Ducks injured by Racoon attack

[rlehl2144]

Four days ago, I opened our coop as I do every morning to discover a horrific massacre. My beautiful flock of 9 Khaki Campbell's & Golden 300 were eaten by one or 2 raccoons, leaving 3 injured. I have since trapped and eradicated several coons, so I am certain they were the culprit. My concern is with the 3 ducks that survived. The male appears to have sustained slight damage to the back of his neck and the back of his head. He holds his neck close to his body most of the time, even when walking. One of the females also has some damage to the back of her neck and the other has no visible wounds, but has a swollen crop and one of her eyes appear to have discharge. They won't let me near them, but I did manage to corner them and spray their wounds with antiseptic spray. When I throw food to them, they seem slightly interested, but seem to have difficulty bending their necks to get the food. They are free range and are staying away from the chickens and other fowl. They aren't quaking like usual & dont run towards running water like they used to; just ignore it. My hens quite laying, which I figured would take a while to get back to doing so. Does anyone else have any similar experience? Will they recover? I am optimistic that 4 days later they are still alive, but I am concerned for their quality of living. Taking them to the vet is out of the question also.

 

[Amiga]

They are likely in shock.

I would set up a chute similar to what cattle people use, just alot smaller, so that I could get them into a spot where I could lift them. I would put them in a tub of lukewarm water, no soap.

In the tub, you can watch them closely, see how they move. It will clean them off. It will help them relax a little.

There may be puncture wounds around the vent or under the wings or near the tops of the legs. You need to be able to assess the condition of each.

You may need to give them antibiotics if they have puncture wounds that get infected.

I would give them vitamins with probiotics and electrolytes right away to help with the shock.

They are traumatized - it will affect their behavior.

They need to be in a safe place. I would consider moving them to a different shelter at least for a while.

 

[rlehl2144]

I figured they were in a state of shock, but i am clueless beyond that. Thank-you for the advice, Amiga, I will try that.

 

[Amiga]

Sorry for your losses. Please keep us updated.

 

[rlehl2144]

Sorry for your losses.  Please keep us updated.

Thank-you.

 

[rlehl2144]

They seemed to be a little better this morning. They were quaking a little, which is a great improvement! I placed them in a spare outdoor dog kennel with water and elevated their food pan so they don't have to bend their necks. It worked and they started eating! I don't know why I did not think of this before! I had to go to work, so I am praying they will continue to improve!

 

[Cowgirllil]

Two days ago my ducks were injured and harassed apparently by my dogs. Three of them appeared to be in bad shape. Their abdominal feathers were pulled out and they have puncture wounds all over their back abdominal sides. I didn't think they would make it but I began treating them right away in ways I knew for my horses. I put clean sawdust in their nesting areas and I sprinkled agricultural line in that for them to hopefully have their seeping injured skin dried out by the lime. I also puffed some lime on their injuried area and it seemed to really dry things out immediately. I always have on hand an alfalfa based feed supplement that contains antibiotics that I get at the feed store. It is labeled Aureomycin Crumbles. On reading more about duck first aid I found that the ingredient that is contained in the antibiotic was the same antibiotic ingredient used with certain duck bacterial infections so I knew it would be likely safe for my ducks. I mixed this with their duck feed and mixed it well so they would ingest it. It looked just like their hen feed but is grey. I give them this mix two times a day and their feeder is empty so I know they are getting it. (I put like 1/2 to 3/4 cup with about 1 1/2 quarts of grain. I worry this is too much but I want to stop infection because dog bites can cause severe infections.) I read the lady's post who knows about treating ducks and she said to clean up the bitten area with Betadine solution 1:10 parts so I mixed and sprayed the torn areas. Then she said to doctor them with honey so I covered all of the injured areas with honey. I even put a little honey on lettuce, romaine, and room temperature frozen peas all of which are a treat for my ducks. So far my ducks are doing great. The most injured limp a little because they were bitten badly, even deep puncture holes. I keep them warm and am hoping for the best. I'm planning to continue treating them diligently for 6 total days and longer if the wounds aren't looking healed. It took me a while to come to the realization that my dogs did this as the dogs were with me when these 2 month old ducks were babies in my front room but I'm quite sure my dogs did it. I was told coyotes or fox would have killed them immediately instead of playing "grab the ducks". And I believe it was done by both my dogs as the ducks weren't able to make it to the pond 4 feet from the torn out feathers and I think they could have made it into the pond if it was just the one more jealous dog. I hope my health care here might work and help someone else. The Aureomycin Crumbles aren't expensive and I have used it for years with my horses for all bacterial type of infections. That is a key thing to the treatment, preventing infection from killing the injured ducks. (I have saved wild bunnies and seagull injured with the antibiotic crumbles and use it as the first line of treatment. Best wishes with your duck friends.

 

[rlehl2144]

So my only drake that survived the coon attack over a week ago has been refusing to extend his neck. He holds it close to his body at all times. He will drink, but not eat. I have personally seen him run over to dropped food, only to lower his head a bit and then unable to pick it up. He refuses to eat out of my hands. I guess I should have handled them more. Yesterday, I spent 15 minutes massaging his neck, extending it and gently lowering it back. He seemed to tolerate it ok. Today, he was no better. In a desperate attempt, I fashioned a collar out of an empty toilet paper roll to force him to extend his neck some. It did the trick. He doesn't like it and seems to have difficulty drinking now. I took it off for now. I'm worried he will die of starvation. Any suggestions?

 

[rlehl2144]

Two days ago my ducks were injured and harassed apparently by my dogs. Three of them appeared to be in bad shape. Their abdominal feathers were pulled out and they have puncture wounds all over their back abdominal sides.

How are ducks doing, Cowgirllil?

 

[Cowgirllil]

How are ducks doing, Cowgirllil?

Thank you for asking. They seem all healed up. Their beautiful white sides have big brown patches where the terrible bites and punctures were bloody a week ago. The areas look brown and all dried out. We doctored them (as I told about) for five solid days and this morning they were given the last Aurelomycin mix in their feed. I treated them with spraying the Betadine, covering the entire area with honey and giving the Aurelomycin, plenty of water, clean bedding. I missed "day five" TX due to unforeseen incidents but then did the entire cleaning and honey on "day six". We even encouraged them to go into the pond and they stayed in there about 5-10 minutes and then walked around the yard. They are out of the woods in pretty sure. Two ducks have a limp and I'm crossing my fingers that they will return to regular mobility. Thank you