Help duckling has puncture wound in crop foods coming out of it

[AngelinaThePekin8]

Tiny really wants out, I don't really what to do to make her happy in there. She gonna hurt her self climbing the bars, I don't have a way to let her explore a bit to keep her stimulated while safe and not creating a poopy mess in the house.

I think it's a good idea to keep her in the house for today and even tomorrow no walking outside even for a minute. Poor girl wants to go back outside.


I tried letting her out of the kennel under supervision for a good while but she wants to do is go where she's not allowed.

She's got a flat rock a mirror and cat toy in with her but those obviously don't seem to be entertaining.

Any ideas on how to keep her happy? But in a clean safe environment?

 

[AngelinaThePekin8]

Tiny seems to be healing properly and is still pacing her kennel quite a bit but mostly it seems to happen when she wants something.

She's also getting a little better with me putting the silver sulfadiazine on her suture area. I've been trying to do positive reinforcement training with her using treats and when she does the correct behavior on her own (like go where I'm pointing) I make a click sound and reward her with a treat.

Tiny has been having a bunch of cecal poops (even before the medicine) I just figured it would be a good idea to take note of that, there's also other kinds of poops. Or maybe it's the (maybe five bite size for her pieces per training session) treats that she gets that make it look that way?

Nothing is leaking trough the sutures it seems, and she's still very active when I'm around to see what she's doing. Still have no idea what might have caused her injury, all the rest of the flock is fine no new injuries or signs of predation, I believe she tore it on something or a guinea fowl, chicken, duck must of done it.


She's getting more of her feathers in.
And she's playing in her water that she made really dirty after I cleaned it not so long ago.

 

[Eggcessive]

Once wounds are sutured, I would not use the silvadene or the Vetericyn. If you got stitches, you leave them alone for the skin to heal. However, since you have the cream, I would try to wipe it off gently with soap and water or saline, Vetericyn, etc. Then leave it alone. If she gets really dirty, then you could clean them slightly. Can you let her out with your supervision for a few times? Or put another one near her? Just don’t let her bathe or get wet (except for her face) until her sutures are out. I will tag @Miss Lydia again to make sure my instructions are good.

 

[Miss Lydia]

They are good @Eggcessive I've not had to deal with stitches but Keeping them dry sounds much better than moist or wet.
@AngelinaThePekin8 If you happen to have a dog X pen they work great for keeping one where you want them and gives them some extra exercise and maybe then bring her in a buddy for a while? When I had my cochin bantam inside I used boxes etc to make her a area inside where she had more room and didn't have to stay in her dog crate all the time.

 

[AngelinaThePekin8]

Once wounds are sutured, I would not use the silvadene or the Vetericyn. If you got stitches, you leave them alone for the skin to heal. However, since you have the cream, I would try to wipe it off gently with soap and water or saline, Vetericyn, etc. Then leave it alone. If she gets really dirty, then you could clean them slightly.

So don't use the cream? Or do?
The vets office hardly gave us any info, on how to use it (they wrote how often to use it and to do a thin layer over sutures) and because we had to leave her (I think cause they didn't know when they'd get time to see her) I was never able to ask the techs, the vet any questions. And come pick up, when we paid for everything the lady basically just said what was on the paper they gave us and it felt like I couldn't really ask her any questions about Tiny's at post wound treatment care.

Can you let her out with your supervision for a few times? Or put another one near her? Just don’t let her bathe or get wet (except for her face) until her sutures are out. I will tag @Miss Lydia again to make sure my instructions are good.

I let her out whenever possible to wander in front of her kennel. I'm thinking tomorrow I could let her outside for a few minutes under supervision though, since it's been more than 24 hours since she got the sutures in.

I've been making sure her water stays as clean as possible, anytime I notice it's dirty I rinse the bowl and put fresh water in it.

It's hard to see her skin and the sutures themselves with how thick the feathers are in that spot, but as far as I can tell she seems to be on the right track with the healing. I will try at some point today to get pictures of the sutures.

