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!

 

[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.

 

[starla315]

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.

thank you for such a quick reply! Once I was done it was getting a little darker out there, and harder to get a picture, but I did get a video, and took pictures in the video. These are the best I could get and was afraid I had him stressed to the max, so I let him rest a little. I will get better ones when I go back to check on him. He doesn't have any injury injuries so to say, but his beak looks really irritated along with really puffy eyes, and can't get his head clean. He won't eat (probably still scared and stressed), but he is drinking a lot. I will run to Tractor Supply real quick and see what they have.

 

[starla315]

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

thank you!

 

[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.

 

[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?

 

[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]

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.

thank you! This is rare behavior for my Khakis they have been in the flock for almost a year and have always accepted him as dominant. They aren't even food aggressive, but today they are being bullies! I have a separator for their indoor part of their coop. Thanks for the advice!

 

[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.