Magnificent Marvelous Muscovies!

[Claires Poultry]

View attachment 1874558 View attachment 1874556 Hello! I’m a newby on here! Brief overview...past “relationship” (7 yrs long) w goose at community pond. Magnetic bond w us, I have since developed soft spot w duck/geese. (Known as a natural “goose whisperer”.)

Three years ago our now former neighbors felt our shared pond needed ducks. Brought in domesticated male and female Muscovy pair. It became apparent I would be the care giver. Became attached to Big Daddy & Cleo, feeding them oatmeal daily. Sometimes corn.
Cleo had mishap last weekend w wild critter, I found and buried her.
Big Daddy not himself and not approachable. Retreats into pond. Lots of flies on his top backside. Believe there’s a hidden wound, possibly happened when Cleo was killed. HELP! He’s not eating. 48 hrs now. No longer wants to come into our yard to “socialize” w me. (She was/he is free roaming by our pond) I will try again in morning to lure him up from pond for closer inspection. He seemed soothed when I later sat by pond in chair and played soft music for him.

Hello and welcome to BYC! We're so glad to have you here with us!
Thank you for joining our wonderful community of poultry enthusiasts! If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I'll answer them to the best of my ability!
You're Muscovies are very beautiful!
I am so sorry to hear about your loss.
I pray nothing else happens to your drake. You might want to try and catch the drake if possible, and see if he does have a hidden wound on his back.
Do you have a coop for the ducks to go into at night for safety from predators? If not, I highly recommend getting one to help prevent further predator attacks.
All the best,
Elly

 

[AquaDuck]

View attachment 1874558 View attachment 1874556 Hello! I’m a newby on here! Brief overview...past “relationship” (7 yrs long) w goose at community pond. Magnetic bond w us, I have since developed soft spot w duck/geese. (Known as a natural “goose whisperer”.)

Three years ago our now former neighbors felt our shared pond needed ducks. Brought in domesticated male and female Muscovy pair. It became apparent I would be the care giver. Became attached to Big Daddy & Cleo, feeding them oatmeal daily. Sometimes corn.
Cleo had mishap last weekend w wild critter, I found and buried her.
Big Daddy not himself and not approachable. Retreats into pond. Lots of flies on his top backside. Believe there’s a hidden wound, possibly happened when Cleo was killed. HELP! He’s not eating. 48 hrs now. No longer wants to come into our yard to “socialize” w me. (She was/he is free roaming by our pond) I will try again in morning to lure him up from pond for closer inspection. He seemed soothed when I later sat by pond in chair and played soft music for him.

Sorry for your loss! If you're able to catch the drake and keep him locked up for treatment for a few days, that would be the safest. Clean and treat the wound with antiseptics, and give him some general care. Not gonna be easy to catch him if he can swim away though...

 

[Muscovy Wunda]

Hello and welcome! It can be a challenge to catch even the tamest of birds after a predator attack. As my husband likes to say "they've seen things" their best friend is gone and the place they thought was safe no longer seems to be. When my girl lost her friends earlier this year, I sat with her under her tree for hours, I chattered with her, brought her food and water and she was eventually happy to follow me into the coop. She then stayed there and mourned for 4 weeks. I hope he lets you close enough to help him.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Do you have a long fishing net? May help. Very sorry for your loss. You really need to get him treated because with flies comes maggots and that’s not good. Poor baby I hope you can help him recover. Another thing if he’s weak you maybe able to with help get him out of the pond so you can catch and examine him. Don’t be afraid to be forceful he needs help. He’ll get over it. TLC goes a long way.

 

[Neenax3]

Hello and welcome to BYC! We're so glad to have you here with us!
Thank you for joining our wonderful community of poultry enthusiasts! If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I'll answer them to the best of my ability!
You're Muscovies are very beautiful!
I am so sorry to hear about your loss.
I pray nothing else happens to your drake. You might want to try and catch the drake if possible, and see if he does have a hidden wound on his back.
Do you have a coop for the ducks to go into at night for safety from predators? If not, I highly recommend getting one to help prevent further predator attacks.
All the best,
Elly

 

[Neenax3]

View attachment 1875019 Thank you! Today is a better day! Baby steps! This morning he was up away from pond, closer to our backyard fencing. (Where he USED to pace aimlessly wanting in to socialize!) I was able to “herd” him into our spacious backyard to better manage him. I filled a kiddy pool up w water and he also ate some corn this morning. AND...I have a mister setting on our hose sprayer so he allowed himself to indulge in a fresh 10 minute misting! Yah! He’s much more involved in preening today. I’ve been able to at least get a closer look at core problem. It looks as if he got a butt chomp per say. More to one side. It’s my goal today to again win his trust and herd him into our UR off yard to handle him and clean/treat wound. Thinking to try a cat bag (mesh)to protect and contain his wings. Open at end I need plus has head hole of course.​

But setting up a sectioned enclosed area for him that will still allow our indoor dogs out to do their thing. This a short term plan while he’s recovering. Vet neighbor so hopefully he can advise me on proper treatment but would appreciate any experienced Muscovy
Owners input! THANK YOU!

 

[Neenax3]

...im still learning how to navigate/reply/post! Lol Baby steps on another level! This is a picture of Big Daddy eating this morning.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Great info. Hopefully you can get him, And check him over. Main thing is cleaning and getting any maggots out of his wound. If there is any.

 

[Neenax3]

There are definitely maggots. Clean out w peroxide? Have continued to just keep him misted and fed all day in this 110 degree heat index. Will not drink water except for when I’m misting he will drink it in plus whatever he intakes while obcessively preening afterwards. I think if I throw a sheet over him I can scoop him up and stick him in cat bag for addressing wound. Thank you again for y’alls help/insights! I keep chkg in...

 

[Miss Lydia]

I use a huge towel to wrap mine like a burrito if I need to do something with them keeps their wings contained. But cat thing would probably work too. How bad is the wound? you only want to use peroxide once only it is hard on healthy skin . Use can try a salt water bath that would probably bring the maggots out of the wound just keep pouring the salt water over the wound it will also help with healing. Epsom salt would be good.

@casportpony is knowledgeable about treating wounds with maggots.