Quail emergency, please help- a piece of a toe came off and he is bleeding badly

[Rebacopter32]

Okay so I let my one and only house quail out and scooted my chair without looking, the chair took a chunk of toe off, there is blood everywhere. We are holding him sideways and applying pressure to the toe. It is unclear if he will live with all of the blood loss. What should I do?! I would take the time to type in detail but I'm kind of in freak out mode!

 

[Lovable Chicks]

I would try putting the foot in flour...thats what I have done before

 

[Rebacopter32]

Thanks, I put flour on it, I cant tell if it is still bleeding because there is blood everywhere.... Before I put corn meal (not starch) on it and it didnt help at all, I dont know why I didnt think of that.... Question, we're holding him upside down in a hand so he's supported, can it kill him to lay upside down too long? And what do I do after the bleeding stops, what do I use as a bandage? Oh, and can you use silver nitrate sticks on birds? I heard someone talking about that once...

 

[Rebacopter32]

Or can I freeze it with a wart freezer chemical thing until the toes forms a blood clot? I think it IS still bleeding... would a wart freezer hurt the bird for some reason? Sorry Im asking so many questions, just want to be sure, but I do have a wart freezer...

 

[Lovable Chicks]

Cant help you there...sorry. I have used flour on dogs horses and birds for bleeding. I never bandaged. I have used neosporin before.

 

[Rebacopter32]

That's okay. We just put a bandage on him, and the bleeding stopped (Thank God). He's just resting now. Unfortunately I couldn't find any Neosporin.... hopefully it wont get infected. He looks pretty strong and alive still, just sleepy and probably in a state of shock. If anyone has any suggestions on what to do to help him heal faster, I would much appreciate it. Thanks On a side note, I have discovered how hard it is to type with one hand!

 

[dc3085]

Flour or cornstarch will help clot blood for future reference. Cornstarch usually works better. I have had racoons make it under my wire pens and bite off toes, I've yet to lose a bird to a lost toe (and I'm not usually around to stop the bleeding) so your little guy should end up just fine.

 

[TwoCrows]

I have a couple of Bobs that have ripped off entire toe nails down to the bone, getting caught in log splits and such. (I keep them in aviaries) Blood everywhere, exposed bone. Flour as suggested or Corn Starch works wonders on bleeds. Keep the birds foot clean for a day or two so the skin hardens off and bacteria can't enter. After this, the bird will be good to go. They heal incredibly well and won't be affected in the least, as long as there is no infection.

 

[Rebacopter32]

Thanks for the advice guys. I tried putting a bandage on him several times in the last 38 hours and it refuses to stay on. Doesn't matter what I use, his feet are so small that it falls off. Fortunately he seems fine and is pretty active for just having part of a toe ripped off. He seems to be handling it well. I honestly wasn't sure what to expect, because I had never had a quail with a major injury before. Anyway, last night I found some Neo-to-go deep in the depths of my house (the spray stuff) and sprayed some on his toe, hopefully that might help. I changed his cage shavings before putting him in there to avoid at least some bacteria... the wound doesn't look completely closed yet but it is getting there slowly. Hopefully he wont get an infection. I also noticed what looks like a tiny clear stick poking out of the middle of his wound, could this be a nerve or something?

 

[TwoCrows]

It might be a piece of bone even. Once the skin has hardened off, he will be good go back in with the others. It doesn't have to be completely healed, just healed up enough that no bacteria can enter the skin. The quicker he gets back with the others, the less likely mixing him back in will be an issue.

Great to hear he is ok!