NEW LITTLE RESCUE WITH BROKEN WING

Louise...I'm so glad you got her in to see Dr. Hauck, sooner than later.

Bless her little birdie heart.
She is such a pretty little one.

Cindy, Robin, Charis for all the kind and encouraging words.

I really feel so bad for this little one. When I saw how bad the wing looked after Dr. Hauck removed the wrap I knew she was in trouble. I had never seen gangrene before and it was really awful to see.

Dr. Hauck assured me she was in no pain and did not feel a thing when he plucked the feathers. I did see her flinch a few times when he was cleaning all the scabs and dead skin. He did show me where there was still blood flow to the lower portion of the wing.

I'm just hoping and praying that this will heal enough on it's own and that she will not require the surgery for amputation.

Louise

Louise...if she does need amputation, even though it's a shame....it's a quick surgery and they do really well.

She is a little cutie Louise

I'm sure that no matter how her wing heals she will have a wonderfully full life.

All of the handicapped animals we have act as if they are just like everyone else of their species, in fact I'm always surprised at how well they actually do.

I am so sorry Louise to hear this :( She looks very sweet. But i guess given the horrible gangrene, amputation was the best decision. As Robin said, they never let their handicap come in the way...infact most surprise us with their will and determination
Sweet Feathered Feet will have a happy life in a great home with a loving momma to take care of her

I think Little Feathered Feet was more traumatized yesterday with the vet visit than I realized. It really was an ordeal for both of us.

She normally goes right for her seed in the morning and today she didn't want to eat. I waited an hour or so and she still had not touched her seed.

I always wait to give her the Cipro until after feeding as it is very harsh on the system.........so we are back to hand feeding..........I gave her 25cc's Kaytee and then her medicine.

I really hope she gets back to her normal self in a day or so.

Louse

Yes, I second the motion. I hope and pray she'll be more than okey.

Tech wrote:

Yes, I second the motion. I hope and pray she'll be more than okey.

Count me in on hoping & praying that she gets back to feeling better & eating on her own.
Please keep us updated Louise.

Louise...I'm very concerned about the gangrene and perhaps that making her feel unwell.

Charis............I had the same concern. I asked Dr.Hauck if I had to worry about the infection from the gangrene entering into her bloodstream. He told me no. He said that this was strictly localized to the wing. I wish I had taken the camera with me when he unwrapped the wing. It looked awful. The black area (gangrene) was about 2 1/2 inches long, going downward from the original break. The bone had not fuzed at all. It was actually broken in more than one place. The tip of the bone was all splintered. He did cut back all the dead tissue up to the point where he showed me there was still blood flow. It was quite clean when he finished.

I don't think I am going to wait the entire one month before bringing her back. I think I will take her back in two weeks to have it looked at again for evaluation. Needless to say, I am keeping a very close eye on her and I am worried. Not just about the possible amputation, but for any signs of complications or other illness.

She did start eating her seed this afternoon and she is very perky and active. She even tries to wing slap me with the bad wing. She actually can lift that wing quite well from the joint on her body. Her poops were green and loose this morning, however tonight they are back to brown/white and well formed.

I am going to give her one more hand feeding later tonight before I give her the Cipro.

I honestly think that she was very stressed by yesterdays trip and all that Dr. Hauck did to her. I am hoping by tomorrow she will be fully back to normal.

Louise

I hope she is back to her normal self tomorrow.

EgypSwiftLady wrote:

She is a little cutie Louise

I'm sure that no matter how her wing heals she will have a wonderfully full life.

All of the handicapped animals we have act as if they are just like everyone else of their species, in fact I'm always surprised at how well they actually do.

For the most part, I think they just learn to adjust .
If the truth were known, many of our handicapped birds probably don't even think they have a problem.

Matilda wrote:

Louise...I'm very concerned about the gangrene and perhaps that making her feel unwell.

Doesn't gangrene keep traveling, so to speak, and kill even more good tissue?

EgypSwiftLady wrote:

Matilda wrote:

Louise...I'm very concerned about the gangrene and perhaps that making her feel unwell.

Doesn't gangrene keep traveling, so to speak, and kill even more good tissue?

I believe it does, if the infected area isn't 'removed'.

[quote="EgypSwiftLady"]

Matilda wrote:

Louise...I'm very concerned about the gangrene and perhaps that making her feel unwell.

Doesn't gangrene keep traveling, so to speak, and kill even more good tissue?[/quote]


That's my worry. I watched that happen to my dad. it started with a toe and took his entire leg.

