Duck Attacked (probably raccoon)

[4thStFarm]

Hi,

My duck was attacked by a raccoon (probably) on Tuesday night (about 72 hours ago). I've been on here to read what to do but still have some questions.

Here's the details requested on the how to post to the injury thread:
1) Duck, female, 1 year old, 5.2 pounds
2) Her injuries are lacerations to the head and neck, a puncture to the top of her head, and at least one of her eyes is scratched out, and the other one is swollen almost shut. It might be scratched out too since it was bleeding when we found her on Wed morning.
6) An animal got into the chicken/duck coop and the duck was attacked as she nests on the floor. She must have put up a hell of a fight because whatever was in there ended up taking a chicken, killing it outside the coop, and eating all its organs.
7) She's been drinking a lot of water. She was definitely eating yesterday, but today I haven't gotten her to eat much of her food. She is doing some normal duck activities: dunking, swimming in the bath tub, preening, shaking out her feathers, laid one egg on Wed night. She is not doing some normal duck activities: she hasn't quacked since this happened. She's also doing some weird things: she is quivering and her head kind of tracks left and then she resets it. It's like a typewriter. Her left eye is the one that possibly still remains.
8) Her poop is very green and watery, but she is a duck... However, she did vomit green liquid twice during her evening swim.
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far? Two shots of penicillin in the breast according to a dosage I found on here. Wash her wounds with beta-dine, soap and water, and water. Antibiotic eye ointment in the eye and other lacerations.
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? There are no vets around here who will see her. So, if she can get better and live a happy duck life, we'll treat her to the best of our ability. If she's miserable, we won't let her suffer.
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. I'll try to get a photo of her wounds.
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use. She's currently in a kiddie pool in our room with straw, food, and water. I'm bathing and dressing her wounds twice daily after she swims in the bath tub for a while. The I dry her with a towel and hair dryer. Then I try to get her to eat some food. She's quite active at night drinking water but less so in the day. I imagine since she's probably blind, she's got her days and nights mixed up.

Main questions:
1. How do I tell if a duck is in pain? I don't want her to suffer, and we'll end her suffering if she is.
2. How long of a course of penicillin to I give?
3. Could she have become infected with rabies? What are the symptoms in ducks? Can it be transmitted to my small children who also help care for her (or me for that matter)?

 

[Fishkeeper]

We need photos. Can you see how deep the puncture on her head is? The odd motions make me think of brain damage, so I'd be worried that it's clean through her skull, into the brain. What breed is she? A crested one, by any chance?

Prey animals in pain are very still and quiet, and they tend to eat less, or not at all. If she's moving around, that's a good sign.

I really wouldn't use soap on wounds. I also wouldn't be giving her the penicillin. Antibiotic overuse is how we get antibiotic resistant bacteria. In addition to that, the injections will cause her a lot of pain, and she doesn't need that right now. In this case, you need to be applying topical antibiotics to her wounds, and only topicals. Systemics, like injectable or oral kinds, should be reserved for systemic infections.

It's possible for birds to be infected with rabies, though it's very rare because they generally don't survive an attack by a rabid animal. An animal that's coherent enough to be hunting food is unlikely to be rabid, though. And, no, you would be very unlikely to catch the rabies from her, even if she got infected by some wild chance. Rabies spreads through saliva, blood, or spinal fluid from an infected animal, and has to get into the bloodstream, accessing the nerves, to infect something else. Even if she got rabid and bit you, I don't think she could draw blood, just bruise, and rabies doesn't spread through bruises.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Try to get some photos.
@casportpony @Miss Lydia know much more about Ducks than I do.

Have you cleaned the wounds at all?

 

[4thStFarm]

 

[4thStFarm]

We need photos. Can you see how deep the puncture on her head is? The odd motions make me think of brain damage, so I'd be worried that it's clean through her skull, into the brain. What breed is she? A crested one, by any chance?

Prey animals in pain are very still and quiet, and they tend to eat less, or not at all. If she's moving around, that's a good sign.

I really wouldn't use soap on wounds. I also wouldn't be giving her the penicillin. Antibiotic overuse is how we get antibiotic resistant bacteria. In addition to that, the injections will cause her a lot of pain, and she doesn't need that right now. In this case, you need to be applying topical antibiotics to her wounds, and only topicals. Systemics, like injectable or oral kinds, should be reserved for systemic infections.

It's possible for birds to be infected with rabies, though it's very rare because they generally don't survive an attack by a rabid animal. An animal that's coherent enough to be hunting food is unlikely to be rabid, though. And, no, you would be very unlikely to catch the rabies from her, even if she got infected by some wild chance. Rabies spreads through saliva, blood, or spinal fluid from an infected animal, and has to get into the bloodstream, accessing the nerves, to infect something else. Even if she got rabid and bit you, I don't think she could draw blood, just bruise, and rabies doesn't spread through bruises.

