When will he eat again?

[aubreynoramarie]

My Petey. Oh my Petey

some of you got his story in the other thread I have about him.

My showgirls were attacked by coons this morning and miraculously Petey lived (barely). Anyway he sustained some pretty bad injuries and has not had an appetite. I have been trying to force him to drink fluids with antibiotics/ vitamins/ electrolytes etc but he spits it all back out. He will not drink

not to mention he won't even look at food. I guess i understand, he had a very traumatizing day.

I was just wonder if he makes it through this when will he get his appetite back? I don't really see him healing without getting food in his system. I'm just hoping I wake up tomorrow and those scrambled eggs are gone.

I want to force feed him but I believe he has a broken/ dislocated shoulder and I'm afraid holding him tight and still could result in a ton of pain for him. Thoughts?

 

[mljohnson05]

My Arrow just recovered from a Coon attack...In fact today was his first day back outside....
He did not want to eat either.....For several days he Would NOT touch his regular feed.
I had to dig out anything and everything I had in my Frig. to find out what he Would eat......and even when I found his favorite for the day....he still did not always want to eat.

What worked for me, is giving him whatever h wanted to eat...be it eggs, yogurt, apple, carrots mashed up, ANYTHING !!!

I also used baby aspirin for his pain, and once his pain was under control, it seemed that he would eat more at that time.....Other times I had to force feed him.

I wrapped him up in a towel and only exposed his head so I would not hurt him in the process.

Make sure you give him warm soaks with Epsom salt in it for the pain, and it will help with swelling, pain , and infection too.
Clean the wounds well twice a day and apply antibiotic ointment to the wound sites. I found that FlexNet worked really well to hold the dressings in place and to prevent picking of the open wounds.

The other thing I found out that REALLY helped him was to have his Best Girl in the recovery cage with him..... As soon as I put Arrow and his girl Bella together...he started to recover A LOT faster, and was "monkey see, monkey do"
So if she ate, then he wanted to eat...and so on......


Best Wishes,
Laura

 

[aubreynoramarie]

Thanks so much Laura! This is great advice.
He doesn't have many cuts, theres a toothmark on his back that's pretty superficial and a TON of plucked feathers. My biggest worry is his shoulder. It's very swollen and he makes it very clear that it hurts really bad. He was dropped from atop a telephone pole and I am assuming that's where he landed.
Anyway I'm really scared to wrap him in a towel and hurt that shoulder further. Although I guess administering pain meds and antibiotics is more important.

 

[mljohnson05]

My Roo had a hurt shoulder and leg and foot, and could not walk at all for several days....He was pretty bruised under the skin and had some good swelling going on.

Do the soaks and really try to get some pain meds on board for him. After a few days, if you think it is not broken, I would start doing massage therapy on the little guy.... I did massage therapy on my Roo and I think that the massage and the fact that I let his FAV. Girl be with him, (is what got him better so fast)!

for Aspirin.....What I was told by my vet is:

Standard Chicken : 1/2 tab of an 81 mg baby aspirin (So cut the baby aspirin in half and give half tab) EVERY 4 to 6 hours as needed for pain

Small chicken (or bantam): 1/4 tab ( cut the 81 mg baby aspirin into 4 pieces ) give 1/4 tab EVERY 4 to 6 hours as needed for pain

Make sure to keep him in a clean darkened room, so he can get lots of rest !!!!

Only move him when you are giving treatments , and if he is not moving on his own, make sure to keep the food and water within neck reach, and to turn him form side to side, so he does not get any more wounds from laying on one side to long.

I found using a big fluffy towel, allowed me to hold him without hurting him.

You can also use a heating pad on LOW setting to apply heat to the swollen area, (helps increase blood low , which in turn will help with tissue healing, and will also help with pain).


Best Wishes,
Laura

 

[redhen]

I think they can have aspirin for pain.... that may help him eat...
Do you have any good veggies he might like better than eggs??
Like corn on the cob... or peas.. something like that...
maybe grits! Or oatmeal??

 

[aubreynoramarie]

Wow you sure know a ton! Thanks so much. Petey will be getting the best care thanks to you!

 

[redhen]

Quote:
Thats good to know about the aspirin! Thanks!

 

[aubreynoramarie]

Quote:
Fantastic! I will pick some up tonight. Tomorrow I'll prepare the buffet and see what he likes best

 

[redhen]

And the heating pad on low may be a good idea too! Birds need to be kept warm when ill...
But NOT too warm! So watch that....

 

[aubreynoramarie]

Quote:
Good to know. I don't own a heating pad. Should I cover him with a washcloth or something tonight? (showgirl sized blanket!

)