My duck was attacked by a raccoon

[mknocke]

My duck was attacked by a raccoon the night before last. He is badly hurt. The raccoon took all of the skin off of the back his neck from the base of his head to the top of his wings. It also blinded one of his eyes. I have no money to take him to a vet,so I have to help him myself. (Well, with the grace of God.) Anyway, I have been coating his neck in Neosporim and putting Amoxiciilin in his drinking water. I shower him in the bathtub every bandage change to make sure that it is kept clean then recoat in Neosporim and wrap with gauze. I am keeping him in a box in the house at night and taking him out for short periods of time, several times a day. I stand with him when he is outside. Is there anything else I should be doing for him? Do I need to get some kind of pain med for him? What are the chances of his skin growing back without a skin graff? He is a little over a year old and I have had since he was 1 week. He's my baby, please help! Thank You!

 

[stargazingmommy]

try posting in theEmergencies / Diseases / Injuries and Cures thread also.
I'm not sure what else you can do. Is he eating and drinking ok? I would possibly add some electrolytes, like pedialyte, but I don't know much about treating things in ducks.

 

[mknocke]

He is drinking but hasn't eaten for the last 3 days

 

[Amiga]

You are taking good care of him. Here are more ideas.

Put a little sugar in his water for calories, for the time being, with some vitamins. Nutri Drench if you can get it, but any poultry vitamin, preferably with electrolytes and probiotics. Good move with the antibiotics, but it may be upsetting his stomach.

Something else to try is soak some rolled oats (not instant) in 4 times that amount of water (i.e. one half cup oats, two cups water). See if he will sip at the enriched water.

Be careful about having him outside due to flies (with the wound covered that may not be a problem, but I am hyper-vigilant about that). Watch that closely. Sevin dust on uninjured skin is recommended by Storey's Guide, but that is a personal decision. I hate poisons, but . . .

How are the edges of the skin looking? Anything growing back yet? Often it does.

There are pain meds, don't know if you can get them without a vet. The pain could affect his appetite, too.

If you can get triple antibiotic creme, that may let more air to the wound for healing. Just a thought. Keep the topical antibiotics going, I think that is better than nothing.

 

[mknocke]

Thank you so much for your response. I will definetly get some vitamins and electlytes started. I am soaking oatmeal right now and praying he will drink the water from it. The patch of skin down his throat is about and inch wide and is laying pretty solid. There are no loose flaps or jagged edges. The rest of the neck is totally with out skin. I just can't thank you enough for your help. Thanks again!

 

[Amiga]

Just thinking here, I thought I saw a wound covering material that encourages skin growth . . . used for burn victims . . . . anyone know what that might be?

Well, I found out about Biobrane (tm) that is a collagen and silicon bandage used for burn victims. Very high tech, no idea how to get ahold of it, if it is even affordable.

Tegaderm is a no-stick wound covering to go under gauze. That might be worth looking at.

 

[NovaAman]

New skin...

 

[NovaAman]

or mole skin, they have it in the pharmacy, by first aid stuff.