Thanks for the information! We'll stick to betadine and water and the topical antibiotics. I imagine the skull of a duck is quite thin since they used to fly and all. It's got some white stuff on it now, as you can see in the picture. She's an Ancona duck.

 

[4thStFarm]

Try to get some photos.
@casportpony @Miss Lydia know much more about Ducks than I do.

Have you cleaned the wounds at all?

Yes, we've been cleaning the wounds twice per day. And putting antibiotics cream on them. Are the photos in focus enough? She does have skin wound farther down on her neck but it's not too bad and she wouldn't let me hold her and take a picture of that part.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Poor girl.
It sounds like you are treating the wounds like you should.
As for the Penicillin, I will let @casportpony advise on that. For chickens, I would go with 5 days, but Ducks may be different. (probably not, but still)

The typewriter neck sounds like it's from injury - maybe some nerve damage but that may get better as she heals and gets stronger.
For the eye, I know you said she was swimming and dunking, but I would also flush it with saline to keep it cleared out.

 

[casportpony]

If I were going to give penicillin I think I would give it at least five days.

 

[4thStFarm]

Well thanks for all the help six weeks later, The General, or journal as my preschoolers call her is all healed up and getting adjusted to being blind. Her little friends are a couple weeks old and spend the day with her. I think she hears them eating and drinking and can find food and water if she’s looking for it. She forages pretty well. She’s not yet ready to go back into the regular poultry system of coop, run, microscale rotational grazing since she’s get lost. But maybe when the ducklings are grown and they become a little flock.

 

[JessicaB721]

I'm so glad to read that your little girl is ok! My poor girl was savagely, and gruesomely, attacked by, what I believe was, a racoon as well 3 night ago, around 8pm at night. I was fortunate enough to have found an emergency vet a half an hour away from my home who had a "bird doctor" working that night and saw her. I knew it would go one of 2 ways, due to the severity of the attack - she'd have to be put to sleep or, if by a miracle there was a chance at survival for her, surgery. Thank God that the latter of the two was an options!

Sadly though, they literally had to STRETCH her skin back out and sew her back together! She was skinned from her shoulders to the back of her head. They said there were so many wounds and cuts on her that they were not sure if they could help her. But they were able to. They said the whole length of her neck, from head to shoulders, was cut open and exposed and she had a cut going all the way around her throat and one on the side of it, and had extensive/extremely bad muscle damage. But they did not see any internal damage, damage to her eyes, or anything else. Her wounds were very contaminated with dirt and other debris; but they were able to get her as clean as possible, he said that when they sewed her up, there was no debris in there. But obviously that doesn't mean something extremely tiny could have been missed or there could be some internal damage that they did not see. So I'm crossing my fingers and praying to God that she makes it through. I paid $471.36, and every penny was worth it! It's been a little over 72 hours since I picked her up from the vet and she's still doing really well. ♥

But last night I ended up bringing her back to the vet because she seemed to be choking or having trouble breathing and was making snorting noises and swinging her head around and throwing up food. But they ended up telling me that she was fine, and I'm guessing she just gorged on her food and had trouble swallowing it. Also, since her neck is so swollen, and not to mention completely squished down and sewn into her own body, she will never be able to stretch her neck fully again. Because they did not have enough skin to work with to cover all of the exposed muscle and meat. They basically squished her neck up and sewn it in there. So once she is all better, I'll probably take her to a regular vet and see if I can get some kind of permanent medication for her to help with any pain she might endure throughout her life. Seeing how ducks live up to 15 years!

I also already made the decision that once I'm ready to get her back with any other duck/s, I will not be bringing any males around her, due to the fact that she will never be able to use her neck the same way again, and I'm sure there will always be some kind of pain in there, and I don't want to chance a male trying to mate with her and hurting her. She seems to be making some very noticeable progress, and I am so proud of her. I feel so bad and I know I'm probably hurting her a little every 12 hours, seeing how that's how often I have to give her her 3 oral medications! BUT! In the end, she'll be a strong & healthy duck again. And she's definitely putting up a good fight now! I have to have 2 other people help me just to give her her medicine! One to hold her down and one to hold her mouth open! She puts up a good fight, which is such a great sign that she is getting her strength back so quickly!

I think your idea of placing your girl with young ducklings was a good idea. I think once in able to afford another kennel, I might add in a few young female ducks for her to have as companions. But until then, for the next 2 months, she will be in a little make shift pen in my bedroom, and I will be spending hours with her each night after work so she isn't so lonely! Thank you for this post, because I was trying to find other stories of animal attacks and figure out the next best step as far as reintroducing her to a new flock.

(the first picture is right after the attack, the second is when I picked her up from the hospital after her surgery, the third is how her poor little neck is going to look from now, the forth is of SOME of the stitches and the 5th is how my baby girl looked before the attack. I'm hoping some day she can get back to her old self again, as much as possible, anyway.)