Need Advice About Scabbed Vent

[RubyDog55]

A couple of days ago when I let my ducks out in the morning I noticed that Puff, my two year old white crested duck, had what looked like some poop over her vent. I didn't think anything of it at the time as Puff tends to be very messy, and commonly comes out of the duck house dirty in the mornings, even though I put down clean bedding every night. She also doesn't seem to mind being dirty and will sometimes go a day or more before properly bathing and preening herself. However, when it still looked the same this morning, I grabbed her to see what was going on. What I thought was poop is actually large scabs. The area doesn't seem to be painful, and is its normal light pink color with no signs of discharge. The end of one of the scabs pulled up easily, so I could see that underneath looked raw, like a healing wound, but not angry. The side of her vent with the scabs is protruding out, but doesn't look terribly swollen or angry. Puff is acting totally normal, and I haven't seen any blood on her or any of the eggs. Despite the nasty look of the scabs, the area actually looks fairly clean.

I'm fairly new to ducks and have never seen anything like this before. Is it a prolapse? Is it possible for only one side of the vent to prolapse? Or could it be an infection, even though it doesn't look angry? Or could she have injured herself and the scabs keep getting ripped open from laying eggs?
Should I try to soak and remove the scabs, and put some antibiotic ointment on it? Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Everose]

Eww that doesn't look comfortable!

Never had that happen but I would put her in a warm bath and then apply an ointment. Not sure if pulling off the scabs is good right now, I've always thought that they were nature's bandaid and I prefer not to touch them. Though they could begin to get dirty, I would let the scabs be for a day or two. Raw skin isn't comfortable and I think it would hurt quite a bit.

I've never been in your situation so hopefully someone with a similar experience can help. @RosemaryDuck @KaleAm @Isaac 0

 

[RosemaryDuck]

Wow, that's definitely a first for me. If it were like any other wound I'd say to clean it up and apply Neosporin, but I think it's going to keep having issues due to the area it's in.

@Isaac 0 may have seen this before. Or @Eggcessive @sourland @azygous. Any of you guys?

 

[azygous]

@Isaac 0 needs to weigh in on this. There's a remote chance this is a squamous cancer. But soaking in warm Epsom salt water with a squirt of Betadine in it is definitely called for.

We all can imagine the pain of removing scabs on such a tender area, so hopefully, any necrotic tissue will soak itself free. Then smooth on antibiotic ointment.

 

[RosemaryDuck]

@Isaac 0 needs to weigh in on this. There's a remote chance this is a squamous cancer. But soaking in warm Epsom salt water with a squirt of Betadine in it is definitely called for.

We all can imagine the pain of removing scabs on such a tender area, so hopefully, any necrotic tissue will soak itself free. Then smooth on antibiotic ointment.

I did think cancer also but didn't want to say in case I was incorrect. It does look like it could be. No way to tell without a test, though.

 

[Eggcessive]

I am not familiar with ducks, but would also recommend a look by @Isaac 0 for an opinion. I would try to soak the vent area for 15 to 20 minutes in a warm solutuion of saline, dish detergent, or Epsom salts, and see it any of that comes off with a rub of a cloth.

 

[azygous]

I'm very familiar with skin cancers, since I've had every single flavor they come in. Also, I had a hen with a squamous cancer on her tail. You don't need a biopsy to tell if a sore is a cancer. Cancers won't heal in spite of all you can do to treat it.

 

[Everose]

Gee I hope she doesn't have cancer

 

[kerbotx]

I've seen that on a chicken before - is it possible she had a bad case of vent gleet, and it's caused a sore along the rim of the vent? If it doesn't soak away with the epsom salt bath, I'd recommend coconut oil to help soak it through.

 

[RubyDog55]

Hopefully it's not cancer. If I can't get it to start healing up then I'll take her to the vet.
I haven't seen any sign that anything was wrong previously, but it's possible I missed something.
It's hard to see in the pictures, but that side of the vent is protruding out. I was worried that it might be slightly prolapsed and the scabs are preventing it from going back into place. Or if it is some kind of infection, then the scabs would need to come off to effectively treat it.
However, if it is an injury then it would probably be better to leave the scabs on and let it heal.
I'll put some antibiotic ointment on it tonight, and give her a good soak tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get a better idea what's going on then. Unfortunately, Puff is a bit of a drama queen. There's no way she is going to willingly soak for any length of time. Are there any tricks for getting a high strung duck to sit in a tub of water without having to hold her in place the whole time?