To ointment or not to ointment?

[HutchButch]

Gave two baths today. Here are some progress pics:

 

[Nabiki]

Looks like some improvement. Keep up the treatment.

 

[HutchButch]

Looks like some improvement. Keep up the treatment.

Day 3 update. She's getting wise to how to hop out of the bin, so I started putting a cover on it while she soaks or else petting her while she soaks. She pecks at anything metallic on my hands. Pics:

Left foot (sorry for blur)

Right foot

Right foot side angle

 

[Nabiki]

Looks like it's healing. You'll really see a difference in a few more days, I think. I would probably use the ointment for one more day, then let it dry out.

 

[HutchButch]

Looks like it's healing. You'll really see a difference in a few more days, I think. I would probably use the ointment for one more day, then let it dry out.

Here's an update for day 4. I've been keeping her in the bathtub and placing a sock in the drain so any eggs she might lay wouldn't fall into the drain and crack. She had pulled it out sometime today, and when I put her back into the tub and plugged the hole with a sock, she pecked at it. Long story short, she taught me that she wants more soft and warm things to sit on in the tub. I had also put down some toilet paper, but I guess it wasn't satisfying to her.

Also, she would shiver every time I would go to tend her. I wasn't sure if it was from fear, nervousness, or cold (the house is kept in the lower 70s temperature-wise). Any ideas?

Pics:

@Nabiki When do you think she'll be ready to go back into the hutch? Should I just wait until she's completely healed? What about the swelling of the area where her wounds are?

Also, thank you very much for walking me through this. I really appreciate it. You're a blessing!

 

[Nabiki]

I would keep her inside until her feet are pretty close to healed. When the scabs looks clean and dry, at least. I would still check on her every day after you put her back out to make sure she's still healing.

She doesn't look ready to go out yet. We'll see how she's doing in a couple more days.

I'm sure she's nervous when you're tending her, but quail have a much higher body temp than we do, so she might be getting chilled. You're going to think I'm totally spoiling your bird, but you may want to dry her off with a heated towel. You can either put it in the oven for 10 minutes at 200 or run it in the dryer for a bit to get it warm.

 

[HutchButch]

I would keep her inside until her feet are pretty close to healed. When the scabs looks clean and dry, at least. I would still check on her every day after you put her back out to make sure she's still healing.

She doesn't look ready to go out yet. We'll see how she's doing in a couple more days.

I'm sure she's nervous when you're tending her, but quail have a much higher body temp than we do, so she might be getting chilled. You're going to think I'm totally spoiling your bird, but you may want to dry her off with a heated towel. You can either put it in the oven for 10 minutes at 200 or run it in the dryer for a bit to get it warm.

I'll take the warm towel into consideration. I do dry her off with a washcloth, but it's just enough to make sure she's not dripping or damp. It's like drying long hair and seems to need time to dry completely.

 

[Nabiki]

You may not need to use a warm towel. You probably already have a heat lamp. You can just turn that on her until she's dry.

 

[HutchButch]

You may not need to use a warm towel. You probably already have a heat lamp. You can just turn that on her until she's dry.

Day 5 update. Haven't tried the warm towel yet, but I've been drying her off with a shirt I wear throughout the day, so it's warm. Pics:

 

[Nabiki]

The scabs look better, but is it my imagination, or is the foot with the larger scab more swollen than it was?