Occamstazer~Work hairdos and a blog you've got to read!

[Dace]

I love love LOVE your home! How cute

I live in suburbia but always talk about moving to the country. My Hubby tells me I would never last because I FREAK when I find an unwelcome critter in the house....mostly creepy crawlies here, so I had to laugh about your mice battle.

I am so excited to see that you are a food nut too
Kombucha is great, I love it. Kefir is also a must make project you will want to tackle soon. I am sure we can keep your to-do list growing

 

[Occamstazer]

I feel incredibly narcissistic rambling on here, but I'm getting so much good info
I am so into this forum! I got sucked into BYC too, but not nearly this bad. Everybody on here is so nice, and I am learning how to do all kinds of stuff.

 

[Occamstazer]

I have a sick bird
I posted my dilemma on BYC, but no one seems to have anything to say about it, and I think the advice will be better here. So. The giant sweetheart rooster, Godzilla, has a hole in his chest. I noticed it last week when I was putting some ointment on his comb (the bird who damaged his comb was delicious!)
I feel terrible that I didn't notice the injury when it was fresh, but who turns over their birds for no reason?
Anyway, it looks like an old wound. It's a hole about the size of a nickel, right on his breastbone (no exposed bone, though). The edges are hard and dry, and there is a disc of impacted dirt and crap and so forth in the hole. The skin around it is a little swollen, but not seeping at all. It looks pretty bad. I suspect the cause of this wound is the other guy who is now a tub of chicken salad.
I gave him 1/2cc PPG in the breast muscle yesterday and today. I'm afraid that if I don't get that hardened disc out, and the hard edges open, it will never heal and it'll eventually kill him.
J brought him in the house and I *gently* scrubbed it with warm antiseptic and a soft toothbrush. I then packed it with antibiotic ointment and sealed it with a bandage and tape. I'm hoping the trapped goo will soften up the disc and I can clean it properly tomorrow. He gets OACV in his water every day.

Bird gurus, help
I'm so worried about my boy. These birds are supposed to be food, but Godzilla is special. I wuv him, lol. Also, he's awesome and if he dies he can't father giant chicks.

 

[Farmfresh]

If this is a very large bird (and with a name like Godzilla it sounds like he might just be ), you may be looking at a breast blister.

Sometimes very large birds will bruise their breast bone and then continue to irritate it when trying to perch. Wet litter can aggravate the problem. The blister usually has strep bacteria in it, so cleaning it well and applying an antiseptic is a good first plan. Then make sure litter is dry and clean and it might be a good idea to provide a lowered perching area that is wide enough to sit on comfortably and bedded well with clean straw or shavings.

Hope this helps.

 

[Occamstazer]

Farmfresh, I think you nailed it, that sounds exactly like what he has!
And yes, he's a large boy, I weighed him when I brought him in for doctoring. Just under 14lbs.
He used to sleep on top of the coop, which I did not approve of. Awhile back, I redesigned the perches so that one is very low. It's a 2X6, and it's about 10 inches off the ground. I keep their bedding pretty clean, but I may add a daily spot clean after hearing this.
Thanks for the info

 

[Javamama]

...And I learned another new thing today. Breast blisters. Sounds like you are doing the right thing, and I hope he gets well soon!

 

[Occamstazer]

Well, Godzilla may or may not be getting better. His treatments leave both of us panting and trembling, but I'm gradually getting the wound clean. If I had some sedative, I would feel totally comfortable slicing it open, scraping it clean, and stitchy stitchy...but that's neither here nor there. Working on a conscious animal is very hard for me.

I've trimmed away all the feathers on his belly, and each day I flip him over and thoroughly spray the hole with Blue lotion (antiseptic). I then take a pad of gauze, gently massage and work out what dirt I can get, and repeat a couple times. I pack the hole with Neosporin and off he goes. I'm concerned because the wound is not limited to a hole. There is about a two-inch diameter circle of flesh surrounding the hole where the dermal layer has lifted off of the breast muscle. Pain aside, you could lift up the edge of the hole and peek into the bird if you were so inclined :/

It looks pretty serious to me. If penicillin won't cut it, should I step it up to Baytril?

And treatment aside, is it possible that he's just too large to function? I notice small abrasions on his wing tips. I love the idea of a giant rooster, but if he's so large he's falling apart, maybe I don't want him in the line :/

I'm a worried chicken mama today, thanks for listening to me cluck

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

when you give him the treatment do you cover his head with a towel or whatnot?

i still cant believe that we gave our little hen, Chip, the bumblefoot 'surgery' and she didnt even flinch. The Big Man held her and we just put a towel over her head....and that was it.

be careful, of course, with your hands and that staph infection...wash wash wash and all

 

[Occamstazer]

Ohiofarmgirl, I've been covering his face with a dishtowel, and he's very cooperative. It's getting him upside down and letting him back up that gives us both the shakes.

And I'm thinking about that staph right now, because he bit the ever-living #$%^ out of me today when I grabbed him. I automatically sprayed it with a couple squirts of Blue lotion and OH MAMA does it burn. Then I noticed that the first ingredient is ethanol. What is WRONG with the people designing these products?
I've got access to a lot of stuff (dad was a paramedic and I'm an only child ), I think I just might design my own antiseptic that is NOT alcohol based and includes some sort of local anesthetic. I am never using blue lotion on an animal again!

I also thought it might be fun to take a sample of his wound to one of the labs on campus where I spend so much time, and culture it to see just what we're dealing with...I know, I'm a dork

 

[big brown horse]

Ohiofarmgirl, I've been covering his face with a dishtowel, and he's very cooperative. It's getting him upside down and letting him back up that gives us both the shakes.

And I'm thinking about that staph right now, because he bit the ever-living #$%^ out of me today when I grabbed him. I automatically sprayed it with a couple squirts of Blue lotion and OH MAMA does it burn. Then I noticed that the first ingredient is ethanol. What is WRONG with the people designing these products?
I've got access to a lot of stuff (dad was a paramedic and I'm an only child ), I think I just might design my own antiseptic that is NOT alcohol based and includes some sort of local anesthetic. I am never using blue lotion on an animal again!

I also thought it might be fun to take a sample of his wound to one of the labs on campus where I spend so much time, and culture it to see just what we're dealing with...I know, I'm a dork

In the mean time, try "solar cane" it is a non-alcoholic antiseptic. Goodl luck!

ETA: UGH, typos!!!