Life on a farm ain't all pretty. Sometimes nature is not so nice. You know Ginger was attacked by a dog a while back, and though she's gotten much better, she still won't pick up that wing. I found her the other day, laying on her back in the goose "pond" (read: puddle). She'd been there for some time and was soaking wet. I took her in to dry her off, since she's not that waterproof since the injury, and discovered that I could see the injury on her wing. Basically, it was covered in necrotic tissue. Yes, I was queasy, I will admit that, but I did remove the tissue and discovered how bad the injury really was and why it was not healing. This is why:
Basically, the dog tore her wing open on the top, and caused a nice hole further down. Nasty. This photo is of after I cleaned it, so you're seeing the iodine stain and a bunch of cleaning stuff in there and so on.
To make matters worse, I found that because she had not been holding the wing up properly, she has a fair amount of frostbite on the part that holds her primary flights in place (basically her hand), because of all the dragging on the ground through the snow. It was pink and swollen and the base of the feathers were bleeding.
A major cleaning and rebandaging was in order.
(Am I being good?)
She was very patient. I am hoping that, since I can now see what's going on and can actually touch it and treat it, she might heal. I've taken better steps to insure she doesn't have frostbite as well. She's completely bandaged with a gauze pad and Vetwrap and then covered in the warmest thing I have: batting. Add a fashionable sling, and any girl is ready for a day in the puddle.
Attempt number 1. The sling was too low. Yes, she is hiding in my vest.
Attempt number 2 kept the wing up and tight to her body. Much better!
If I get this to heal on my own, it will be a triumph, and I'll be having a drink to celebrate, I can tell you that. I only hope I am on the right track with it now.
Good job! If you can get the topical antibiotic to the open areas of the wound, and keep it as clean as possible, I think she's got a good chance. She looked good on Saturday when I was there, eyes bright, etc.
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