Apr 6, 2018
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Hello all! My duck has a very bad wound in her back that we think is infected. It was covered in maggots, but we managed to remove most of them. The skin almost looks as though it is rotting. We sprayed some hydrogen peroxide and applied a bit of medicine that kills maggots. If anyone knows what this is and how we can help her, please let me know ASAP!

UPDATE: We think it could possibly be flystrike, but we aren’t sure.

Pictures:
 

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Yes, I would agree, that is FlyStrike. If you see are still seeing maggots, flush well with warm soapy water, diluted betadine or chlorhexidine and try to get all off that you can, use tweezers. I would not use any more Peroxide. While you are at it trim some the feathers away from the wound so you can see it better.
Once you get all the maggots off, apply triple antibiotic ointment or vetericyn to the wound.

Does she have bad odor? How deep does that wound go?
If it has a bad smell and flushing/getting the maggots out does not help, then personally I would give her antibiotics to help fight infection. Do you have any on hand?
@casportpony
 
All the maggots need to be removed. I agree with removing some feathers too so you can see better.
A large syringe w/o the needle is great for flushing wounds. You may need to remove dead tissue as well. A scalpel works well but if you nervous about using that sharp kitchen scissors can work as well.

Clean her up some more and post more pictures. We can try and help you more from there.
 
Wow, that looks pretty bad. :hugs Is a vet an option? If a vet is not an option I think you need to remove all dirt, debris, maggots, maggots eggs, and dead tissue, then clean it as suggested by @Wyorp Rock.

Can you clean it up really well and post new pictures?

edited to add: great advice from @FlyingNunFarm too.
 
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Thank you all so much! We removed all the maggots we saw, and we will try and do everything we can that y’all told us about. Thank you again! She is already doing much better.
 
Alright. We cleaned her up! All the maggots are gone, we trimmed the area, and we put triple antibiotic on it. The only thing we didn’t do is remove the dead tissue. We’ve never done anything like that and we didn’t know how or which tissue was dead. She is acting normal- eating drinking, pooping, quacking. Do you think we should give her an antibiotic that she eats/ is injected?
Thank you again for all your help!

Here are the photos: (it’s shiny because of the antibiotic)
 

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Alright. We cleaned her up! All the maggots are gone, we trimmed the area, and we put triple antibiotic on it. The only thing we didn’t do is remove the dead tissue. We’ve never done anything like that and we didn’t know how or which tissue was dead. She is acting normal- eating drinking, pooping, quacking. Do you think we should give her an antibiotic that she eats/ is injected?
Thank you again for all your help!

Here are the photos: (it’s shiny because of the antibiotic)
It looks like it's healing pretty well! If you don't notice odor or pus, then I think I would just continue taking care of her like you have been since she eating/drinking well and acting normal.

Thank you for the updated photos! I would be appreciated if you would take the time to take photos over time as she heals, it can be helpful to others that are looking for information about healing wounds.
 
Great! I will! And the odor has almost disappeared, although not completely. Thank you for all your help! I will keep updating!
So there is still a bad odor? I would flush the wound really well for another day or so - use something like Chlorhexidine (Hibiclens) or Betadine. IF the smell continues then I would consider administering antibiotics if she were mine.
 

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