duck attacked - chest wound advice needed

[kylee2katie]

I came home yesterday to find my muskovy in the duck house alone while the others were out and about. I went in the pen to check on her and found blood on her breast feathers. After inspection, she has a torn spot under her feathers - it's like something peeled the skin away from the meat. The "meat" isn't torn, just seperated from the skin. It's about 2 inches wide with blood but not running blood. I patted it with a clean damp cloth and applied triple antibiotic ointment. She normally doesn't like to be held but was very calm and almost "cuddley". I held her in my lap for quite a while before letting her down. She went straight back to the pen and into her house. I herded the rest into the night pen and closed the door. I went back out a few hours later and she was perched on the side of their pool watching the others swim and "frolic". This morning she was out walking around the pen but was hesitant to come out. When I left for work, she was walking around the yard. I don't know what got a hold of her and was hesitant about letting them out today but did....
What do I need to do further for her? any type of special food, water additive, meds, etc.?
She is the one on the right in this picture. The wound is about 1/2 inch above the black dot on her chest.

 

[easttxchick]

I found this while searching for something that could maybe help you. Kasia posted this on another thread.
Hope it has some info you can use.
Good luck with your ducks.

"I run a bird, duck and chicken rescue and have gotten several severely injure ducks and chicken. One duck came in after being hit by two cars and her back end has been totally skinned and her leg was broken and the bone was sticking out. Of course this happened on Christmas Eve night so my vet wasn't available when she was dropped off at our house. I was trained by a wildlife sanctuary and basic avian first aid from my avian vet so I pretty much know what to do in such emergencies.

Here is what I would suggest. Get some iodine or betatine, and dilute it 1 part of iodine to 10 parts of water. Rinse the open wound areas twice a day with the iodine/betadine solution. Since this was dog inflicted, they really do need to be put on antibiotic injections or orally. The skinned areas will not grow skin back, some of the tissue will die, so gentle debridement will be necessary.

To dress the wounds, use honey. My avian vet said that honey is a natural antibiotic and even he uses it on deep wounds to promote healing. Honey has healing properties. The skin won't grow back over the areas, and if you do find maggots, that won't necessary be a bad thing. Maggots eat only dead tissue. I have an Americauna hen, Phoenix, that was hit by a car and sat on the side of the road fo 4 days before I got her. The maggots are what saved her live and kept her from getting an infection.

I think your ducks have a great chance, as long as they are kept clean and their wounds are cleaned twice a day."

 

[kylee2katie]

Quote:
Thanks so much - it's amazing how attached you get to these babies - I'm taking my lunch break to get iodine/betatine and go see our vet about antibiotics. I have several jars of local honey so that will be easy. Again, thank you for your advice - it is greatly appreciated!

 

[easttxchick]

Wish I could take credit for it, but like I said, I took it from another BYCer(Kasia).
Hope it helps!
I know what you mean, my ducks are just wonderful, adorable little creatures-love them!