 

[Miss Lydia]

After getting stitches, it is important to follow the instructions given by your doctor or nurse. The time it takes for stitches to come out depends on the depth of the wound, the location of the wound, and the type of stitches.3 The wound area should be kept clean and dry for the first 24 to 48 hours after stitches have been placed.1 Other wound closure options include staples and glue. It is important to return for stitch removal when advised by your doctor to minimize scarring and decrease the risk of infection. Facial wounds usually have stitches removed after 3 to 5 days, while those over a joint where the skin is constantly moving may be left in for a couple of weeks.0 It is important to avoid lifting, straining, exercise, or sports for the first month or so after surgery. If the incision pulls apart, call your doctor. Always wash your hands before caring for your incision, and ask your doctor if you need to use rubbing alcohol-based soap or wipes to clean the wound.2

This info is for humans but the part about keeping the area clean and dry pertains to us all.

 

[AngelinaThePekin8]

@AngelinaThePekin8 If you happen to have a dog X pen they work great for keeping one where you want them and gives them some extra exercise and maybe then bring her in a buddy for a while? When I had my cochin bantam inside I used boxes etc to make her a area inside where she had more room and didn't have to stay in her dog crate all the time.

I don't have an exercise pen but I am going to try getting something put together. I've not delt with sutures much before with any animal or person.

After getting stitches, it is important to follow the instructions given by your doctor or nurse. The time it takes for stitches to come out depends on the depth of the wound, the location of the wound, and the type of stitches.3 The wound area should be kept clean and dry for the first 24 to 48 hours after stitches have been placed.1 Other wound closure options include staples and glue. It is important to return for stitch removal when advised by your doctor to minimize scarring and decrease the risk of infection. Facial wounds usually have stitches removed after 3 to 5 days, while those over a joint where the skin is constantly moving may be left in for a couple of weeks.0 It is important to avoid lifting, straining, exercise, or sports for the first month or so after surgery. If the incision pulls apart, call your doctor. Always wash your hands before caring for your incision, and ask your doctor if you need to use rubbing alcohol-based soap or wipes to clean the wound.2

This info is for humans but the part about keeping the area clean and dry pertains to us all.

Thank you, for taking the time to find that.
It's hard to tell a duckling to follow those instructions.
I think she's been keeping the area quite dry.

I've been doing my best to educate myself on the care of sutures and a wound like hers although I wish I would've been a little more knowledgeable and careful in the first 24 hours after the sutures. I just hope she will get all healed up properly and in a decent amount of time, it really sucks she got hurt in the first place.

I always wash my hands with soap and warm water before messing with her medicine or the wound. And try to keep them clean while putting the cream over the sutures, which I did some searching about and everything I read about it, is a little confusing for me.

 

[Eggcessive]

I meant not to put the cream on it anymore, but you just posted that they gave you the cream and said to apply a thin layer to the suture line. I would either question that by phoning them, or go ahead and follow their instructions. Maybe they thought she would get dirty, but normally we don’t use antibiotic creams on sutures, even on dogs. The vet knows best. I’m sure the cream was expensive.

 

[AngelinaThePekin8]

I meant not to put the cream on it anymore, but you just posted that they gave you the cream and said to apply a thin layer to the suture line. I would either question that by phoning them, or go ahead and follow their instructions. Maybe they thought she would get dirty, but normally we don’t use antibiotic creams on sutures, even on dogs. The vet knows best. I’m sure the cream was expensive.

I think the cream was the cheapest thing actually. Yes I want to call them just haven't been able to yet.
On the home care sheet the certs office wrote "Duck has 3 sutures in the neck to help close the infected area. Duck is being sent home with Clavamox which is an antibiotic and Silver Sulfadiazine ointment which is a topical antibiotic treatment. The sutures should be removed in 10 to 14 days. Monitor for excessive swelling around the sutured area.


Not sure if that helps clear things up or not.

 

[AngelinaThePekin8]

We have Purina's flock raiser crumbles for the ducklings and that's what Tiny is fed, the other ducklings get some of whatever the adults eat because I can't keep them out of the chickens ducks and guineas food which is a mix of all flock and layer feed (the all flock isn't always available so quite often we only have layer lately).