Duck bill injury

[cedar4252]

My Pekin drake got the front part of his top bill bitten off by a snapping turtle. I'm worried he can't graze/eat enough. Any suggestions?

 

[chickensioux]

I have heard they will do fine if they can eat. How much is missing? Have you seen it eat or drink?

 

[crystal98110]

How bad is it? (how much was taken off?) Is he still eating? Pics would be helpful! Poor baby!

 

[cedar4252]

Ah ha....my reply button is now working. He seems to be eating some, but not grazing like he normally would all day long. Lots of talking while his gf eats, so I'm not sure what I need to do for him.

 

[chickensioux]

You can put neosporin (without pain killer in it) on it but with as much as they dabble in water that might be pointless. You can clean it with a betadine solution and let it dry before letting it drink. Or just keep an eye on it and make sure it eats.

It is probably very sore, so it might take a little while before it is comforatble enough to eat.

Good luck, but it sound like it will be fine.

 

[cedar4252]

Thanks for the advice and encouragement. He seemed much happier this evening. He ate some lettuce, grain, and a couple of June bugs I caught for him. I know it must be sore.

 

[Lopatos]

Having just had a Pekin suffer a similar bill injury from the resident snapping turtle, I'm interested in hearing how the cedar4252's Pekin adapted over time.

What sort of long term healing/regrowth occured?
Was the poor drake finally able to shovel in normal domestic duck food?
Was the duck able to successfully resume the foraging for insects/snails/greens/etc. that ducks so dearly love?
How did it tolerate cold weather. We've had -30F here, so frostbite is a concern?

I'll add a few observations for anyone else experiencing this sort of challenge. I found that feeding in the intial days at least was facilitated by giving the wounded duck its food in a round, pint ice cream container. I filled the container about 1/4 full with a mix of defrosted peas, handy invertebrates, rice and anything else I thought the duck might like, then added water until the container was about 2/3 full. This made sort of a soup that was easy for the duck to get her bill into and strain out the edibles. On the down side, a sort of depression seems to be setting in as she can't effectively forage with the other ducks, something that is a big part of their life for most of the year. She ends up moping with her bill tucked under a wing.