George’s Foot is Almost Good
George’s foot has taken a long time to heal, but it’s getting really close. It will never be completely healed, because he has a broken dislocated arthritic toe bone that is an old injury. But the bottom pad of his foot started out with infected tissue and a scab that was well over an inch in diameter with a smaller scab area (left). After surgery to clean it up, it started to improve. In early December the foot was much flatter and the remaining scab was down to under an inch (right).
Here George shows off one of the many bandages he had on his foot while it was healing.
Now the bottom scab is less than a centimeter long. In this new photo the scab is covered with Nolvalsan cream.
Every night and every morning since George arrived we have put chlorhexadine spray and Nolvalsan cream on his foot. That’s how long it takes to treat a foot injury in a bird. It’s great to see his foot is finally, finally almost healed. But it’s so tough to be patient for that last little bit of scab to finally be gone. C’mon scab, be gone!
As you can see, a bum foot doesn’t slow George down. He has been making these test flights for weeks now. I don’t have the heart to tell him that he’s too fat to fly. Oops… it’s called “high wing load” not fat.
5 Comments
It’s looking so much better, beyond comparison! Good work from the vet and specially from you, you have patience I tell you! It did take a long time, but consider geese can (if everything goes well) live up to be 35 years, so he has a lot of time left to walk:-) This means he is almost ready to go, which makes me sad in a way but happy that he can start his new life at the sanctuary.
Our geese have these test runs too, specially when it’s starting to get dark.
All winter they have been quiet because of the cold and now it warms up a little they’re back at running around. Felix still escapes his field, by accident (I still haven’t clipped his wing, I feel a strong resentment), but time is running out because befor too long they will start mating season and I can’t have him fly into the other geese pens to start a fight. So wish me luck these next few weeks.
I’m going to miss George when he goes to his sanctuary. I like hearing about him and his foot problem. You are a good mom.
High Wing Load – i love that. That’s my problem too. LOL I will so miss that George. He’s just so handsome and regal, a goose of high accord, royalty maybe……
Watching George heal has simmered down some of the greif of loosing Willow. It’s been a year tomorrow, since she died in my arms. Thank you SO much for sharing him. I just wish more of my friends with geese had web cams. Love to you Flapper! And of course the rest of the flock. Big hugs to your human too!
Oh Tiff, I just wanted to also let you know of a slight glitch on the site. It says I am from Waterloo, Canada, but it’s Burlington, near Hamilton.