New poster, here. We have a flock of Welsh Harlequin ducks, 5 hens and a drake. The hens are about 6 mo. old.
One of the hens was injured two weeks ago (possibly by the drake pulling out her feathers), and I've been keeping her mostly separated and have been administering an oral antibiotic. A few days later, she knocked her wing and bled from the wound somewhat heavily. I stopped administering the antibiotic, not wanting to hurt her worse. Now, two weeks later, the wing injury looks worse than it first did: possibly necrotic, possibly broken, and likely infected (wound smells slightly sweet and is hot). But, the duck is active, flaps her wings, and has continued eating and drinking.
I'm not sure what to do. It seems like a good idea to wrap the wing, but I don't want to restrict air flow. Is there a common splint I can make, or should I leave it alone? Can anyone tell what's going on with the injured site (skin color, heat, smell, and breakage)? I am hoping hard that someone will tell me it looks fine, and that new feathers will emerge soon, but I do doubt that's what I'll hear.
Also: the day after I first noticed her wing injury, the leg on the same side became lame. I assume she injured it because the hurt wing put her off balance, but, two weeks later, the foot is still hot (like the wing) and she continues to limp. There is no noticeable injury or swelling of the foot. What could be going on, here?
I live 35 minutes NE of Asheville, NC, and I cannot find an avian vet. I already went to one vet who knew next to nothing about ducks, and then charged me eighty dollars. If I can do this myself, that would be most practical.
Thank you for any help,
Holly
Photo 1: See gash in the dark center of the wound: Is it broken? necrotic? infected?
Photo 2: Wing spread.
One of the hens was injured two weeks ago (possibly by the drake pulling out her feathers), and I've been keeping her mostly separated and have been administering an oral antibiotic. A few days later, she knocked her wing and bled from the wound somewhat heavily. I stopped administering the antibiotic, not wanting to hurt her worse. Now, two weeks later, the wing injury looks worse than it first did: possibly necrotic, possibly broken, and likely infected (wound smells slightly sweet and is hot). But, the duck is active, flaps her wings, and has continued eating and drinking.
I'm not sure what to do. It seems like a good idea to wrap the wing, but I don't want to restrict air flow. Is there a common splint I can make, or should I leave it alone? Can anyone tell what's going on with the injured site (skin color, heat, smell, and breakage)? I am hoping hard that someone will tell me it looks fine, and that new feathers will emerge soon, but I do doubt that's what I'll hear.
Also: the day after I first noticed her wing injury, the leg on the same side became lame. I assume she injured it because the hurt wing put her off balance, but, two weeks later, the foot is still hot (like the wing) and she continues to limp. There is no noticeable injury or swelling of the foot. What could be going on, here?
I live 35 minutes NE of Asheville, NC, and I cannot find an avian vet. I already went to one vet who knew next to nothing about ducks, and then charged me eighty dollars. If I can do this myself, that would be most practical.
Thank you for any help,
Holly
Photo 1: See gash in the dark center of the wound: Is it broken? necrotic? infected?
Photo 2: Wing spread.
