Well, here is a short tutorial on splinting a turkey leg. All in all we've found it's hard to know if your bird has a broken leg unless it's really badly broken. Since their bones are so small and fragile it doesn't look like much except a bit of a bump. Before we first splinted the leg on this girl it had turned blu-ish and was very swollen. These pics are from the third day of treatment.
So, first off we brought the girl inside and have her in a small box with a warming light so she isn't stressed and can put all of her energy into healing and doesn't have to move around much. Then each night we fill a bucket with a hole cut in the lid and let her soak her leg in epsom salt with warm water.
Surprisingly she just lays down and falls asleep. I guess the warm water feels good to the leg. We just used an old cat litter bucket (we use them for everything) that we washed out really well and we added bricks to the bottom both to stabilize it so it wouldn't tip with her on it and to keep from having to use enough epsom salts for four gallons of water.
Then we lay her on her back on a towel and gently dry off her leg.
You can just barely see the slight swelling just above the ankle. The first day it was bent slightly and swollen and blue. It's still just a little swollen but not much and the color is all but normal.
Next I cut the corner off of styrofoam mushroom box and crushed it in my fingers to make it bend without breaking. It's the perfect shape and length for her leg since it flairs out on one end. That makes it fit over her ankle and foot without confining them too much while still bracing her leg into a straight position.
The first attempt cracked and split instead of curling nicely.
Then I wrapped it with stretchy vet wrap. We bought it in the horse section at TS. It comes in multiple colors. My daughter picked this bright blue which seems to work with the other turkeys and her. They don't peck at it. I wouldn't recommend red or anything with spots.
And here it is all wrapped up again.
And here she is standing up on it again. It was very warm today and sunny so we thought the sunshine would be good for her and she loved being with her buddies for a few hours.
Hope this helps someone else if you ever have to splint a leg for some reason. This is the first bird we've ever had with such a problem so it's all a little trial and error although, I have to admit, my mother is a veterinary parasitologist who taught vet school for 30 years so I've kind of had some exposure to things most people don't get to see. We did have a chicken that we think cracked her leg one time that healed just fine with a lump on it so we knew it was possible to even attempt to heal her. I chose to use the styrofoam splint instead of something harder just to avoid the extra step of having to wrap the leg with cotton batting before putting on the splint before wrapping it. With this turkey, who is named Pogo for a reason, we knew we had to work fast or she would just flop around and hurt herself even more. I wouldn't suggest trying this if the leg is badly broken and certainly not if the skin is broken in any way.
So, first off we brought the girl inside and have her in a small box with a warming light so she isn't stressed and can put all of her energy into healing and doesn't have to move around much. Then each night we fill a bucket with a hole cut in the lid and let her soak her leg in epsom salt with warm water.
Surprisingly she just lays down and falls asleep. I guess the warm water feels good to the leg. We just used an old cat litter bucket (we use them for everything) that we washed out really well and we added bricks to the bottom both to stabilize it so it wouldn't tip with her on it and to keep from having to use enough epsom salts for four gallons of water.
Then we lay her on her back on a towel and gently dry off her leg.
You can just barely see the slight swelling just above the ankle. The first day it was bent slightly and swollen and blue. It's still just a little swollen but not much and the color is all but normal.
Next I cut the corner off of styrofoam mushroom box and crushed it in my fingers to make it bend without breaking. It's the perfect shape and length for her leg since it flairs out on one end. That makes it fit over her ankle and foot without confining them too much while still bracing her leg into a straight position.
The first attempt cracked and split instead of curling nicely.
Then I wrapped it with stretchy vet wrap. We bought it in the horse section at TS. It comes in multiple colors. My daughter picked this bright blue which seems to work with the other turkeys and her. They don't peck at it. I wouldn't recommend red or anything with spots.
And here it is all wrapped up again.
And here she is standing up on it again. It was very warm today and sunny so we thought the sunshine would be good for her and she loved being with her buddies for a few hours.
Hope this helps someone else if you ever have to splint a leg for some reason. This is the first bird we've ever had with such a problem so it's all a little trial and error although, I have to admit, my mother is a veterinary parasitologist who taught vet school for 30 years so I've kind of had some exposure to things most people don't get to see. We did have a chicken that we think cracked her leg one time that healed just fine with a lump on it so we knew it was possible to even attempt to heal her. I chose to use the styrofoam splint instead of something harder just to avoid the extra step of having to wrap the leg with cotton batting before putting on the splint before wrapping it. With this turkey, who is named Pogo for a reason, we knew we had to work fast or she would just flop around and hurt herself even more. I wouldn't suggest trying this if the leg is badly broken and certainly not if the skin is broken in any way.
