[Help Needed] Mild Tail Injury - Seemingly Scabbed Over Possible Complications

[Poultry Whisperer]

Hello everyone. It's my first post here so bear with me on this one.

25 minutes ago, I discovered that one of my ducks has an injury in her tail area. It seems to be scabbed over, but there's a bit of yellowness on some of the feathers which has me concerned. It is entirely possible this wound is several weeks old, as I didn't see it until now because I assumed it was just feather growing difficulties. I'll attach some images and explain what I know. Bottom line is, I'm not sure how bad this is and what I should do from here:

What I Know:
- My duck is a three year old Pekin. She's a bit overweight, and historically she has had issues growing in feathers. Oftentimes they break while growing in, and so her wings are often a mess until molting season is over. She has many old scars from past molts. She is currently going through a molt right now.
- I don't think this injury was a result of an attack. There are many cats, hawks, and chickens in the area, but I have a guard goose who does a pretty good job at keeping my ducks safe. Haven't seen a hawk successfully kill any of my birds in years. The chickens are subserviant to my ducks. Haven't spotted a cat in a while.
- This injury may be weeks old. I noticed that this tailfeather area where the wound is was messed up a couple weeks ago, and I assumed it was just a part of the rough molting as explained above.
- The duck received a harsh deworming a several weeks ago, which may have messed with the molting process, as it was listed as one of the side effects. This was given as a last resort, because one of my other ducks died to some parasites or something and so she was given a deworming as an emergency precaution.

So where do I go from here? How bad is the wound? What caused it? What should I do next? Any help you can give me is greatly appreciated. Sorry for the darkness on the image it is 7pm local time.

 

[Bird_Lover_17]

I don't know much about this kind of stuff but normally (for me at least) yellow- ish stuff is puss.

Tagging people who may be able to help:
@azygous @Wyorp Rock @Isaac 0

 

[Poultry Whisperer]

normally (for me at least) yellow- ish stuff is puss.

Yeah that is what I am primary concerned about. Hoping it's not sign of a lot of pus and/or infection.

 

[Isaac 0]

Could you post a few more pictures of the area wetted down?

I'm trying to tell if the area where the yellow feathers are, is where her oil gland is situated, or if its part of the swelling. An injury, and a clogged oil gland, are going to be treated slightly different. For now, I would apply an antibacterial ointment overtop the swelled up area.

The yellow stuff you're seeing around the swelling is most likely oil from the oil gland.

 

[Poultry Whisperer]

Could you post a few more pictures of the area wetted down?

I'm trying to tell if the area where the yellow feathers are, is where her oil gland is situated, or if its part of the swelling. An injury, and a clogged oil gland, are going to be treated slightly different. For now, I would apply an antibacterial ointment overtop the swelled up area.

The yellow stuff you're seeing around the swelling is most likely oil from the oil gland.

I tried the wet the area but didn't have much success. However, I did get a better picture of the yellow area. I'll apply the ointment after I'm done poking and prodding in there.

 

[Isaac 0]

The little bump where the yellow feathers are is the oil gland, and judging from the photo, it looks infected. Often times it is hard to get the gunk out of the oil gland, so an antibiotic like Baytril is often prescribed. Since you are dealing with another swollen/infected area, it may be best to just start her on an antibiotic like Baytril, or bring her to your vet, and have samples taken off the area to determine what bacteria are present, and what antibiotic would be most effective.

This is likely why she is looking dirty, and unkempt.

That said, if she were mine, I may start doing some sort of antimicrobial therapy, massage the gland once a day with a warm damp towel, and possibly apply an antibacterial ointment to help fight the infection. Environmentally, make sure her area is clean, and try to get her bathing in clean water a few times a day.

http://www.majesticwaterfowl.org/mm...oil gland can,indicates an impacted oil gland.

 

[Poultry Whisperer]

The little bump where the yellow feathers are is the oil gland, and judging from the photo, it looks infected. Often times it is hard to get the gunk out of the oil gland, so an antibiotic like Baytril is often prescribed. Since you are dealing with another swollen/infected area, it may be best to just start her on an antibiotic like Baytril, or bring her to your vet, and have samples taken off the area to determine what bacteria are present, and what antibiotic would be most effective.

This is likely why she is looking dirty, and unkempt.

That said, if she were mine, I may start doing some sort of antimicrobial therapy, massage the gland once a day with a warm damp towel, and possibly apply an antibacterial ointment to help fight the infection. Environmentally, make sure her area is clean, and try to get her bathing in clean water a few times a day.

http://www.majesticwaterfowl.org/mmissue71.htm#:~:text=Occasionally the oil gland can,indicates an impacted oil gland.

Alright. Thank you for your help.

 

[Poultry Whisperer]

To add a bit of closure, the duck has been taken to the vet today, and is actually going under anesthesia to remove the infection. The whole region seems to be infected, so that has to be cleaned out. I'm really hoping it goes well.

 

[HappyDuckie]

To add a bit of closure, the duck has been taken to the vet today, and is actually going under anesthesia to remove the infection. The whole region seems to be infected, so that has to be cleaned out. I'm really hoping it goes well.

I hope the surgery goes well.

 

[Poultry Whisperer]

Final Update (Hopefully) - The surgery has concluded, she is now back home in her coop. The vet clinic did a great job, and they even removed a previously unseen infected feather on the wing. She'll see her ducky friends this evening, and will be on antibiotics for the next two weeks, and I have to make sure the hole where the infection was doesn't get infected. Assuming there are no further complications, a full recovery is expected. Thanks again for the help Isaac 0, as well as everyone who has left a comment here.