Emergency! Need advice ASAP

[FenDruadin]

I am so sorry about your duck! That is SOOO hard. She sounds like she's in rough shape, but ducks are hardy and she may pull through yet.

I wanted to mention that it is a common misconception that all maggots are good for cleaning wounds. It is true that a strain of maggots is used in some healing traditions, and increasingly even in modern Western medicine (especially for severe burn victims), to clean wounds. However, not All strains of maggots eat ONLY dead flesh. Many strains will also eat the healthy flesh and will carry many forms of bacteria and illness into the blood stream of the animal.

So for that reason, it is very important to get the maggots out as thoroughly as you possibly can, and to continue removing them until they are all gone--more will probably hatch out over time and you'll have to keep removing them. Sprays and such should really help, especially in keeping more flies from laying.

My husband had a quail get injured and ended up with maggots. Her story did not end happily, but that doesn't mean yours won't. In general, ducks are hardier than quail anyway, and this one had it REALLY bad.

Good luck to you and her.

 

[xke4]

Ivermectin will kill the maggots.

 

[bock]

I am so sorry!

I hope she can pull through this challenge and live a great life.

I agree, get the maggots OFF!

 

[dutchhollow]

I was just going to post ivermectin, I did use it on a goose with an injury once, worked without harming him.

 

[chickensioux]

As a former vet tech. maggots are very treatable. If you have killed them, start removing all that you see with tweezers. Disgusting I know. With TLC, vitamins, antibiotics and keeping it warm, it should recover.

 

[chickboss]

Quote:
I was under the impression that the maggots used in medical practice were bred in sterile enviroments for 1-2 generations before used for wound care. Kind of interesting. Any updates skyjam?

 

[FenDruadin]

Quote:
Quite possibly true--I actually don't know very much about it--just that it is in fact done. And I learned the bit about it being used on burn victims from a work of fiction, so that may not even be true--but it was the kind of fiction that includes a lot of factual detail, so I do believe it's true. Hmmm. Now I'm curious, though--I think I'm going to google around a bit.

 

[FenDruadin]

Okay, so google yielded excellent returns. In particular, I found this fascinating & detailed article:

http://medicaledu.com/maggots.htm

I was especially impressed to read that maggot therapy applied to gangrenous limbs as a last resort to save the limb show a 40% success rate. And apparently, when applied earlier in treatment (as opposed to as a last resort), the percentage is even higher.

Sorry for hijacking, by the way. Just found that interesting. How is the poultry patient doing?

 

[jsvand5]

Quote:
I found some Nitrofurazone ointment too, I also bought a can of permethian spray for flies, maggots & wounds. I tried it & so far it seems to have killed some. She has been thru alot today, I'll start again in the am.

I think your best bet is to flush the wound with the hose. The duck won't like it, but it should get all of the maggots out. You will probably have to let it heal indoors to have any chance of keeping them away no matter what method you use to control them.