Help Needed in Aftermath of Attack

[FenDruadin]

What Miss Lydia says! I didn't know you had another hen. Bring her in. Ducks will literally starve themselves to death from grief when lonely, and sometimes all it takes to cheer them up is a duck friend. Try it!

 

[Pyxis]

I tried bringing him out to see the ducks, and it went terribly. I fed them, and they started eating but he ignored their existence, and then they stopped eating and started trying to take shots at him while he hid under my leg and I shoved them away. I'm beginning to question if he's all there mentally, his head problem isn't getting any better, and the wound on the back of his neck is starting to look worse. He's still drinking but that's it. I don't know how to even begin to describe the weird head issue that he has, but it prevents him from preening. I'm beginning to think about what his quality of life will be like even if he heals if his head doesn't right itself, and I'm generally losing hope for this boy. He doesn't seem to be giving up but he's not really trying to get better either. Sigh.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I tried bringing him out to see the ducks, and it went terribly. I fed them, and they started eating but he ignored their existence, and then they stopped eating and started trying to take shots at him while he hid under my leg and I shoved them away. I'm beginning to question if he's all there mentally, his head problem isn't getting any better, and the wound on the back of his neck is starting to look worse. He's still drinking but that's it. I don't know how to even begin to describe the weird head issue that he has, but it prevents him from preening. I'm beginning to think about what his quality of life will be like even if he heals if his head doesn't right itself, and I'm generally losing hope for this boy. He doesn't seem to be giving up but he's not really trying to get better either. Sigh.

It might have been totally different if you had brought one inside. are you still going to take him to the vet again? it takes a while for injuries to heal amd it sounds like he got a pretty severe one. if it's infected then that maybe why hes having head problems/ what does that mean. he has a wound on his head and neck? your the only one that can make the best decision about his quality of life . oh and the wound on his neck maybe the problem with him not being able to preen, it could be stiff from the wound or infection. or both.can you post pics?

 

[Pyxis]

I will certainly get pictures tonight when I take him out to do his meds. Tomorrow I plan to move him over to a big enclosure in my heated garage, and split it in half because I'm buying a couple females from a lady who raises ducks. I'm getting an older, very gentle blue swede from her for just this purpose. They will both be living in the heated workshop in a manner that lets them see and hear each other but doesn't allow them to touch or directly interact. I'm hoping the greater space and thr company might perk him up.

As for his neck, it's very weird. The base is kind of twisted over to one side and he's holding his head funny to compensate - that's not a really good description but I hope the pictures will clear things up. It wasn't like this right after the attack so I hope he's just holding it that way out of discomfort and it's not permanent. And when I say he can't preen, he goes to try, and then physically can't get his head to where he wants it, or maybe he's just stopping because it hurts. I hope it's the latter.

 

[donnavee]

When my Magpie was attacked by a predator which left a deep gash on the back of her head & neck(something got in the pen at night & killed the drake, but she survived), she would only eat thawed peas in water with some dried meal worms sprinkled on top. I fed her as much of this as she wanted until she finally started eating her regular food. She was in shock for a couple of days but once she began eating I put her in a wire cage with the other ducks so she could see them but no one could hurt her.

I wish you luck & hope he recovers soon.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I will certainly get pictures tonight when I take him out to do his meds. Tomorrow I plan to move him over to a big enclosure in my heated garage, and split it in half because I'm buying a couple females from a lady who raises ducks. I'm getting an older, very gentle blue swede from her for just this purpose. They will both be living in the heated workshop in a manner that lets them see and hear each other but doesn't allow them to touch or directly interact. I'm hoping the greater space and thr company might perk him up.
As for his neck, it's very weird. The base is kind of twisted over to one side and he's holding his head funny to compensate - that's not a really good description but I hope the pictures will clear things up. It wasn't like this right after the attack so I hope he's just holding it that way out of discomfort and it's not permanent. And when I say he can't preen, he goes to try, and then physically can't get his head to where he wants it, or maybe he's just stopping because it hurts. I hope it's the latter.

We're all hoping he makes a complete recovery. Glad to hear he's going to have company, it maybe just what he needs.

 

[FenDruadin]

If he has an infection, then it will affect his movement and his behavior. I once had an infection in my tooth that caused my entire jaw to clamp up--I couldn't eat except broth that I would pour into my mouth with a spoon because I couldn't open my mouth except a quarter inch. Think about how people behave when they're running a fever, too.

The good news is that odds are, if you can get the infection to clear up, then he'll be headed for a full recovery.

If you can't get him to a vet, and if you want to try to save him, look up dosages & types of antibiotic and try to get some from your feed store. Even if you dosed him before, you can try again with the proper dose or a different antibiotic.

Good luck. I hope he pulls through. I've seen ducks recover from terrible injuries, so I have good hopes for him.

 

[Pyxis]

He is on trimeth- sulfa from the vet already, but I think this particular wound needs to be debrided. It smells like rotting flesh and decay. Tomorrow morning I'm calling the vet and hopefully taking him back in to get it looked at. I'll be posting pictures of it later when I take him out to do his meds, along with the weird way he holds his head.

 

[Pyxis]

Hey all, thought I'd do a quick update. He's still hanging in there. His head problem has gotten no better and he still hasn't eaten, although I'm picking up superworms at Petco on my way home to try to tempt him with movement. He goes to the vet tomorrow, so we'll see what they say.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hey all, thought I'd do a quick update. He's still hanging in there. His head problem has gotten no better and he still hasn't eaten, although I'm picking up superworms at Petco on my way home to try to tempt him with movement. He goes to the vet tomorrow, so we'll see what they say.

Hope the news is good when you take him, we'll waiting waiting to hear. I can't believe he is still alive if he hasn't eaten. Bless his heart.