What is wrong with my Louis? Video added!

[The Sheriff]

A couple of days ago I noticed my 2 year old emu Louis had a large hematoma on his back and feather loss. I first thought maybe he rolled under the ranch fence and stood up suddenly and injured himself. I thought maybe he pulled the feathers out trying to scratch the injury. Now I wonder if he is being picked on. He resides with his brother, same age and two 15 month old girls. They have always gotten along quite well. Louis is in a committed relationship with LaVerne, a year old fainting goat, so maybe that has something to do with it. They like to take long walks on the beach in the moonlight, etc. Maybe one of the females is jealous and pecking him?

Do I need to be alarmed about this? He is carrying on as if there is nothing wrong.

 

[Yoda]

I have only dealt with hematomas on dog's ears. With those they sometimes need to be lanced. I cannot tell how swollen that one is. I would keep and eye on it and try to keep the other birds from bothering it. It does look like he has been pecked cause the feathers are growing back. As long as there isn't any infections he should heal on his own.

 

[kathyinmo]

I wonder if those 2 jealous emu sisters are picking on sweet Louis. They would do that, I bet.

Hope he has a quick recovery and no more problems!

 

[The Sheriff]

I don't think it can be drained Yoda as it is hard. He seems to be fine despite the boo-boo but I am going to watch out for him. He hangs out mostly with LaVerne, his fainting goat BFF.She has horns but she would have to be a magician to inflict that damage to the top of his back. My guess is Chica and Loca. Hopefully it's over and he'll heal just fine. He is the sweetest of all four of them combined!

 

[yinepu]

I think Louis will be fine.. in looking at the pics he has feathers growing back.. so the worst may very well be over.


Just so you can compare...
Paco was attacked by the neighbor's dogs back in January.. at the time I thought they were strays.. later on I found out where they belonged.

here are pics of him a month later
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/714603/planet-rothschildi/410 (you'll have to scroll down a bit on that page)

They tore him up pretty well.. he had blood all over him and me... I had to pick him up and carry him back to a safe area since he collapsed right in front of me.. He had extensive wounds down his neck, thigh, base of neck as well as several puncture wounds all over his body. I honestly didn't think he was going to survive that night.

But he did survive and is completely healed .. he just has to finish growing back all his fluffy feathers.

 

[Tame Emu Guy]

I have no advice, Sheriff; but gee, yeh, it's a substantial injury!!

Supreme Emu

 

[The Sheriff]

Thanks everyone. Yinepu, compared to Pacu, Louis's wound looks great. The skin isn't even broken. It looks like he got hit with something. I'll never know for sure but I will keep a better eye on that pasture.

 

[yinepu]

Thanks everyone. Yinepu, compared to Pacu, Louis's wound looks great. The skin isn't even broken. It looks like he got hit with something. I'll never know for sure but I will keep a better eye on that pasture.

I was hoping it would give you a little perspective on Louis' injuries
Granted I would still watch him like a hawk cause every situation is different
However Paco was in very bad shape and managed to survive and heal without any complications.. so it can give you a lot of hope where Louis is concerned.

Please keep us updated on him.. every bit of info we can gather on injuries and how well the birds recover is pretty much priceless (plus we love Louis!)

 

[The Sheriff]

Here is a little video I shot to try and show the injury. Not easy to do!

 

[Tame Emu Guy]

Hey, Sheriff. How is Louis?

I watched the video: the pasture in your pen is magnificent. Pastures like that don’t exist in the wild. And Chica is an impressive bird. I sometimes wonder how the tame (captive) birds would get on in the wild. Looks like Chica would do all right.

S.E.