Runner duck with beak lacerations

[iKnowDJTim]

Hey everyone, we have guests over and had our runner duck, Taco in his dog carrier during dinner. My dad let him out to run around on news paper and one of our guests noticed a laceration. After closer inspection we noticed not one, but several. The carrier is hard plastic with a wire door... Taco has a habit of getting angry when put in the cage before bedtime, so I'm assuming he was hitting himself against the cage door. I checked the door to see if there was any beak material or blood on the door, none found... Has anyone had issues like this before? Any solutions?

My dad ( a dentist and finch breeder) antiseptic the wounds and started him on an avian antibiotic called Amoxitex. The duck is in good spirits and running around.

 

[Frank Phinster]

Duck bills a covered with soft skin and not with keratin as the beaks of other birds, so injuries are more likely under certain circumstances. Cage wiring is known to cause bill injuries when the bird has the chance to get stuck between the bars.
I suppose that the skin will grow back, but make sure that the wound does not get dirty. Such a large wound is an easy target for germs. You may want to consult a vet in case the wound does not get better.
I am also not sure whether it is wise to use antibiotics when there is no urgent need for it because that helps germs to develop resitance against the medicine.

 

[Coyote Night]

Permanent spot left on a runner hens bill after predator attack. I would assume that your duck got a little rough with the cage and over time it should heal up on its own with no need of antibiotics. There is a small chance of a spot remaining on it but will not harm him...... highly unlikely though because this hen above is the only one I've ever seen have a permanent spot remain.

 

[Amiga]

I would line the inside of the crate with soft plastic poultry fence (I got some at the big box store) or similar material that won't break but also won't injure him.

Veterycin spray or even a saline solution used frequently at first and then less often as he heals may well protect from bacterial infection (which, in the worst cases, can become systemic if not treated properly) without the concern about bacterial resistance developing.

Dilute chamomile tea is something that has been used, also.

Ducks can find ways to injure themselves, so I would literally run my hands all around every square inch of the inside of that crate. Maybe it's the latch. Maybe it's something near the crate. Find it and fix it.

Einz once caught herself like a fish on a hook on a thick thick piece of coated wire that was part of a puppy pen. The gap in the "J" at the end was about a sixteenth of an inch. How she got her lower mandible slid through there I will never know, but by the grace of the Lord she and I finally got her out of there without breaking anything. She had a hole in the soft tissue, and I treated that with neosporin and kept her in sick bay for a couple of days.

That was agony - emotionally for me, and emotionally and physically for her.

Just an illustration of the unlikely injuries ducks can inflict upon themselves.

Little nutballs.