Severely broken wing. UPDATED with pics

[Pumpkinpup]

I went to feed my 4 month old Penciled Palm Tom and he was acting strange. I inspected more closely and discovered a clean break in his wing main shaft about 1/2 inch away from the joint at the body. It is sticking out through the tissue and must have just happened moments before because it is not dirty and it isn't dried out. I wrapped him securely in a towel to give stability to the wings and prevent him thrashing around and further injuring the wing. I'm not certain I can set it as I don't know if there is enough bone near the joint to splint to. A friend is coming over after work so that we may look more closely and see if there is anything to be done. He is too big and strong for me to attempt to do anything by myself, I fear he would struggle and injure himself further. What suggestions would any of you have. Thanking you in advance.

Robin

 

[Maryallison77]

sorry to hear about your Tom. I hope your friend is able to help

 

[jbowyer01]

I dont know a thing about turkeys but is there anything that can be given for discomfort (as I am sure it is painful). Heres a BUMP. I hope someone can help.

 

[iajewel]

A compound fracture is hard enough but once it is through the skin, infection is going to happen. They are the worst to heal and most vets will amputate rather then set a fracture that has broken the skin.
Since its the wing, you can do this easily and the bird won't be the worse off. Get some antibiotics from your vet.. as these are very bad and if infection gets into the bone marrow, its even worse.

 

[Pumpkinpup]

I wanted to say thank you for all the kind words and those who thoughtfully bumped my thread

Karen and I are going to try to get a close look at this situation in a few minutes and if I can I will post some pics so that maybe you all can get a better grasp of exactly what the situation is. I know how hard it is when you just have someones ramblings to go on

Wish us luck as this is a first for us both. We have both delt with dog, chicken and horse emergency situations but never a turkey.
Deep breath, here goes nothing!
I'll keep you all posted and thanks again for the support.

 

[mypicklebird]

Best advice I can give is get it x-rayed- see if that is the only break, if this is a pet- and you want to give it the best chance possible- maybe can be pinned perhaps and if not- surgically removed. Open fractures often get infected, and systemic antibiotics are a good idea. I do not know if the humerus in the turkey is hollow/air filled like in many birds, but if so, that is another good reason for antibiotics as the air filled bones connect to the air sacs and the rest of the respiratory system. Vet can also give longer acting and more powerful pain meds. If you can't get professional help, next best recommendation would be to clean the wound as best you can, OTC antibiotics, and wrap it to the body in as close to anatomical position you can. Don't bother trying to splint the humerus- you cannot do that effectively in a bird. Don't leave the wrap too long without inspecting the wound and wing as the wrap will hide and and trap infection. Be sure to look at it at least every other day. If the wing goes dark and cold, or smells- it needs to come off.

Also try to figure out how he managed to break his wing- that is a large and strong bone! Someone/something try to grab and drag him by his wing?

 

[Pumpkinpup]

We have brain stormed with a friend who is a large animal vet via telephone and after much debate and bouncing ideas back and forth have all three come to the conclusion that the wing needs to come off due to the position and angle of the break. There is no way to pin the wing together nor to splint it. For tonight we have bound the wing up as close to correct position as is possible close to the body and secured it with vet wrap to prevent further injury after first cleaning and treating area with povidine iodine solution. Tomorrow morning the wing comes off completely at the break but the prognosis is not good. He has a small chance with the proceedure but almost none if left the way he is because the bone can not be put back in place to stay long enough to heal.
I'm not very confident that all of this will turn out well but it is the only chance he has to make it at all.

He is taking it all quite well so far and seems calm and alert. I can only hope for the best.

 

[Pumpkinpup]

It's nearly 4 a.m. and I can't sleep. The dread is just hanging over me like a black cloud and I'm physically ill just thinking about all of this. I can't help but wonder what caused this whole thing because there is NO way anthing could have attacked Dickie in his enclosure. Perhaps something startled him badly enough that he hung his wing in the wire and wrenched it into. I just don't know and don't guess that even matters now but it still lingers in the back of my mind.
I have been instructed on how to properly tie off the tissue slightly above the break and then carefully remove the broken wing and cauterize the remaining stump to prevent excess bleeding from the large vein that runs just under the surface of the skin on the underside of the wing.
Karen was great tonight. I was so sick and upset that I don't think I was much help if any other than stabilizing Dickie so she could work with the break. She did a super job I thought. We are going to get up the things we need in the morning to make sure we don't get into the proceedure and end up needing something we don't have. I'm going to contact a local vet who I believe I can get the needed antibiotics from for the bird.
I would like to say a special Thank You to Chillin' in Muscadine (Sara) who is an inspiration and has been a help in advice on this matter since her horrible experience with her little hen, Sadie. I wish both Sarah and Sadie the best of luck.
I will update after the surgery tomorrow. Thanks for all the thoughts, prayers and well wishes. They are all appreciated more than you know.

 

[Jenski]

Oh honey, I am so sorry to read about this! There are lots of ways he could have gotten into something and injured himself; I have heard of this happening to others. Please do keep us posted on your boy's progress.

Sending lots of positive energy your way ~

 

[Missouri chick]