My duck was attacked. Need help

[sgonzalez5]

Hi,

My duck was attacked by a bobcat. This is 2 days later after my pecan duck was attacked. I've been using wound cleanse, tri care ointment, and microbial wound care spray. I'm going to give her Amoxicillin watered down I believe 250mg in 10ml today. From what I hope I'm doing everything right and she is moving around way better today, eating peas, float pellet treats, her regular food, poultry/electrolyte water & regular clean water. She has 2 enclosure areas up against each other that she moves back and forth in with pine shavings so I can clean one area. I hope I'm doing the best I can, she's a inside & outside duck since birth. She comes in at night in our house to sleep

 

[Themellowyellows]

Aw! I hope your duck makes it. I dont own ducks so dont have much knowledge. All I know is that if you have a vet definitely go see it, especially since there is a wound like this... Does she seem to be in pain? Not sure, but maybe put triple antiboitc ointment on it (someone with more knowledge can help.)

@LaFleche
@Wyorp Rock
@Eggcessive
@azygous

 

[azygous]

That's a very large wound and it will require about six to eight weeks of daily care. Here is the wound treatment plan I advise.


1. Treat for shock as the number one step. Give warm Gatoraid or mix one teaspoon of sugar into one cup of warm water with a pinch of salt and baking soda. Have the patient drink it all or syringe it into the beak. Dip the beak to show the patient it’s sweet.

2. Flush the wound well with saline. This is better than soap and water as it maintains the ph balance of the tissues. But warm soap and water will do. You need to wash away the bacteria from the wound. Scrub away all blackened or dead tissue.

3. Inspect the wound carefully. If it has a skin flap dangling and it’s still pink and warm to the touch, keep that. Do not cut it off. Look for bite, tear or puncture marks indicating a puncture wound. If you see this, the patient will need an oral antibiotic such as amoxicillin. Bacteria from the predator’s mouth can be injected deep into tissue and can kill in as little as 24 to 48 hours. You may want to try to obtain some amoxicillin from your vet to treat the bacteria that may have been left behind in the puncture wound.

4. Use a topical antibiotic ointment such as Neosporin, triple antibiotic ointment without pain killer in it to coat the wound. If there's a skin flap, lay it across the wound that has just been coated with the ointment. Then smooth on a generous amount over the top of the skin flap to hold it in place. Manuka honey is also a good wound treatment for a large wound and will keep it moist.

5. Gently scrub the wound every day with a soft wash cloth following the above steps. This will get rid of any non-viable skin cells that will attract and support bacteria. Keep the wound covered with the ointment. Never allow the wound to get dried out or it will not heal.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your duck. That looks to be a very serious wound. How is she doing? Can she walk around, and is she taking food and water? Does she have any signs of brain injury or wry neck? While doing her daily wound care, look for signs of infection, such as pus drainage, a foul odor, high fever. I am also going to tag @Miss Lydia who knows a lot about ducks.

 

[User635240]

I've had several chickens with similar wounds (from an aggressive rooster). I sprayed them with BluCote and isolated them (in a cage In the coop). They eventually healed maybe 4-6 weeks later. They have bald spots on their scalp.

 

[User635240]

Also, if this is the second attack in as many days, I think you will continue to lose livestock until you trap and/or kill the predator. Your state or county Dept of natural resources will have a list of certified trappers. I would keep all the ducks inside like in the garage 24/7 until the bobcat is removed.

 

[sgonzalez5]

Sorry about your duck. That looks to be a very serious wound. How is she doing? Can she walk around, and is she taking food and water? Does she have any signs of brain injury or wry neck? While doing her daily wound care, look for signs of infection, such as pus drainage, a foul odor, high fever. I am also going to tag @Miss Lydia who knows a lot about ducks.

Yes, she seems to be doing a lot better today. She finally started squeaking a little this morning (how she talks to us) and moving her head to clean her feathers a little bit. She's still moving slow and doesn't seem to want to go outside like she does in the morning. I don't smell anything and it takes her half the time now for her to get up for her peas and pellets.

I'm looking at wildlife removal, I have the rest of the ducks in their enclosure, with wolf urine on the outside area, motion lights, etc. This happened during the early evening 6pm~.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Good advise has already been given, Only thing I am not sure of is using Blue Kote on a wound like this one I think it would dry it out, maybe after it has started to heal more but it needs to be kept moist at this stage. Also, keep her inside to keep the flies away so they won't lay eggs and then you'll be dealing with maggots.
@Brookejohnson1226 has been going through this with her duck maybe she can give some help on what all she has done.

 

[azygous]

Blu-kote is only for superficial wounds. @Miss Lydia is right that it dries out the healing wound, and that interferes with new tissue formation.

 

[sgonzalez5]

Update: I just want to make sure that's junk dried blood around her eye? I recall she had both eyes when she came in and just wondering how can I get all this dried blood off? I started using warm water to get this and I used eye ophthalamic gel last night.