- Jan 18, 2016
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Graphic image warning - duck with a deep leg injury.
Several days ago my young Blue Swedish duck came out of the pond with a deep gash running from the back of her hip down to the bottom of her foot, to her toe at some points. It cut down to the bone but thankfully there appears to be no tendon damage and she did not go into shock or experience any severe pain. There were a few flies on her even though I found her right after the injury. I rinsed out the wound, sprayed it with Vetericyn spray, bandaged it and splinted it to keep her from bending it and pulling the skin. I do not think the skin will heal easily because most of it was stripped from the back of her leg and it does not look like stitches would work here.
We have kept her leg bandaged and in a clean environment - she is outdoors with one of her siblings for comfort, but the poop is quickly cleaned up and we are keeping it as sanitary as possible. Apple cider vinegar goes into her water and we rinse out her leg with saline water, use Vetericyn spray, and bandage it every day. There were some maggots but we have cleaned them out and they did not appear to cause any damage.
The problem is that her leg seems to be infected - it started to faintly smell yesterday and looked and smelled worse today. It could be that it got infected from the pond water, but we had cleaned it out well. She had seemed to be healing well the day before but now looks worse, the bandages have a bit of a green stain where they touched her leg and it looks like there might be some pus. It also smells stronger. We have been doing everything we can to try to keep it clean, but since I have never had any ducks with an injury more serious than a mild case of bumblefoot I am afraid that I do not have a lot of supplies.
What should I get to prevent infection at this point? Is keeping the wound wrapped trapping the infection in? If we leave the wound unwrapped, I worry about more maggots or her injuring her foot and leg whenever she tries to walk. Is there a certain timeframe where she would not be able to make it and it would be better to put her down or possibly amputate her leg? We cannot take her to the vet, because they don't treat birds, but I am willing to do what I can to help her. If it is better for her to be put down or amputated to prevent a painful last few days, I would like to know.
The duck seems lively and energetic and still has a good appetite, but I am not sure about her chances of survival. Any advice is welcome. Sorry for the long post! I would appreciate quick responses so I can buy the medicine and get it here in time.
Several days ago my young Blue Swedish duck came out of the pond with a deep gash running from the back of her hip down to the bottom of her foot, to her toe at some points. It cut down to the bone but thankfully there appears to be no tendon damage and she did not go into shock or experience any severe pain. There were a few flies on her even though I found her right after the injury. I rinsed out the wound, sprayed it with Vetericyn spray, bandaged it and splinted it to keep her from bending it and pulling the skin. I do not think the skin will heal easily because most of it was stripped from the back of her leg and it does not look like stitches would work here.
We have kept her leg bandaged and in a clean environment - she is outdoors with one of her siblings for comfort, but the poop is quickly cleaned up and we are keeping it as sanitary as possible. Apple cider vinegar goes into her water and we rinse out her leg with saline water, use Vetericyn spray, and bandage it every day. There were some maggots but we have cleaned them out and they did not appear to cause any damage.
The problem is that her leg seems to be infected - it started to faintly smell yesterday and looked and smelled worse today. It could be that it got infected from the pond water, but we had cleaned it out well. She had seemed to be healing well the day before but now looks worse, the bandages have a bit of a green stain where they touched her leg and it looks like there might be some pus. It also smells stronger. We have been doing everything we can to try to keep it clean, but since I have never had any ducks with an injury more serious than a mild case of bumblefoot I am afraid that I do not have a lot of supplies.
What should I get to prevent infection at this point? Is keeping the wound wrapped trapping the infection in? If we leave the wound unwrapped, I worry about more maggots or her injuring her foot and leg whenever she tries to walk. Is there a certain timeframe where she would not be able to make it and it would be better to put her down or possibly amputate her leg? We cannot take her to the vet, because they don't treat birds, but I am willing to do what I can to help her. If it is better for her to be put down or amputated to prevent a painful last few days, I would like to know.
The duck seems lively and energetic and still has a good appetite, but I am not sure about her chances of survival. Any advice is welcome. Sorry for the long post! I would appreciate quick responses so I can buy the medicine and get it here in time.
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