- Apr 14, 2009
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Yesterday my dog grabbed one of my ducks while he was outside and injured him really badly. I'm amazed that the duck is still alive, and feel awful that I let my dog out and he hurt the duck. I'm going to start keeping the ducks in a pen, even though I wish they could be free-ranged - but it's just not safe.
(Please be cautious in proceeding because I discuss his wounds rather graphically...you can skip to the next paragraph if you'd like.)
The duck has wounds all over, mostly on his underside. He's got feathers missing from his wings and back and some scrapes but for the most part is back is alright. But on his underside he's got several wounds that go beneath the entire skin and fat layer to his muscle layer, which is almost entirely (and miraculously) intact - only a couple small scratches past the skin layer. I don't know if that's good (that they're not deeper) or not, but the main problem is that the main wound, right across his lower chest, is a 3-inch circle/oval. It's very big, and I don't know if he can recover.
Yesterday my sister and I spent several hours irrigating the wounds and pulling them together and tying the feathers together with thread to bring the skin together and minimize the size of the wounds. I don't know if it'll help much, but I didn't know what else to do. I'm praying he makes it.
This morning I went out to check on him (I put him in a separate kennel in the shed near the main duck enclosure with a heat lamp - it's cold here) and he was still hanging on! He was even rather annoyed with me when he saw me and lowered his neck, which let me know that he's feeling pretty good. He never bites (unless you GIVE him your hand, and even then not always) but he often chases people (and the dogs, ironically) in an attempt to scare them....
And last night before bed he had started to talk a little again.
One question I have is: Should I let him out with the other ducks in their pen today? I don't know whether it would be more stressful to be apart (those ducks are so attached to each other) or more stressful to be outside in the cold, walking around. I'm also worried he may try to "do the deed" with the duck hens and hurt himself. So I'm leaning toward leaving him inside. Does that sound like a good idea?
(Please be cautious in proceeding because I discuss his wounds rather graphically...you can skip to the next paragraph if you'd like.)
The duck has wounds all over, mostly on his underside. He's got feathers missing from his wings and back and some scrapes but for the most part is back is alright. But on his underside he's got several wounds that go beneath the entire skin and fat layer to his muscle layer, which is almost entirely (and miraculously) intact - only a couple small scratches past the skin layer. I don't know if that's good (that they're not deeper) or not, but the main problem is that the main wound, right across his lower chest, is a 3-inch circle/oval. It's very big, and I don't know if he can recover.
Yesterday my sister and I spent several hours irrigating the wounds and pulling them together and tying the feathers together with thread to bring the skin together and minimize the size of the wounds. I don't know if it'll help much, but I didn't know what else to do. I'm praying he makes it.
This morning I went out to check on him (I put him in a separate kennel in the shed near the main duck enclosure with a heat lamp - it's cold here) and he was still hanging on! He was even rather annoyed with me when he saw me and lowered his neck, which let me know that he's feeling pretty good. He never bites (unless you GIVE him your hand, and even then not always) but he often chases people (and the dogs, ironically) in an attempt to scare them....
One question I have is: Should I let him out with the other ducks in their pen today? I don't know whether it would be more stressful to be apart (those ducks are so attached to each other) or more stressful to be outside in the cold, walking around. I'm also worried he may try to "do the deed" with the duck hens and hurt himself. So I'm leaning toward leaving him inside. Does that sound like a good idea?
