How to Treat a Deep and Badly Infected Wound on an Organic Fantail Pigeon. Suitable for Other Organic Poultry.

I have never been faced before with such a deep and badly infected wound on a bird. It happened because I believed the pigeon had been carried off by the sparrowhawk, not realising that she had escaped and was sitting on a nest in the workshop. Three days later I found out exactly what had happened and by then the wound, which was in effect a deep and wide hole in her side, had become infected. I used green 'Montmorillonite' French clay, mixed with mineral water and three drops of the powerful natural antibiotic - organic grapefruit seed extract, to pack into the wound. 24 hours later with the clay hard and dry over the wound, I began to treat with Essential oil of organic Tea tree - three drops per day for a maximum of 5 days - I stopped on the third day as the infection had cleared up. I put two drops on the clay and the third down the side into the wound. Tea tree is one of the very few essential oils which may be used undiluted on birds and certain other animals. Clay, grapefruit seed extract and essential oils are all items in the first aid kit of any organic smallholder/homesteader or farmer but I have never used them before to treat such a terrible wound. The wound was caused by a young sparrowhawk, which has since, thankfully left the vicinity after a few failed attempts on our fantails. The sparrowhawk pictured on the film is one I caught many months ago after it flew away from me when I surprised it in an attack and it became tangled up in our hedge! We took it away in the car some 10 km to a beautiful wood far away from any farm or other human habitation. Predator attack is one of the major health-related problems on organic homesteads, wild birds of prey are highly intelligent and know how good organic poultry tastes!