Injured Cayuga drake

[Luccin]

Hi,

My Cayuga drake is injured! I have not checked his wound, which seems to be on his chest/crop area, as I don't want to stress him out any further than he already is.

He doesn't look too well at all really, his head is flat against his back (it looks like he has no neck), and his crop seems to be bulging out (inflamed?).

I've been monitoring his feeding/drinking and it would appear that he can only just get the tip of his bill in the water bowl, and as such I have added a second, raised, bowl in the hope that he will be able to get better access.

I'm pretty sure I should pop him to the vet, but was wondering is anyone had seen a similar problem.

Regards,

Luccin

PS: I can add some photos if necessary.

 

[buff goose guy]

Vet would be a very good idea

@Miss Lydia and @Amiga are more better with these things than me though and could give some great advice.

 

[Amiga]

Photo's would help, yes.

@casportpony, does this sound familiar to you?

And I would get him to a vet as soon as possible. Let me think what this might be. Was he attacked?

 

[Luccin]

Hi, thanks for the replies.

I will take photos tomorrow morning.

Amiga, we're pretty sure it was a fox, as our neighbours four chickens were all killed by one. We were late in locking them away for the night, and when we got down there they looked very shaken up, however only the drake had any visible injuries.

Regards,

Luccin

 

[Luccin]

Here are some photos, he doesn't move his head from that position at all. I didn't want to get too close as they seems very wary of anything, which is a massive change from their usual behaviour, they used to be very friendly and inquisitive.




Regards,

Luccin

 

[Amiga]

He may have a neck injury, or a problem with his digestive system. He may have swallowed something that has him impacted.

I would want a vet if at all possible.

In the meantime, can you get him into lukewarm water and see how he does? Supervised, since we don't want an injured duck alone in water. See if he responds to treats. Even though it is stressful, he may need some involved assistance - he must stay hydrated and nourished.

Please let us know how things are - if you can get to a vet (best option), or if you will need to figure out how to hold him and examine and treat him the least stressful way for both of you. It's tough, most of us have had to deal with some kind of injury, some have dealt with horrific injuries.

 

[Luccin]

Hi all,

Quick update after a visit to the vet yesterday morning.

The drake looked a lot better just before the visit, and after careful examination he seems to be healing well. However, the female duck that had a limp which seemed to go after a few hours seems to have developed a nasty infection (we ended up taking her to the vet as well).

We are administering some antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medicine to her in the hope that she will pull through. The problem however, is that she is struggling to move (she is using her wings and it looks like even her neck to crawl). Much as I would love to have her back to her usual self, it seems cruel to keep her alive in her current condition. So I'm stuck between whether we keep her alive in the hope that the drugs will work and she makes a swift recovery, or whether we would be actually helping her by having her put to sleep.

Regards,

Luccin

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hi all,

Quick update after a visit to the vet yesterday morning.

The drake looked a lot better just before the visit, and after careful examination he seems to be healing well. However, the female duck that had a limp which seemed to go after a few hours seems to have developed a nasty infection (we ended up taking her to the vet as well).

We are administering some antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medicine to her in the hope that she will pull through. The problem however, is that she is struggling to move (she is using her wings and it looks like even her neck to crawl). Much as I would love to have her back to her usual self, it seems cruel to keep her alive in her current condition. So I'm stuck between whether we keep her alive in the hope that the drugs will work and she makes a swift recovery, or whether we would be actually helping her by having her put to sleep.

Regards,

Luccin

Why not try the meds and give her a chance, it's amazing how they can recover from some really serious injuries and infections. Put her where she has limited space so as not to injure her wings trying to get around. I dif give her at least through how long they said to give the meds. which was how long?

 

[Luccin]

Why not try the meds and give her a chance, it's amazing how they can recover from some really serious injuries and infections. Put her where she has limited space so as not to injure her wings trying to get around. I dif give her at least through how long they said to give the meds. which was how long?

Hi,
She is such a character, and we would love to have that back. The meds course is 7 days. The thing I worry about is how much ducks can show any pain they are feeling.

We will certainly give a her a chance, thinking about it, the drake is recovering very well, and we were very worried about him.

Will keep you updated!

Regards,

Luccin

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hi,
She is such a character, and we would love to have that back. The meds course is 7 days. The thing I worry about is how much ducks can show any pain they are feeling.

We will certainly give a her a chance, thinking about it, the drake is recovering very well, and we were very worried about him.

Will keep you updated!

Regards,

Luccin

She probably is in some pain but the anti inflammatory should kick in in a couple days, A couple weeks ago we follwed a duck that had been attacked by a dog, this dog ripped all the skin off her neck down to muscle you could even see her jugular the owner kept her in and treated and bandaged, she began to respond and was so near healed it was amazing but she had a rip through her esophagus which would not heal and the vet said even with surgery it may not work so she opted to have her put down, but I'm telling you so you can see how amazing these animals are if given half a chance. I'd just give her all the support you can and hopefully with TLC and the meds you'll have your character back soon.