Please Help!!! Duckling with Open Wound (ETA: WARNING- Graphic Pic)

[Captain Cluck]

My husband just brought me one of our 3 week old ducklings. Somehow he got caught or attacked? The skin is torn off around the shoulder of his left wing and a small wound behind his right wing makes me think he got caught in the wire of the duck pen while we were gone for 2 hours this afternoon. It is bloody, but not bleeding. My family is outside trying to catch the other ducklings in case this one was attacked (possible - the adult ducks are setting and they & the drakes have been chasing the chicken-ducklings - they were hatched by a hen)

What do I use to clean the wound? I have some sterile saline (boiled water and salt) cooling. No betadine or other stuff available. Can I wash the wound with the cooled down saline solution?

I have him in a rubbermaid tub on a towel right now. Poor thing is peeping his head off for his brothers and mama (a hen).


Also, How do I put pics into a post? If it helps, i will post them.



Edited for spelling.

 

[dawg53]

The sterile saline will work as a cleansing flush. Then put some neosporin ointment (without pain reliever) on the wounds and leave them uncovered. Keep applying the neosporin til she heals.

 

[La Mike]

Quote:
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To add pics go to uploads click browse and add your pic then click submit

 

[Captain Cluck]

Thank you. I calmed down and rinsed the wound with the sterile saline and snuggled her in a towel.
She is in my kitchen in a pet carrier. Her siblings and Mama are in a dog crate right next to her so they can see each other and feel safe. It is in the 80s at night here - do I need to give her anything to snuggle with to keep warm? She is used to sleeping with her family.

I thought it best to separate her so there would be no pecking at her wound.

I guess this will be a house duck for a while. I was waiting to see if it is a duck or a drake - ducks we keep for eggs, extra drakes go to freezer camp. I don't want to get attached if it is going to freezer camp (you know- we don't name our food and we try not to eat our pets)

I guess I could name her Stewie.

This is her (his) wound

Also, we found where she injured herself. Apparently she was alone in the duck pen with the adult ducks and one of them terrorized her into squeezing out through the wire. It is a converted dog pen and the wire is just barely big enough for 2 week old ducklings to scoot through, but a very tight squeeze for panicked 3 week olds. I guess it is time to wrap the pen with chicken wire to keep the tiny ones from going through this again.


Thank you for the advice.

 

[La Mike]

Ouch. Hope it gets better for you. If you have a small stuffed toy it may like that

 

[Jan336]

Add some Almond Oil! It is natural and will promote healing and skin re-growth. It is used on cancer patience after chemo, but I just discovered it is ideal for poultry externally for wounds and internally as a breakdown to help or avoid crop. Try it!

 

[dawg53]

Night time temps in the 80's already? Your daytime temps must be upper 90's, low 100's?

 

[Captain Cluck]

High 80s daytime in Central FL in the house it stays around 80 until around 4-5 AM.
Do you think she'll be warm enough by herself inside a plastic pet carrier with a cotton terrycloth towel? I gave her food & water and she is making little chirpy sounds. I'll give her another towel and look for a stuffed animal tomorrow - I have a stuffed flamingo around here somewhere. And probably a bear or 2.

 

[Captain Cluck]

Well, I washed the wound with saline and tincture of iodine this morning and then sprayed some Blue Coat on it.
Now my yellow duckling is purple!

So are my hands and half my bathroom has little purple dots.

He keeps preening and his bill is turning purple. Should I have used a hair dryer to dry the blue coat? I left it wet to air dry on its own. Will it hurt him to keep preening? He doesn't seem to like the taste (he keeps doing that mouth thing like it tastes bad) and he has perked up considerably since applying it.
I also brought in one of his half siblings to keep him company (not a happy camper to be in with the injured one). Now Purple duckling is trying to swim in his travel mug waterer.

Also, does anyone know of anything to get gentian violet off human skin? I already tried straight peroxide. Didn't work. I need this off my hands by Thursday at the latest. (I know, I know - I should've worn gloves

)

Thanks.

UPDATE: I googled and found that rubbing alcohol or vodka gets the stains off most things. Z-out and Didi7 are good for fabrics, and clorine bleach for anything that can be bleached. Just in case anyone else does the barehanded application

 

[Captain Cluck]

OK, Now I have a new question: the wing is drooping down and the duckling hasn't moved it that I can tell. It almost looks like the muscle is torn in that area. How can I tell if that is what happened? Also, will he have at least limited use of the wing later? Will a partially paralyzed wing be a problem? Would it be a problem for a laying duck? If he is a drake, I had planned to send him to freezer camp around 6 months anyway. I guess if a droopy wing causes a problem, I will have to cull eventually anyway.

I don't wanna.