Duck severely bullied and injured

[ducck]

Hello,
I have four female ducks, two khaki campbells and two cherry valleys. A few months ago one of the cherry, Pebble was limping so I took her to the vet. They said it was probably something internal but they could not be sure until they had run more tests which would be very expensive and she would have to be under aesthetic which is risky in birds. So I decided to keep an eye on her and bring her back if more symptoms appeared. She was perfectly happy with the others for several months until today when I went out too check on them and they were all in a large bath like tub they have, which is deep enough for them not to touch the floor. As I got closer I saw that most of the feathers around the bottom of Pebble's neck had been torn out and there was lots of blood. She had also been attacked around the base of her tail near the oil gland and around her vent. She was nearly sinking in the water, was drenched and shaking severely. I should add that when they are in the water the other cherry regularly tries to mate with her, climbing on her back etc (could this be the same thing?). I brought her inside and put her in a dog crate with food and water. She has barely any balance and has trouble standing. I don't understand why they would suddenly turn on her, the other cherry valley is her sister. Bullying must be the only cause as my cat was inside and the others are fine. Why didn't she try and run?!
Please help I am very worried!
Thanks

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry about your Duck.
Hopefully others that have Ducks will chime in. @Miss Lydia @casportpony @Pyxis

If you can, get some photos of the wounds and give more information about your set-up, what you feed, etc.

General care for wounds would be to rinse/flush them well - you can use saline, betadine, chlorhexidine or if you don't have those, warm soapy water (rinse well). Trim the feathers away from the wounds so you can get a good look at them and they stay cleaner. Apply triple antibiotic ointment or something like Vetericyn to the wounds.

I would keep her where she can be warm for the time being.

 

[ducck]

I'm sorry about your Duck.
Hopefully others that have Ducks will chime in. @Miss Lydia @casportpony @Pyxis

If you can, get some photos of the wounds and give more information about your set-up, what you feed, etc.

General care for wounds would be to rinse/flush them well - you can use saline, betadine, chlorhexidine or if you don't have those, warm soapy water (rinse well). Trim the feathers away from the wounds so you can get a good look at them and they stay cleaner. Apply triple antibiotic ointment or something like Vetericyn to the wounds.

I would keep her where she can be warm for the time being.

Ok I will add some photos though it might be difficult as she is very stressed I am worried about her vent it looks serious

As for set up -

their night time coop is a arkus large duck house and is 105cm long, 90cm wide and 118cm high

during the day they are in a 3 x 4m walk in run which has 12 square metres of floor space.

they also have a small shallow bathing pool in their run

They were out foraging when the attack happened however, and in the large deep tub I have outside their run

I feed layers pellets with verm-x wormer, oystershell and grit.

I don't have anything that would work as antibiotics but heading to the vet later - will they have something? Ill give her a warm bath and cut her feathers.
Thanks for your help!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Don't stress her taking photos for our sake.

Yes, if you vet care is an option, that is best. They should have medication and be able to take care of her wounds.

I would just keep her warm and calm, forget the bath right now if you are going to the vet, it sounds like she's in shock.

Are you in the UK?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Its really hard to know why they would turn on her. But I know if they pick up on anything off with her or any other duck they will try to get rid of the sick or injured by trying to push them out of the flock or herd what ever the animal is. In the wild sick or injured draws predators in.
This will give you a chance to keep a close watch on her make sure something is going on that maybe wasn't easy to pick up when she was with the others? Plus if she is low on the pecking order she may have been submissive and it got out of hand? Just really hard to know exactly what the reason was.

@Wyorp Rock gave great advise on caring for her. Please get some pictures of what they did to her.

 

[ducck]

Its really hard to know why they would turn on her. But I know if they pick up on anything off with her or any other duck they will try to get rid of the sick or injured by trying to push them out of the flock or herd what ever the animal is. In the wild sick or injured draws predators in.
This will give you a chance to keep a close watch on her make sure something is going on that maybe wasn't easy to pick up when she was with the others? Plus if she is low on the pecking order she may have been submissive and it got out of hand? Just really hard to know exactly what the reason was.

@Wyorp Rock gave great advise on caring for her. Please get some pictures of what they did to her.

Here are some pictures of her back and vent. The vent one is really hard to see what's going on

Don't stress her taking photos for our sake.

Yes, if you vet care is an option, that is best. They should have medication and be able to take care of her wounds.

I would just keep her warm and calm, forget the bath right now if you are going to the vet, it sounds like she's in shock.

Are you in the UK?

I probably can't take her to the vet today but I will ask for medication
I am in the Uk also will having a salt water bath help? Doesn't salt help wounds? I can't really see what's going on... she has calmed down a lot and is very tame and friendly generally so may not mind

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Here are some pictures of her back and vent. The vent one is really hard to see what's going on
View attachment 1984444 View attachment 1984445


I probably can't take her to the vet today but I will ask for medication
I am in the Uk also will having a salt water bath help? Doesn't salt help wounds? I can't really see what's going on... she has calmed down a lot and is very tame and friendly generally so may not mind

I'm glad she is calming down.

Poor thing! Yes, you can use salt in the water to clean her wounds. I would not let her drink the water though, that will cause runny poop.
Hopefully the vent is not too badly damaged. I would trim the feathers there so you can get a good look (and it will be easier to clean as well)
Her back, while it looks a bit alarming, to me unless there's gashes, she just had feathers ripped out and that should heal fine and she'll feather out again. Probably be tender for a bit. The bloody vent (is oil gland involved too) is more concerning.

 

[ducck]

I'm glad she is calming down.

Poor thing! Yes, you can use salt in the water to clean her wounds. I would not let her drink the water though, that will cause runny poop.
Hopefully the vent is not too badly damaged. I would trim the feathers there so you can get a good look (and it will be easier to clean as well)
Her back, while it looks a bit alarming, to me unless there's gashes, she just had feathers ripped out and that should heal fine and she'll feather out again. Probably be tender for a bit. The bloody vent (is oil gland involved too) is more concerning.

OK i will put her in a warm salty bath, around the oil gland, there is a small amount of feathers missing but it doesn't look to serious - i can't see what's going on with her vent she won't let me
How can't ducks do so much damage? Their beaks are so rounded I would have thought they would not have been able to draw blood. I have just seen the other cherry valley pinning one of the khakis down to the ground by her neck... I may have found the culprit.

 

[ducck]

I'm glad she is calming down.

Poor thing! Yes, you can use salt in the water to clean her wounds. I would not let her drink the water though, that will cause runny poop.
Hopefully the vent is not too badly damaged. I would trim the feathers there so you can get a good look (and it will be easier to clean as well)
Her back, while it looks a bit alarming, to me unless there's gashes, she just had feathers ripped out and that should heal fine and she'll feather out again. Probably be tender for a bit. The bloody vent (is oil gland involved too) is more concerning.

I have cleaned her up now and had a better look at her vent - I am not sure what has happened but there is a small bloody lump hanging for the upper part. It isn't very clear but maybe you can see something from these pictures?

 

[ducck]

@Wyorp Rock Taking her into the vet soon really worried about her