Broken talon !

[WeeDodger]

Just fed my mhh onhis bow, and was away to clean his feet, and noticed one of his talons is broken / hanging off.

Its about 1cm in length - whats the easiest way to take it off and clean / protect it

see pic

[Osiris]

it should be ok, but you should watch it VERY carefully, to make sure it doesn't get infected and have a vet check it out.
there is something u can use to clean it up (to an extent) but i cant remember the name for it!! SOZ!

Keep him warm, seems like he's loosing a bit of blood there mate. Don't want shock settling in.

[WeeDodger]

Had a rumble through my first aid kit, iodine and potassium permanganate crystals !

[Osiris]

Had a rumble through my first aid kit, iodine and potassium permanganate crystals !

i aint a vet :roll: - iodine i have used on this before. Warm water too. Emergency surgery should be open at your vets surely. Why not give them a phone, tell them the situation and they may be able to tell you how to proceed better?

[Paddy1]

i aint a vet :roll: - iodine i have used on this before. Warm water too. Emergency surgery should be open at your vets surely. Why not give them a phone, tell them the situation and they may be able to tell you how to proceed better?




ditto definatly woud contact a vet for some advice my shepard lost one of her dew claws and it got infected so with a bop it must be even more dangerous what with the size of them and that (and man don it bleed)

[Hacker]

Had a rumble through my first aid kit, iodine and potassium permanganate crystals !
The potassium permanganate will clot the blood if it is still bleeding.
Use a damp cotton bud dipped in it and gently apply to area of bleeding.
One of my sakers lost a talon a while back completely, so stopped the bleeding and took it straight away to john Chitty the avian vet.
He cauterised the area to stop the bleeding and said the bird will want resting up for the moult.
The talon should grow back if only broken but you must keep it clean
The vet will also prescribe an antibiotic "synolux" to combat infection

[Smithy]

I,m no vet either but mine gave me ferric chloride to stop bleeding

[Jimmy]

He'll be just fine. Wash the wound with clean water and leave it alone. It'll heal fine by itself but will take quite awhile to grow back. My female redtail broke her whole talon off a few months ago. I'll try to get a pic of it....

[GyrXPeales]

The potassium permanganate will clot the blood if it is still bleeding.
Use a damp cotton bud dipped in it and gently apply to area of bleeding.
One of my sakers lost a talon a while back completely, so stopped the bleeding and took it straight away to john Chitty the avian vet.
He cauterised the area to stop the bleeding and said the bird will want resting up for the moult.
The talon should grow back if only broken but you must keep it clean
The vet will also prescribe an antibiotic "synolux" to combat infection
Very good advise Hacker,
Avian blood doesn't have many clotting agents, try to get the bleeding stopped. Besides the potassium permanganate, you could also try cornstarch, or flour, apply some pressure for a couple of minutes, and maybe even ice. Give her some pedialyte or gatorade to replace fluids, and get her to a vet.

[Croft]

had the same happen to a harris few years back just keep clean by batheing every day for a while put a bit iodene in water make sure what he sits on is clean and what ever is under his perch is kept very clean for when he walks on it.dont forget to make sure when he feeds there is no food left on his talon .ie clean after feeding as well, rest for the summer then he will b fine for season.

[Jimmy]

Here's a not so good pic of my females missing talon.

[Rufus T]

Happened to my first Harris a couple of times (wear and tear I suppose, flew him near enough every day). Took him to the vet and after he cleaned the wound up, he put a gel on it called 'New Skin' which protects the quick until the new talon comes through. Hopefully New Skin is still available as this happened over twenty odd years ago. Hope this helps.

[ColdZero]

Happened to my first Harris a couple of times (wear and tear I suppose, flew him near enough every day). Took him to the vet and after he cleaned the wound up, he put a gel on it called 'New Skin' which protects the quick until the new talon comes through. Hopefully New Skin is still available as this happened over twenty odd years ago. Hope this helps.

out of interest how long did it take for a new talon to grow back?

[Rufus T]

out of interest how long did it take for a new talon to grow back?
Can't remember exactly mate but it was months not weeks and it put an end to my season twice.

[WeeDodger]

Clipped off the broken end of talon, put iodine on it to clean it, then potassium permanganate (from avian first aid kit) - hes now happily settled back in mews, and ive pressure cleaned his bow perch.

I have nu gel in the first aid kit, for wound management -my only gripe with the kit is there are no " use this for this injury" insructions.

Well, you learn something new every day, im glad i "wasted" thirty quid on a first aid kit - i would be ****ed without it.

Just how long will this "injury" take to clear ?
Ready for the new season?
Hope so.

[xshadowstorm]

out of interest how long did it take for a new talon to grow back?my fhh lost a talon in feb just kept it clean everyday still only grown half way back

[Hacker]

I do not think Nu gel shuld be used on a wound of this type, more for cuts.
I could be wrong though , my kit is with the birds so cannot check.
It will take a few months to heal properly dependent on how bad the break is.
I would take to vet and get an experts opinion, depends how much you value your bird or sport.
If it is infected and the bird drops dead then you will think the vet bill bloody cheap.
I paid about £70.00 to get my saker sorted.John Chitty said bring it straight in no appointment and he treated as soon as i arrived.
This included a course of antibiotics and also getting the quick cauterised.
Even after this, if the bird catches the wound it can start bleeding again, imagine pulling off your finger nail and just running it under the tap? and then carrying on doing manual work with the hand with the open wound?

[Coedhirion]

Clipped off the broken end of talon, put iodine on it to clean it, then potassium permanganate (from avian first aid kit) - hes now happily settled back in mews, and ive pressure cleaned his bow perch.

.

Beware clipping any thing off!! If the talon sheath is off, you are clipping blood vessel and bird!!! Hawk talons are like dogs claws, if you clip too much you get to sensitive part and more blood than a Hawk has to spare!!
The best is the potassium chrystals, if you dont have any, flour will work I gather in an emergency and as the bird only has a thimble of blood, this could be one. A phone call to a vet at least would tell you if a visit will be necessary. we have repaired cracked talons with superglue and areldite to prevent further damage. The bird has to be layed up till it has regrown, and watched carefully until all chances of further bleeding are passed.
If the bird was on the bow when it happened, look around closely, make sure there is nothing it could have caught its foot in.

[Harris]

Someone once told me that after you stop it bleeding and treat for possible infection, to put a dab of clear quick dry nail varnish over it to seal it. or any other colour you fancy :lol:

[Paddy1]

Someone once told me that after you stop it bleeding and treat for possible infection, to put a dab of clear quick dry nail varnish over it to seal it. or any other colour you fancy :lol:


what and then stand well bak thats gotta sting like mad

[Harris]

what and then stand well bak thats gotta sting like mad

wouldn't think so, but never tried it :rolleyes:

[Coedhirion]

Someone once told me that after you stop it bleeding and treat for possible infection, to put a dab of clear quick dry nail varnish over it to seal it. or any other colour you fancy :lol:

may well work, but would recomend he gets a vet to check as there appears to be a lot missing. If what is left is damaged, the talon may well grow back deformed, or if the blood supply is damaged the end will die and drop off, which means the talon will not regrow at all.

[Harris]

may well work, but would recomend he gets a vet to check as there appears to be a lot missing. If what is left is damaged, the talon may well grow back deformed, or if the blood supply is damaged the end will die and drop off, which means the talon will not regrow at all.

Yes agreed!