus infection moved into her body. He suggested us to spray her with “EquiShield CK” for 6-8wks. We also started using “Vetericyn plus” gel for open wounds. When vet took a look, she struggled so much, her leg was completely skinned and raw...
Now 4weeks later, her new skin is back and not bloody and raw, but we haven’t seen much improvement. She gets cuts almost daily because the leg is so fragile. Now her toe(pinky?) is bent outward. Not sure if it’s from limping or from infection.
(Pink/orange color is from spray.)
She is eating and drinking ok. We have 3 other emus and she is the only one with this condition. All other animals in our property are healthy as well.
We feel like we should be doing something more “internally” to help her, but we are afraid to give her anything at this point...
Has anybody dealt with this before? We’d love to hear any suggestions and advice to save her! We love her so much and want her to be happy hoppy Maggie again...
We are located in Washington state.
Thank you for your time in advance!
A month later, she started limping again...same left leg. We gave her same treatment, but this time it didn’t work. It made it worse. She started losing scales and feathers from her left leg. Light scratching or scraping against something would give her open wounds. She started losing feathers on her stomach and chest too.
We called vet again and he thinks antibiotic also killed good bacterias in her system and now fungus infection moved into her body. He suggested us to spray her with “EquiShield CK” for 6-8wks. We also started using “Vetericyn plus” gel for open wounds. When vet took a look, she struggled so much, her leg was completely skinned and raw...
Now 4weeks later, her new skin is back and not bloody and raw, but we haven’t seen much improvement. She gets cuts almost daily because the leg is so fragile. Now her toe(pinky?) is bent outward. Not sure if it’s from limping or from infection.
(Pink/orange color is from spray.)
She is eating and drinking ok. We have 3 other emus and she is the only one with this condition. All other animals in our property are healthy as well.
We feel like we should be doing something more “internally” to help her, but we are afraid to give her anything at this point...
Has anybody dealt with this before? We’d love to hear any suggestions and advice to save her! We love her so much and want her to be happy hoppy Maggie again...
We are located in Washington state.
Thank you for your time in advance!
