hock joint injury to keet..hugging left leg to body

[charid]

@Garden Peas

I know. I think someone asked me if i read link to other post and I did. I gave up on sling before I even posted in emergencies.

Anyway the tendon was stretched enough to go back in groove this morning but without another set of hands and him fighting I couldnt tape it up.

I called every vet from here to STL and back to Columbia. Soonest I can get him in at Mizzou is Friday. The other man insists on a full line up of xrays or at least 2. $180 not including treatment after a 2.5 hr round trip drive. I told the local vet I was desperate and didnt care if she didnt treat birds I just need someone to help me tape. She said no. I begged. Its still a treatable condition. Muscle is growing with bone. Blood flow is there...so long as I keep the tendon lengthening. In tears nearly she didnt care.

I live a life of isolation so when I need assistance I am usually S.O.L. only reason it hasn't been successfully treated yet. Need another set of hands. Those who could help dont have the gumption.

 

[charid]

I re-called the first vet that said no. They told me to bring him in. I dont have a heating pad or time to get one. Just got car running.

.i was going to take my heat lamp with me so when I get there I can plug it in. Taking a box with food and water. Wrapping him and putting him in the middle of my sports bra. Hopefully my body heat will keep him warm enough. He seems to like the cuddling anyway. Fingers crossed. If this doesnt work. I will know its time to put him out. Tbh he gets around. Eats sleeps poops. I have heard of quite a few people with one legged chickens but not guineas.

 

[Garden Peas]

Hi @charid, it's hard, I know. {Hugs}

Seriously, you can do this by yourself, it's just gonna take an extra dose of patience.

First, make sure you have all your stuff, including wide cloth (white medical tape) in both 1" and 1/2" widths, even wider if you can find it. I like the breathable kind. You will also need vet wrap (do you know what that is? It only sticks to itself) it is usually available in 2" widths and you can get a human version at the drug store or Wal-Mart. Make sure you have some sharp, maneuverable scissors that can cut thru the cloth tape - a couple layers thick! A knife won't do.

You can practice on a slightly bent straw to figure out how the tape goes on. First, it you can de-feather the parts of the leg above & below the hock joint either by gently pulling feathers out or trimming the off with scissors, job will go better and easier. Feathers will come out easier if you roll them around the feather shaft (axis) twisting slightly.

 

[Garden Peas]

@charid use your vet wrap around the keet's wings so it doesn't flap around and fight you. That usually quiets the bird, and regardless, allows you to get a decent grasp on it.

 

[Garden Peas]

Practice on a slightly bent straw. Put a wide piece of cloth tape sticky side up on the table. (You may have to hold it in place with a dab of tape.

Lay the slightly bent straw along the center of the wide cloth tape. It will look a little like the flap on an envelope, a long, flat "v" with the bend closer to one long side and the top and bottom of the straw closer to the other long side. Now put an identical (more or less) piece of cloth tape right over the first one, sticky side down. (The sticky sides are facing each other, and surrounding the straw.

Gently crimp the tape to get it close to the straw for the whole length of the straw in the tape. You should have a flat rectangle of tape, Werth a straw running through it. Now trim the tape with the scissors so the shape follows the bent straw. Should end up with a long, flat (open) "V" of tape, not sticky.

Now take short pieces of the narrower cloth tape, and working first on one side and then the other, lap them over the cut edge you made. No tape ever goes "around" all the way. Each strip will go (more or less) from on top of the straw, across the cut edge, folding back at the edge, and over to the straw on the other side of the flat envelope. As you layer the strips, you can crispen up the edge and pout in a little twist to make the straw go the way a keet's leg does when it is standing. If you can't get the twist bit in, don't worry about it. Getting the wrapping strips on is more important than the twist.

What you are doing is building a rigid (because of all the layers of tape) lightweight bird cast. I think
@casportpony may have a link to a video of someone splinting a broken bird leg using essentially the same technique. I am having to write this on my cell phone, so resources limited in my end, sorry!

 

[Garden Peas]

Once you have practiced on a straw or some other household object to get the hang of it, you can do your bird. I would practice as many times as it took to get comfortable before I did the bird - I found out the hard way that too much/too many things takes skin off, which then also had to be dealt with. So practice a few times till it's automatic. If you want to post some photos of your practice round(s), s can see if you're doing it right.

 

[Garden Peas]

The keet is likely to initially have difficulty getting up and down Werth the splint (the leg will not bend), but should figure out how to manage. get a baseline weight before you start, and again after you put the splint on. So you can make sure it's getting adequate food/fluids. Kathy can help you manage the food & fluid intake. You'll want to weigh it daily and track by writing it down.

 

[Garden Peas]

Keet won't be very happy with you or the universe when splint first goes on. Make sure it gets plenty of rest so it can heal, and it will increase its activity level when it is ready.

Also, when you put the splint on the actual keet, try to see that the tendon is in place if you can. It's hard to see as you are solo taping a wiggly, strong bird, so if you can't, don't worry. If the leg is mostly extended, tendon will probably be where it belongs.

 

[Garden Peas]

Sigh. Just looked back over what I wrote and saw you are going to vet - that went up while I was writing a book for you. Good luck!

 

[Garden Peas]

And please let us know how it comes out!

(Hope you don't get pulled over on the way - boy would that make a hilarious keet-tale, lol.)