Help! Injured Duck

[starla315]

Every day when I get off work, I let my ducks out of their run, and let them free roam the yard for a little bit. Today when I went out there my male Pekin was stuck in the watering bucket. (no clue how he even got in there he is huge, and has absolutely no flight lift) It is a large Lowes bucket with 2 good sized holes in each side (been using over a year and never had an issue). Well he was in there full body and head and neck sticking out of one of the holes. The other 2 male ducks (Khaki Campbells) were pecking his head, eyes, face, and neck like crazy. He was muddy. His eyes are swollen. His beak is red around the rim (closest to feathers). I got my poor baby out, and cleaned him up the best I could, but that mud is caked in there. I am also worried he cannot see just off of how he was acting. Is there something I can clean his head with that won't hurt his eyes...water isn't cutting it, and is there anything I can do for his swollen eyes? My mama duck heart is just breaking for him. I currently have him with his female, and separated from the other males. Thank you in advance!

 

[Isaac 0]

For the eyes, I would apply a warm damp compress and gently try to wipe away any dirt or gunk, afterward, you can lavage the eye with some warm water, or saline, and as suggested by Eggcessive, apply an ophthalmic ointment such as Terramycin, or if not readily accessible an antibacterial ointment like Neosporin.

Any other superficial injuries on his body, you can apply an antibacterial ointment or a poultry spray. If you'd like, you could apply an antibacterial ointment to the redness on his bill, but I feel it should go away on its own without too much intervention.

Ducks and other waterfowl have inefficient tear ducts so rely on water to wash out debris from their eyes; thus head deep water should be provided to maintain eye health.

 

[Eggcessive]

I am so sorry about your duck. Can you post any pictures of his wounds? Do you have any Vetericyn Wound Spray? That can be used on skin wounds and won’t hurt eyes. Terramycin Eye Ointment from the feedstore can also be used in the eyes twice a day. I would keep him quiet inside and help him drink and get food if he is alert enough. I will tag @isaac o for more advice.

 

[sourland]

Sorry for the circumstances. I would make sure that he is not hypothermic and apply antibiotic ointment to his eyes.

 

[Isaac 0]

thank you for all of the information! I do have poultry spray, and saline here, I am going to grab some Terramycin as suggested. Going to try the warm compress I'm sure he will like that. The other males keep aggressively pecking him (normally they do not he is the dominate male) should I keep them separated tonight?

If they are continually acting him, it would be best to move him into an area where they can see each other, but can't touch. That is a temporary solution - if the fighting persists, environmental, or flock changes will need to be made.

 

[starla315]

For the eyes, I would apply a warm damp compress and gently try to wipe away any dirt or gunk, afterward, you can lavage the eye with some warm water, or saline, and as suggested by Eggcessive, apply an ophthalmic ointment such as Terramycin, or if not readily accessible an antibacterial ointment like Neosporin.

Any other superficial injuries on his body, you can apply an antibacterial ointment or a poultry spray. If you'd like, you could apply an antibacterial ointment to the redness on his bill, but I feel it should go away on its own without too much intervention.

Ducks and other waterfowl have inefficient tear ducts so rely on water to wash out debris from their eyes; thus head deep water should be provided to maintain eye health.

thank you for all of the information! I do have poultry spray, and saline here, I am going to grab some Terramycin as suggested. Going to try the warm compress I'm sure he will like that. The other males keep aggressively pecking him (normally they do not he is the dominate male) should I keep them separated tonight?

 

[starla315]

@Eggcessive @Isaac 0 . @sourland

I got a few better pictures if my poor baby. Tractor supply closed before I got there I did try warm compresses...he did not love them. I was worried he h at all when I was a half inch from his face, and he never flinched, but he can get in and out of the indoor and outdoor parts of the coop, and is finding the water buckets fine. He hasn't eaten yet, but is drinking good. He still has puffy eyes, I can't get his head clean, I believe he is missing feathers, and that poor beak looks pitiful I have a few better pictures here. Flash was on so it makes his eyes red, and one picture has his mate in there for comparison. Please excuse the poo on the wall....didn't get to a deeper clean in there this evening with this incident.

 

[Isaac 0]

@Eggcessive @Isaac 0 . @sourland

I got a few better pictures if my poor baby. Tractor supply closed before I got there I did try warm compresses...he did not love them. I was worried he h at all when I was a half inch from his face, and he never flinched, but he can get in and out of the indoor and outdoor parts of the coop, and is finding the water buckets fine. He hasn't eaten yet, but is drinking good. He still has puffy eyes, I can't get his head clean, I believe he is missing feathers, and that poor beak looks pitiful I have a few better pictures here. Flash was on so it makes his eyes red, and one picture has his mate in there for comparison. Please excuse the poo on the wall....didn't get to a deeper clean in there this evening with this incident.

I suspect when he was in the bucket, he kept scraping his bill on the outer edges of the hole, additionally, the males were likely pecking the bill, and plucking feathers off his face. The feathers around his face are quite disorganized, but I suspect over the next few days they'll dry up, and start interlocking more.

When you get the ointment, I would simply apply that to his eye, and beak edges as needed. If you provide head deep water and ensure the males no longer can attack him, I feel his head feathers will slowly get back to normal.

 

[sourland]

My gut is that he is going to be okay, and that his eyes will be fine. The next problem will likely be with the other drakes as they may feel that they have deposed him from top billing. Closely monitor reintroduction.

 

[starla315]

I suspect when he was in the bucket, he kept scraping his bill on the outer edges of the hole, additionally, the males were likely pecking the bill, and plucking feathers off his face. The feathers around his face are quite disorganized, but I suspect over the next few days they'll dry up, and start interlocking more.

When you get the ointment, I would simply apply that to his eye, and beak edges as needed. If you provide head deep water and ensure the males no longer can attack him, I feel his head feathers will slowly get back to normal.

thank you! I let them into their run this morning (was working on a divider and the other males immediately attacked him, but he immediately bit them and held them down, which makes me hopeful that he got some strength back. They are all in their run together I just put in a wire divider so they can all be out there and still see each other, O watched them for about an hour, and so far so good. Getting ointment today, and hopefully it will go uphill from there. Thank you again for your advice!