Pheasant with possible broken leg? **Graphic**

[PinkFlamingoFrm]

I help take care of my fiances dads pheasants & there was one limping for a few days so I was gonna get in and see what was wrong. I got in the pen and he hopped into the little enclosure thats semi outside. I crawled through the doggy door type door and looked over and saw this:
At first I thought he was just sitting there messing with me, so I took his picture, but then I noticed he looked terrified.. I found his leg was twisted between 2 boards. It took me 10 mins to get his poor leg out of there and behind him on those boards it was covered in blood. I put him down & he just kinda flopped over. I brought him into the house and got some "blue coat"? thats what they told me to use on it. He is now getting some electrolytes and has the blue coat on him. What else can I do to make sure that his leg heals up? Im pretty sure its broken, and cut open pretty bad. He is also missing some of his scales.. the guys just wanted to put the stuff on his leg and put him back in the pen, I was afraid the other pheasants would eat him if they did that. So hes living in a 20 gallon aquarium right now. He has probably been hanging on those boards for days because of how hard it is to access the pen back there. Since hes gotten the food & electrolytes he seems alot more perky, just has trouble walking, obviously. Needless to say, theres still another one in there hopping around on one foot, but this guy is way way worse off..



you cant really see much in the picture, cept that its bloody and swollen

 

[dandrews1971]

Definitely keep him isolated. Where theres blood or weakness, theyll relentlessly peck & hinder his healing. If its broken, can you gently splint it with a pencil & some of that self sticking wrap? the blue coat is good, he may need antibiotics if there looks to be any infection. the blood is probably from him struggling & possibly pecking at his own leg trying to free himself. Poor thing!!!
Keep it clean, keep him away from the others & possibly splint it to refrain him from moving it.

 

[PinkFlamingoFrm]

I thought about splinting it, but should I do that with an open wound? I wasnt sure, hes not really bleeding but his cut still looks wet if that makes any sense. And its swollen. I wasnt sure if splinting would make that worse?

Yeah, I cant imagine how long the poor guy hung there.. I felt terrible when I found him, but so glad I went out there. I would have hated to find a dead pheasant hanging like that.

I just took him up some watermelon, and he limped away from me. So thats a good sign, hes up and moving, but still not able to use the leg.

 

[dandrews1971]

If he's putting weight on it it may not be broke just badly sprained and very sore. How big is the actual wound?

 

[PinkFlamingoFrm]

Im gonna go try and get some better pictures. Its hard to see in that one.

 

[PinkFlamingoFrm]

thats the biggest wound, id say the size of a quarter? theres a couple small cuts on his leg, but this is the bad one. He isnt putting weight on the leg, but he now lifts it up under his body, where earlier he was dragging it behind him.

 

[GimmeCake]

Err, that's possible broken. Hard to tell. This is why they use X-Rays in humans . Really though, make sure it doesn't move!

What I recommend doing from here on is putting some coconut oil onto it and tape it up gently with medical tape (make sure the tape isn't cutting blood flow and it's preventing movement). Then make sure it has easy access to food and water and away from the other chickens (such as in another coop, alone).

Sorry for this happening! Hope this helps!

 

[dandrews1971]

coconut oil is a good choice, keeps it soft & supple & promotes healing.
Is it still that bloody? Wrap him up in a towel so he cant struggle with just his legs hanging out, clean him up good. Then slather it with the coconut poil, or antibiotic ointment (no pain killer in it) & wrap it lightly. I would go ahead & splint it. Use a pencil or a couple of popsicle sticks. I would wrap a layer or so around the leg, then the splint, then wrap again. If its that oozy, its going to get infected if it isnt klept clean.
You may need somew injectable antibiotics as well.

 

[PinkFlamingoFrm]

I was changing his bandage today & noticed that his leg is turning green by the cut.. I heard that could be bruising? Has anyone seen something like that before?
His foot is also huge from swelling & hot so I will be giving him a penicillin shot later today, just to be safe. Does anyone happen to know the dosage? We gave my micro pig 1 cc I believe for her infected hoof, but she was about 20 pounds then.. thats a far cry from this lil guy.
The good thing is he is up and moving around..just hopping on his other leg & not using this one. Doesnt look "sick" or anything.

 

[dandrews1971]

.10cc per lb
I use a 20 gauge needle. given in the breast muscle, alternating sides each time.
once a day for at LEAST 3 days. 7 days is about the limit for safely injecting.