Post by Bridget on Aug 22, 2009 15:59:01 GMT -5
Well, the molt has been going fantastic! Charm dropped another secondary yesterday, and a primary the other day. That makes only 5 primaries and 7 secondaries to go! Woot! Her feathers are coming in absolutely gloriously, and I've been trying my best to give her the time and space she needs. I've been feeding her generious meals every other day, as sponsor reccomended. I've given her mostly fatter-type of foods, i.e. natural chicken, quail etc. As well as natural foods, such as cottontail rabbit and fox squirrels. This diet has been working great. Her cere and feet have really yellowed up, and she's absolutely healthy- you can feel her keel, but it's not sharp by any means- she has a good "layer" of fat on her. I clean out her mews once or twice a month- enough to keep it reletively clean, but doesn't upset the hawk- and I try to weather her once or twice a week. I check her over and change her water regularly as well. Everything has been going great except...
...her feet. Last week, I checked her feet, like I always do, and I noticed that on the bottom of her feet there is a slight pinkish tint. Thinking it could possibly be irritation due to sitting in the mews and such, or possibly a carpet burn (some of my perches are carpeted- but I've replaced the carpet at the beginning of the summer) I wash them both daily with water and then apply an antibiotic cream daily as well, and have kept her fat. Here's the odd catch though: It's not swollen, not warm to the touch, she doesn't favor it at all, she's acting like a perfectly normal bird- jumping around the mews happily as if her feet are perfectly fine. She lets me mess with her feet, and doesn't even care. So it's physically not hurting her, but just looks a bit strange to my eyes. Could this be caused by what I'm feeding her?
If it was irritation due to the perches, wouldn't it have manifested itself much sooner than just now? She has been free lofted since mid-way through last season, and up until now her feet have been perfectly fine.
She does land on her perches rather hard, and the lip around her bath pan is hard plastic, so I have been wondering if the path pan's rim could've caused this. She enjoys baths occasionally (usually on hot days in the late morning) and always has the habit of stepping into her bath pan and taking a few sips of water after she is finished eating her meal.
I talked to my sponsor about this last week, and he says that she will be fine. I am continuing to wash her feet daily and apply the antibacterial cream to it as well. It hasn't gotten worse, but it is taking its sweet old time getting better, that is for sure.
Here is a picture. Please keep in mind that my camera is not the best by any means, and you'd have to see her feet in person to really see it. Trust me when I say here feet are not swollen or warm to the touch. It's just a coloration on the bottom of her feet, particularly the one I am holding up (the other one has a bit of coloration, but this one has more):
I'm keeping a very close eye on her. If anything happens, I have my sponsor's number on speed dial, and there's a new vet in Sikeston that my sponsor was talking about. I really don't want to be dealing with bumblefoot. I don't think I am, but I am not taking any chances.
Any words of wisdom, comments or information regarding pink coloration to the feet? I'm freaking out here. I really want to start this season off right!
Thank you for your time.
Bridget
...her feet. Last week, I checked her feet, like I always do, and I noticed that on the bottom of her feet there is a slight pinkish tint. Thinking it could possibly be irritation due to sitting in the mews and such, or possibly a carpet burn (some of my perches are carpeted- but I've replaced the carpet at the beginning of the summer) I wash them both daily with water and then apply an antibiotic cream daily as well, and have kept her fat. Here's the odd catch though: It's not swollen, not warm to the touch, she doesn't favor it at all, she's acting like a perfectly normal bird- jumping around the mews happily as if her feet are perfectly fine. She lets me mess with her feet, and doesn't even care. So it's physically not hurting her, but just looks a bit strange to my eyes. Could this be caused by what I'm feeding her?
If it was irritation due to the perches, wouldn't it have manifested itself much sooner than just now? She has been free lofted since mid-way through last season, and up until now her feet have been perfectly fine.
She does land on her perches rather hard, and the lip around her bath pan is hard plastic, so I have been wondering if the path pan's rim could've caused this. She enjoys baths occasionally (usually on hot days in the late morning) and always has the habit of stepping into her bath pan and taking a few sips of water after she is finished eating her meal.
I talked to my sponsor about this last week, and he says that she will be fine. I am continuing to wash her feet daily and apply the antibacterial cream to it as well. It hasn't gotten worse, but it is taking its sweet old time getting better, that is for sure.
Here is a picture. Please keep in mind that my camera is not the best by any means, and you'd have to see her feet in person to really see it. Trust me when I say here feet are not swollen or warm to the touch. It's just a coloration on the bottom of her feet, particularly the one I am holding up (the other one has a bit of coloration, but this one has more):
I'm keeping a very close eye on her. If anything happens, I have my sponsor's number on speed dial, and there's a new vet in Sikeston that my sponsor was talking about. I really don't want to be dealing with bumblefoot. I don't think I am, but I am not taking any chances.
Any words of wisdom, comments or information regarding pink coloration to the feet? I'm freaking out here. I really want to start this season off right!
Thank you for your time.
Bridget