# Healing of an open wound ...



## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Hi. I have another thread going about a young one who survived a hawk attack. I just was able to catch him last night and we went to the avian vet today.

They examined him and x-rayed him. The good news is, his foot injury is a fracture, not a bad break, so that can be splinted.

But n the more serious side, he has an area where he sustained a serious gash...the skin is basically torn away and there's not enough there to stitch back together, according to the vet. She is very concerned about the viability of the bird.

They are going to debrade the current forming scab, remove the detritus and stuck feathers from the area, cleanse and dress the wound, splint the leg, and I am gonna go get him.

But I have a question about this injury. What are your experiences with whether an injury such as this can heal decently ?

There is no internal damage. the skin is just shredded away exposing the muscle membranes beneath. It's not a huge area; it's not like the entire side of his body. It is on his abdomen, starting from his upper leg and moving across to some of his body. I am not positive of the size of the area, but for now I could say roughly 3"x 2" or so.

I mean, I have seen ferals with healed-over wounds that were larger and nastier. But I am wondering how well they can heal something like this. If it is just kept clean, re-dressed often, and the bird kept on proper meds....do you think he has a decent chance at it healing ? It doesn't seem to me that the absence of the skin is really anything of mortal danger...but I dunno.

If I can get pics later, I will...but that's all the info I have right now until I get him...

...just wanted some replies regarding your experiences with patients you have had....Thanks...


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## PigeonQueen (Aug 13, 2006)

Hello , several rehabbers on this site have had feral pigeons with some very nasty wounds and they have recovered well. Please do not give up hope. With antibiotics and flushing out of the wound several times a day the pigeon has a good chance of recovery.

I dont have alot of experience with wound injuries but some of mine have done well. I hope Amyable or Feefo will give you some good feedback on this one as I know they have had to deal with some very bad injuries.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

I have had Pigeons that have been scalped, re-grow skin and re-feather given time.


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

This bird should be fine with the care that it has already gotten and will be getting. Pigeons are incredible in their ability to heal from the most horrific of wounds/injuries .. often all they need is a little help from their friends (us).

Terry


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## trinity (May 18, 2007)

i have had birds which also had sharp dog bites on their back and deep cuts by hawk attacks, provided shelter and food they can get cured of such things by their own. so this wound with medical help will very easily solve the issue. 

we in india dont have much of vets who care for pigeons. so we use the red soil as a natural healer. this works out for any deep cut or wound.


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## trinity (May 18, 2007)

the bird in the photo attached had lost more than half of its head portion due to some accidental injury by his owner and they had lost all hopes.
i bought this bird from them and it took 6 months for it to get back almost all lost feathers, skin and its now a happy breeder.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Doesn't sound like much of a problem to me. With good nutrition, cleanliness and time, it oughta' heal just fine. A good skin antibiotic might help.

Pidgey


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Thanks for the replies...that's kinda what I thought. Granted, the bird hospital deals mostly with Psitticines and Finches...I don't think the vets are aware that the healing capabilities of pigeons are more robust.

I picked him up last night....he seems pretty strong and with-it. The flayed skin isn't as bad as I had thought...it is basically th inside of his upper leg, right near where it meets his abdomen...about half of the circumference is gone for a height of about 1-1/4".

The vet cleaned it, treated it l, applied tegaderm, and bandaged it, along with splinting the fracture in the lower leg. He is on cipro, medacam, and metronidazole.

I have a recheck tom'w.

He is eating and drinking well. So for the moment, all is good.

My bank account, however, is in far, far worse condition.....


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

I'm glad he's doing pretty well, and I'm very sorry about how expensive it is--if I could help at all I truly would. Bless you for going to all extremes as usual. I had a baby once who was pecked on the back pretty badly. I cleaned the wound, smothered it in Neosporin, and wrapped part of a new ace bandage around his middle (wings and all) and then followed this up with the top of a sock. The elastic holds the sock on but not too tightly and keeps it clean. IF you can get the pigeon not to squirm out of the sock, that is. Good luck!!!


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

yes the xray is expensive or probably the biggest cost...It sounds like if he is eating this may be a good out come, if the wound was old and he had dead tissue then I would be worried, but sounds like you got him just in time....and saved his life. my homer that was attacked healed very well and in a shorter time than I thought he would, he had some "flaps" of missing skin. I cleansed his wounds with nolvasan and he just got oral baytril and then probios when that was finished. the only sign of his injuries is one wing is a bit thicker on the top than the other, but he made a full recovery and was in with the rest in two and half weeks, which made him very happy.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Jaye,

Here's an old thread you can review where I had one that had a bad wound in that same area:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f6/rough-weekend-16964.html

There's a link to pictures down the way.

Pidgey


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