Injured duck leg! URGENT HELP NEEDED!

[RainInMae]

Hi there,

A friend of mine went out to her ducks this morning and noticed one of her girls was not wanting to move and when she did it was with a severe limp. With a closer look she found the ducks leg to be limp, bloody, and with what her mum describes as a puncture wound.

She’s reached out to at least half a dozen vets and none can see the duck for at least another couple days and being in a rural place the drive to most any other vet would be an added hour or more to drive.

These ducks are loved pets so absolutely any helpful information is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[AMaggio]

Hey there, I'm no expert but I've dealt with a few fowl injuries so far. First off you want to get that area cleaned up, flush it with soapy water if you can and rinse well. I saw you posted a while ago and ducks have good clotting abilities so the bleeding should have already stopped by now. If you can get access to Blu Kote or something of the like it would be best to spray antiseptic on it. You said they were pets, are they indoor pets? I would bring the duck inside so that you can ensure bugs don't try to lay eggs in the wound. Bind it lightly if you can with gauze or another wrapping bandage to protect it. Do you have chickens where the ducks live? I think after taking care of the wound we need to figure out what injured the duck. I'll try to keep an eye out for your response.

 

[Duckworth]

@casportpony

 

[AMaggio]

I'm taking a closer look at the image you left. There look to be a few puncture wounds, which is why I ask about chickens because maybe she got bullied and pecked. Another theory would be a snake since there appears to be two closer together but it's a little hard to tell. The most important thing is to keep the injury clean and the duck confined while it heals or a vet can see her. I would put together a little duck hospital with a large plastic tub or a few boxes taped together so that you can control how much the duck has to move to get food and water. If you touch the duck's leg is it inflamed? Does she flinch to touch or try to pull away? Does she move the leg at all or does it seem numb to touch?

 

[AMaggio]

If you don't have special antiseptic for fowl like Blu Kote I would suggest putting some Neosporin or coconut oil on the would. Coconut oil is an anti-inflammatory as well as anti-fungal so if the wound is swollen it might help. They can eat it too so no worries about ingestion.

 

[RainInMae]

Thank you so much!

She’s only got ducks at her place so no chickens involved. Most of the property is woods and brush so a snake or other predator wouldn’t be surprising. One theory she had was one of the many snapping turtles that live in her pond got the duck somehow.

Immediately upon finding it she cleaned it up and has been using Poultry Vetericyn every few hours in efforts to keep it clean while she’s outside.

I haven’t seen the duck in person myself so I’ll pass along the help and ask her about the inflammation and reaction come morning.

Thank you again!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Flies are a big threat in an open wound in summer. They will get to the wound lay their eggs and then your dealing with maggots, so please stress that she needs to keep her duck inside at least till the wound has scabbed over and isn’t open any longer. Please let us know how she is doing.