Duck Bill and Head Trauma - Assistance Please

[3bird]

UPDATE: We had an excellent appointment with a vet with bird expertise today. After a thorough exam, Amelia received Pen-Combie-48, as well as an Eloxiject (Meloxicam) injection and a Buprenorphine injection. She has been prescribed Matacam and continued Amoxicillin starting again in a couple days. We will have a follow-up visit on Monday with the vet. The consensus seems to be it was a predator, but it's hard to say what it was.

Once she had the Buprenorphine on board, her breathing became much better and she showed more interest in preening and has now even had a little crumble. She is getting her whole head wet now. Our job us to really get her eating with some of her favorites tonight.

We are cautiously optimistic.

 

[3crazyboys]

I'm so glad to hear that Miss Amelia is doing better! It is the worst when our feathered babies are sick or injured. Sending big virtual hugs from one duck momma to another

 

[3bird]

I'm so glad to hear that Miss Amelia is doing better! It is the worst when our feathered babies are sick or injured. Sending big virtual hugs from one duck momma to another

Thank you so much!

 

[3bird]

Amelia was hungry this morning! Her bill is still too sensitive to eat her crumble or pellets out of a bowl, but little pieces of greens and her floating waterfowl pellets in a deep pot of water are a hit! She's also working on clearing out those nostrils (particularly the right one) of blood and puss. She's scratching at the soft tissue injuries on the right side of her face, which seems to suggest some healing is happening. All in all, we remain cautiously optimistic...especially now that she is eating so enthusiastically. Thanks again for all your positive thoughts!

 

[3bird]

UPDATE: Amelia continues to be a fighter! The biggest issue right now is her nostrils, which keep getting blocked from the blood and puss, making breathing laboured. We have been wiping her bill down with saline, and a combination of using gauze and saline to loosen the blockage and then Amelia sneezing, helps open them up. Her left nostril is really blocked, but we got her right nostril pretty clear this morning. She continues to drink water and eat floating pellets and greens (and meal worms!) from the water, but she won't eat any food that's not in water. We suspect her bill is still to sensitive. She did spend a fair bit of time immersing her whole head for the first time today, so that was good. She's also keen to flap her wings. She got a dose of Matacam orally (by syringe) this morning, and we'll start her on the Amoxicillin again this afternoon. Thanks for all the positive thoughts!

 

[Miss Lydia]

UPDATE: We had an excellent appointment with a vet with bird expertise today. After a thorough exam, Amelia received Pen-Combie-48, as well as an Eloxiject (Meloxicam) injection and a Buprenorphine injection. She has been prescribed Matacam and continued Amoxicillin starting again in a couple days. We will have a follow-up visit on Monday with the vet. The consensus seems to be it was a predator, but it's hard to say what it was.

Once she had the Buprenorphine on board, her breathing became much better and she showed more interest in preening and has now even had a little crumble. She is getting her whole head wet now. Our job us to really get her eating with some of her favorites tonight.

We are cautiously optimistic.

I never got this so had no idea how things were going. Great to hear she is doing well under the circumstances

 

[Miss Lydia]

Maybe put some ACV into her water that can help kill off certain bacteria and help with healing. If you do it at rec dose it does not sting at all.
1 Tab to 1 gal of water.

Great to hear she is eating and working on getting back to normal.

Sounds like because of her wounds something grabbed her by the head maybe to carry her off but she was too heavy, What ever it was you can bet it will come back for another try. Predators are relentless once they know where easy prey is.

We have had something outside of our fencing which has upset the birds and me because when I look out into the woods I see nothing so I am setting up a game camera to try and see what it is. We have foxes, coyotes, bears, etc so it could be anything.

 

[3bird]

I never got this so had no idea how things were going. Great to hear she is doing well under the circumstances

Thank you so much!

 

[3bird]

Maybe put some ACV into her water that can help kill off certain bacteria and help with healing. If you do it at rec dose it does not sting at all.
1 Tab to 1 gal of water.

Great to hear she is eating and working on getting back to normal.

Sounds like because of her wounds something grabbed her by the head maybe to carry her off but she was too heavy, What ever it was you can bet it will come back for another try. Predators are relentless once they know where easy prey is.

We have had something outside of our fencing which has upset the birds and me because when I look out into the woods I see nothing so I am setting up a game camera to try and see what it is. We have foxes, coyotes, bears, etc so it could be anything.

ACV = apple cider vinegar? We've been adding a vitamin supplement to her water. I'll read up. Thank you.

On the cause of injury front, what we're all confused about is the scratches and tear on the end of her bill. Otherwise, a bird of prey seems likely. We've kept the other guys in the enclosed run except for when we are right with them. They stick very close when we are out with them. This is potentially a major change to our plans, given that we had expected they would be able to "free range" in fenced areas without a roof like the garden. They certainly don't like being cooped up in the run. :-(

 

[3bird]

Silver Lining: Amelia is getting good at truck rides!