Young male guinea slit his toe open; Won't stop bleeding.

[Pastel the Rooster]

I hatched out 8 guinea keets late last August. Their hatch date was August 25th.
They are about laying age, but I have not seen any eggs, though I am getting eggs from their parents.
I have 4 males and four females, and I have never seen anyone fight.
They don't free range yet, but I do let 3 or 4 out for a few hours, always under super vision.
I was going out today, about an hour ago, to let them out in turns. Two males with two females, and then the other four out once I put the others back in the coop. Well, that was my plan....
I saw that one of the males was holding his foot up, and not putting any pressure on it.
Once I was able to grab him, I had my mother run inside to grab something like Vetericyn+ *spelling* and some cornstarch and flour. She also grabbed a paper towel to put pressure on the toe.
We sprayed the Vetercyin+ on his foot after we put corn starch on it. It slowed the bleeding, but it is still a little bloody.
I wrapped his toe up, but it is still bleeding, even an hour later. I don't have a picture of his foot before the bandage, but I assure you that he is putting no weight on it.
I have him in a dog crate with some towels as his bedding, and he has a blanket to keep it dark and quiet. He ate a little, but he looks quite weak.
I don't want to lose him, but if there is nothing I can do for him, I understand. I will get pictures of his toe when I unwrap his foot to check on it later. I will also grab a quick picture of him not putting any weight on it.

I don't know how much blood he exactly lost, but I was worried he was gonna die in my hands, there was so much blood.
Any suggestions will help.
Thank you,
PtR

 

[Eggcessive]

I would put a gauze pad on the toe and wrap it again, and leave it for the day. Check circulation innthe toe to make sure it is not too tight. By tomorrow, you should be able to leave the dressing off. Flour or corn starch as well as styptic (available where razors and shaving products are sold) are good for stopping blood. Usually, pressure for about 3 minutes will clot blood, but in feet, they tend to bleed more because they are hanging down.

 

[CoopBoots]

Not an expert, but I think sugar water can help with shock/blood pressure issues from the blood loss. If you can get him drinking or safely get fluids into him without aspiration that might help with the weakness. Blood can look like so much, it is scary, but I'd base your assessment on his behavior (lethargy, etc.) If he's standing and not lying down that might be a sign it isn't life or death yet.

Going really far out but if it's a desperate situation and you've tried everything else, a tourniquet or similar on the toe might slow bleeding or stop it, but at the potential cost of damage/toe loss. I can't say if that's a best case outcome, but if I thought I'd lose an animal otherwise, I might be desperate enough to try (given it's just a toe vs. an entire limb.)

Someone more experienced will show up soon. Hang in there!

 

[Eggcessive]

If he is drinking water and eating the sugar is not necessary. But if you want to give sugar water, a tsp per coup is fine. That can help treat shock. But the pain may help him to not overuse the toe, and rest it.

 

[coach723]

Pain is not always a bad thing, it makes them self limit activity and allow rest and healing. I would do as suggested, keep the wrapping on til tomorrow watching for swelling. Check tomorrow, with the bleeding stopped then you can get a better look at what happened. It also may already be less painful for him by then. For some birds, once their brain registers 'injury' it can kind of stick, and may take some time for him to realize he's OK again. Eating, drinking, standing, pooping are all good signs.

 

[Pastel the Rooster]

Here is the little boy. He is settling down for the night.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Soaking the foot a little can often help gauze come loose.

When using regular gauze apply a bit of ointment then the gauze. I prefer using nonstick pads if I have any on hand since they come off a little easier.
You'll want to check that foot daily for a while. May be a good idea to give it a soak in chlorhexidine daily, pat dry, apply your ointment/gauze, then re-wrap daily for about a week. Keep him on clean dry bedding. Once it's healing really well, you can go a couple of days without changing the wrappings.

 

[Pastel the Rooster]

Sorry for not posting in a while! Russell is much better. His toenail is already starting to grow back. He is very happy being with his siblings. Yesterday he even got the chance to hang outside and pick at grass. Well, I put him away a few minutes before his siblings because his older brother chased him off from the grass area. Other than that, he is very happy.
Thank you everyone for your amazing suggestions!!

 

[Pastel the Rooster]

This is going to be the last update!
His toe is completely grown back.
I rehomed all of his brothers and a 2 of his sisters to make my guinea flock numbers even.
He is the only male is his clutch to stay, just because I like him so much!
He is very happy and his foot is not bothering him one bit!

 

[Pastel the Rooster]

I would put a gauze pad on the toe and wrap it again, and leave it for the day. Check circulation innthe toe to make sure it is not too tight. By tomorrow, you should be able to leave the dressing off. Flour or corn starch as well as styptic (available where razors and shaving products are sold) are good for stopping blood. Usually, pressure for about 3 minutes will clot blood, but in feet, they tend to bleed more because they are hanging down.

We do have a gauze pad on it. I feel bad because the poor baby is in so much pain.