help!!!!

[CapnKaylakins]

A dog got a hold of my pekin. He's pretty beat up as of right now. He's got feathers missing and he's got a limp. He's a little bloody where the feathers are missing, but he's stil acting like he usually does. Is there something I can do to clean him up? Maybe help that limp? I've currently got him soaking in warm water with sea salt in my bath tub

 

[Amiga]

I would get him into fresh water for now - ducks can swallow their bathwater and we don't want him suffering from sodium chloride poisoning.

So please get him fresh water and come back.

Edited - okay, I just checked the time - he is probably out of the bath and probably not poisoned, but please stick with fresh water in the future. Your thought of using salt was good - it is a natural antimicrobial and healing mineral.

Look him over carefully for puncture wounds - under the wings, around the vent, the chest, everywhere but don't skip the hidden parts.

If you find a wound, it would probably be best to clip the feathers away from the wound carefully.

I don't know what your weather is like there, but it is important that a duck with wounds be kept where there are no flies. Flies will lay eggs in a wound making it very difficult to treat.

Rinse the wounds four times a day with saline solution or Vetericyn. Probably it would be good to do that after he gets time in a lukewarm tub once a day. That tub time is to help with the limp and just help him feel better.

So, tub once a day, followed by rinsing wounds, and rinse wounds three other times during the day for the first few days. Then probably three, then two times a day as they heal.

I would not put petroleum-jelly-based ointment on the wounds at this point, because I would be concerned about anaerobic bacterial infection. I would use a cream, without painkiller.

Speaking of painkiller, hennible's vet said that ducks can have Advil.

For ducks 6-8 lbs 25-40mg twice daily adult tablets cut up or children's liquid Advil 1.5ml twice daily, orally.

By my arithmetic – 8 pounds 40 mg is 5 mg per pound
6 pounds 25 mg, is just over 4 mg per pound

so, 4 to 5 mg per pound of duck - it is important to know how much the duck weighs.


Think about finding oral antibiotic just in case - sometimes wounds will introduce bacteria and the ducks get a systemic infection following the attack.

I don't have to tell you to fix the security problem. If you have other ducks, they need to be safe. But I would keep the injured duck in sick bay for a day or three, perhaps longer depending on how he responds to treatment.

If you can get a vet's help that is best.

Here is what Captain Cluck did after an attack.


When my duck, Lucy, was attacked by a raccoon, I had head wounds to deal with, too. No jaw damage but she had a bite taken from the edge of her bill.

I put her on homeopathic for bites and vitamins at first, but homeopathics take a long time to work, so after a week on that (and an infection starting in the leg wound that I had missed) I switched her to Duramycin (got at Tractor Supply). Add 1/4 teaspoon to 20 oz of water (2 1/2 CUPS). Only mix up what you will use immediately and store the rest of the powder in a clean, dry jar. You will want to keep a measuring spoon in the jar just for the Duramycin. If you won't be using the entire 20 oz right away, put the extra in the refrigerator until you need it, but do not keep it for longer than 1 day. I have seen funk grow in it if kept longer than that. Lucy got her water in a 20 oz travel mug 2x a day.

After her first day of not eating, she only wanted cooked, mashed peas for 2 weeks. She refused anything else, so keep tempting your duck with things she loves to eat. You may have to use a syringe and squirt some liquified food into her bill to get her to eat. which means you will have to take some food and puree it in the blender and add enough water to make it liquidy. Lucy's bill was very sore and I had to mash her peas so she could eat them.

Examine your duck carefully to locate all the wounds you can find. Trim away feathers from the wounds so you can treat them effectively. Don't be afraid to trim away all her feathers if you think you need to to examine her. You can dress her in newborn t-shirts until her feathers grow back. If you keep her in a dim, quiet room, she will heal faster, and eventually start to molt. At least, that's what Lucy did.

Use saline to rinse out the wounds every day. Use a q-tip to pack the open wounds with antibiotic ointment.

If there is a puncture wound (which includes bites), you will need to debride it daily with a gauze pad. That means put peroxide on a gauze pad and scrub the scab off the puncture wound and scrub it enough to keep it open so it can drain. Punctures must heal from the inside out, or they get infected. Pack the punctures with antibiotic ointment, too.

Since you can't wrap a head wound on a duck, just let her wash her head at will. The only wound I wrapped on Lucy was her leg wound while it had Ichthammol on it to pull out the infection.


Let her rest and check on her every few hours. Change her towels at least 2x a day, or get those incontinence pads you put in a patient's bed and put one of those on top of the towel. Easy cleanup and less laundry. I got mine at Wal Mart.

I did not have the money for a vet visit, but if you do, I highly suggest taking her in.

 

[CapnKaylakins]

He's doing fine now. My only problem is that his leg is still swollen a little. He's been soaking in warm fresh water on and off a few days because I forget to bring him in after work. I gave him baby aspirin dissolved in water and a small amount of pedialyte.

 

[Miss Lydia]

He's doing fine now. My only problem is that his leg is still swollen a little. He's been soaking in warm fresh water on and off a few days because I forget to bring him in after work. I gave him baby aspirin dissolved in water and a small amount of pedialyte.

How about security do you have him and any other ducks in a secure pen or fence to keep this dog and any other predators from injuring or killing them? you can soak his leg in warm epsom salt water it helps with swelling keep him where he isn't using the leg alot like trying to keep up with everyone else. When I have to soak I use a small bucket add the epsom salt and warm water mix real well put both legs and feet into the bucket [makes it easier on me and the duck] and hold them in for as long as they will let me you don't want him drinking the Epsom salt water because it is also a laxative. but work great on injuries. also warm water therapy[ no ES in this water]bath tub works great for water therapy, it is good to take weight off the legs and can help build up muscles that have been injured. do your ES soaks before bed time so it has over night to keep working.