Two two swans were brought to us via the RSPCA late one evening. (They are not actually a bonded pair.) One had substantial damage to its tongue and the other had damage to its wing.
The swan with damage to its tongue, had a hook removed from it by a passing farm vet the day before. The swan was kept in a barn over night to recuperate but in the morning the tongue was very swollen and sticking out of the side of the beak!
The RSPCA were called and brought the swan to us for assessment. Our Vet gave the swan a full check over and there were no other injuries and the swan seemed to be healthy.
The tongue was so swollen due to infection that it was being pushed out of the beak. The swan was then inadvertently cutting the blood supply off to its own tongue with its beak. The swan was given long acting antibiotics and pain relief and sent to a local rehabilitation centre to recover. We suspect that once the swelling reduces in the tongue the swan will be able to return to normal life and be released back into the wild. Below are some pictures of the swan.
The second swan seemed to have a broken wing upon arrival so the vet gave the swan a full examination to ensure there were no other injuries. the swan seemed to be fine other than having a slightly limp wing. The vet could not feel any obvious breaks but we decided to take an x-ray to be sure. A swan cannot be released to the wild if both wings are not fully functioning. Once the swan was settled on the x-ray table we placed a towel over its head to keep it calm and dimmed the lights. The vet studied the x-ray and couldn’t find any obvious reason as to why the wing was limp, there were no breaks. The bird was given some pain relief and sent to a rehabilitation centre along with the other swan to be assessed over the next couple of days.
A couple of days past, and we have been updated that the swans have made a full recover and been release back where they were found.