[quote="Matilda"]

EgypSwiftLady wrote:

Matilda wrote:

Louise...I'm very concerned about the gangrene and perhaps that making her feel unwell.

Doesn't gangrene keep traveling, so to speak, and kill even more good tissue?[/quote]


That's my worry. I watched that happen to my dad. it started with a toe and took his entire leg.

Thats terrible Charis.

Do you have any idea about what the powder might be that Dr. Hauck used on Little Feathered Feet? I know of one but can't recall what its called! Just wondering

I wanted to double check my reply, so I googled Does gangrene spread.
I realize the above piece focuses on humans, but I would assume it pertains to animals as well.

Fancyfeathers wrote:

I wanted to double check my reply, so I googled Does gangrene spread.
I realize the above piece focuses on humans, but I would assume it pertains to animals as well.

Thanks Cindy for the link, It goes for animals too. I just hope that Dr. Hauck is taking the correct steps with L.F.Feets wing.

Little Feathered Feet seems to be back to her normal self this morning. She went right for her seed dish and ate a good breakfast. She is full of energy and I have to bundle her to and give her the Cipro. I don't see any signs of anything else happening at the moment.

I did address the gangrene issues with Dr. Hauck.......I am quite familiar with what can happen. My mother lost her foot due to complications from diabetes years ago.She is long gone, but I remember how a small blister on her heel slowly evolved into infecting her entire foot. I also remember that they did not suggest amputation right away. They kept removing the dead tissue, and kept treating it in an attempt to stop the infection and save the foot. Amputation was the avenue of last resort.

I believe that this is the approach that Dr. Hauck is taking with my little one. Although the wound looked awful, Dr. Hauck removed all of the dead tissue and black scabs. He did so up to the point where the live tissue was and the blood was still flowing. The Cipro he feels is the best of all antibotics to treat the infection. I wish I knew what the white powder was that he packed the wound with.....but unfortunately I did not ask.

My largest concern I did address was the infection entering her bloodstream. He said that was not a concern with this type of injury. He said that if it was a deep wound injury in the body it could affect vital organs, but in this case it was strictly localized to the wing. Fortunately the wound area above the break going from the wing to the body looked clear. The gangrene appeared to be only going downward to the wing tip. The gangrene was on the outer edge of the wing and did not look like it was spreading into the center of the wing, just going downward along the edge.

Ultimately, it was Dr. Haucks opinion that the wing might have to be amputated, but he wanted to attempt healing on it's own before making that decision.

The more I think about this and the more I read about this the more worried I am. He wanted me to wait a month, but at this point I think I am going to bring her back in a weeks time for further evaluation.

Let's just keep all the positive energy going in her direction. I do not want to loose this little one......no way......she is just sooooooo precious.

I do have alot of faith in Dr. Hauck's ability and experience and I don't want to second guess his judgement, but I can't help thinking that maybe the wing should be amputed immediately.

Please tell me what you all think I should do.

Louise

The wing is wrapped up...yes?
I think you should check the wing daily for changes for the worse and any bad odor.

Yes, it's wrapped. I was thinking of that, but when Dr. Hauck was doing so, he had an asssistant holding her during the entire procedure. She is very spry and animated, being alone here, I am afraid of attempting this on my own. What if I couldn't get it wrapped back up?

I know I can purchase what I would need to re-wrap it, but I assume he packed it with that white powder stuff to keep it dry. I would be afraid to clean it and put neosporin or something moist on the wound.....it could be counterproductive.

When Dr. Hauck unwrapped it, even though it looked awful, there was no odor.

I am now a nervous wreck.


Louise

Oh Louise - I just read about your sweet little Feathered Foot. This is an awful story and I completely understand your worries and the state you are currently in.
Please try to be optimistic. Hm - easily said - but I can exactly feel what you are feeling. I have to slap myself all the time when bad things happen and try to stay calm.

Please be sure that I am sending you all my love and healing thoughts that your little pijjie recovers again with 2 wings. It is such a sweet little pij, in fact so tiny that I completely understand your feelings towards her. It is always the smallest and the softest characters we love so very much, the ones who have suffered most - same happens to me with Pina - and we try to whelm them with all our love.

Louise...I don't know what to tell you.

Louise I'm sorry if my questions & concerns have gotten you so worried.

Since Dr. Hauck has correctly cared for so many of your pigeons I guess I would do what he thinks is best... But I would stay very observent to how Little Feathered Feet acts, her eating, sleeping, drinking & energy level, if any of these change I would take her back to the vet ASAP.