Poor duck. :(

[desertdarlene]

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Thanks! I actually don't feel I do anything as I can't take him home or help him otherwise due to lack of space and money. All I can do is check up on him and see if people who are able to help can take him.

 

[goosedragon]

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From the picture he is already regrowning many feathers And the weight of the blood in those new feathers may be the cause of his wing slump. He is unlikely to grow any major feathers where the skin was removed, maybe some some down and other feathers where the skin wasn't damaged may cover the bare spot. It is like if you get major skin damage on a hairy body part the healed scar doesn't grow hair anymore. If he has broken off feathers they will be pushed out at the next molt. the ones that are regrowing now are where the feather were pulled completely out by the attack or what ever happened to him. I suspect he will be fine, ducks are tough, but he may never fly again, only time will tell. Good Luck to him and to you for caring!

 

[desertdarlene]

Well, it's been almost two months since this happened and he's still around!

Some of the bad feather spines have dropped off, but no new ones have grown back. I don't know if he'll ever fly right again from what it looks like right now. It's too bad, I think he's one of the ducklings from last summer and only had his flying feathers for a couple of months before this happened.

Yesterday, it was warm and all the ducks were in the shade. Sorry if this if fuzzy.

 

[duckyfromoz]

So glad to hear he is still around. You must get attached to some of the special ducks and other birds you see there. At least by now the chance of dying from infection etc has well past- and now he just needs to make sure he can stay safe with that injury to survive. Sounds like even if he was attacked there at the lake- it might be a good place for him as their is plenty of water for him to escape to should the need ever arise.

 

[desertdarlene]

I do get attached to some of these special animals and am very surprised at how well so many do without any help from people despite all the predators around there. This duck still hangs out in the area where he was attacked and no longer acts afraid of anything anymore.

But, not all survive. A few days ago, there was a juvenile ringed-bill gull that had some kind of wing injury. He lived two weeks and then just died in his sleep one cold night. His wing looked fine with no breaks or dislocation, but I think he might have pulled a tendon or muscle while playing. He was beginning to use it again a few days before he died. There was another, older, juvenile with the same problem, but it looked like his has almost healed and he's flying again.