Small Dog Bite to Duck's Leg - Help

[Jennifer_M]

I have 2 female pekin ducks that are about 3 years old. I noticed last night that my one duck couldn't stand on her leg and was using her wing to pull herself out of hiding. She was filthy from playing in the mud so I took her inside and put her in the bathtub. She cleaned and preened and splashed around as normal. I started examining the area around the injured leg and noticed 2 sets of small puncture holes. Our neighbor has small weiner dogs and I'm assuming that one of them got there snout through the fence and bit the duck because there was a small clump of down feathers on the other side of the fence. One spot had clotted, one spot was bleeding and the other 2 look like they barely broke the skin.

She can stand but doesn't want to put too much weight on the leg. I can hold her and press against her foot and she presses back, and I felt to foot/leg/socket area and nothing felt out of place or caused a reaction. She tries to walk but has her wings out for balance and if I support her body weight, she will let me move the foot/leg back and forth and sort of work the area without reaction.

I don't really know what to do. I brought both ducks inside and she is in a large dog crate with a lot of padding and the other duck has an attached pen but likes to stand guard over the other duck. I'm just letting her rest and keeping the area clean. Should I put her in the water and let her do her own therapy and swim and get her up and help her walk around? My concern is that there is muscle/tendon damage (hoping not) and I don't want to make anything worse or hurt her.

Any help, suggestions, comments, anything is appreciated. Thanks

 

[townchicks]

Any dog bite is going to leave you sore for days to weeks. If you don't think anything is broken, she should heal in time. I would be most concerned about infection in any puncture type wound such as a dog bite. I'd keep the area as clean as possible, apply Neosporin or another topical antibacterial and let her rest. A swim in a clean tub probably won't hurt, but I wouldn't think she needs it.

 

[Cayuga momma]

Epsom salt soaks will help with soreness (if they drink it they will get diarrhea)
You can also give baby aspirin for pain as long as she isn't bleeding anymore.
I would apply neosporin to the wounds and cover them for a day or two. If the wounds look like they are starting to close up you can leave the bandages off.
You can also make a sling for her to sit in so she can still stretch her legs without putting weight on it.

Hope this helps.

 

[chickens really]

Hmmm? Either sprained or fractured.
Run wire along your fence so the dogs can't reach the Ducks.

 

[Jennifer_M]

Any dog bite is going to leave you sore for days to weeks. If you don't think anything is broken, she should heal in time. I would be most concerned about infection in any puncture type wound such as a dog bite. I'd keep the area as clean as possible, apply Neosporin or another topical antibacterial and let her rest. A swim in a clean tub probably won't hurt, but I wouldn't think she needs it.

Thank you . I palpated the area from the foot all the way up under her wing and she didn't try to attack me or have a reaction to touch. I wasn't sure if the ducky hydro therapy would be good for the healing process or make it worse.

 

[Jennifer_M]

Epsom salt soaks will help with soreness (if they drink it they will get diarrhea)
You can also give baby aspirin for pain as long as she isn't bleeding anymore.
I would apply neosporin to the wounds and cover them for a day or two. If the wounds look like they are starting to close up you can leave the bandages off.
You can also make a sling for her to sit in so she can still stretch her legs without putting weight on it.

Hope this helps.

Thank you . I had thought about the epsom salt but wasn't sure if I could use it or not. I would probably fill a ziplock bag and put her leg in it and hold her. I was also wondering about pain medication. Her new clean bedding wasn't bloody from last night. They should make a duck bouncer, like the baby bouncers for when they are injured

 

[Jennifer_M]

Hmmm? Either sprained or fractured.
Run wire along your fence so the dogs can't reach the Ducks.

No spray or fracture. I'm not sure how close the tendons/muscles run to the surface of the skin and I'm assuming, like in humans, with any bite that breaks the skin, it's going to bruise and be sore for a while. I just feel bad for her.

I'm putting plywood up along the fence. Never had an issue before with the little dogs and my big dogs protect the ducks.

 

[chickens really]

No spray or fracture. I'm not sure how close the tendons/muscles run to the surface of the skin and I'm assuming, like in humans, with any bite that breaks the skin, it's going to bruise and be sore for a while. I just feel bad for her.

I'm putting plywood up along the fence. Never had an issue before with the little dogs and my big dogs protect the ducks.

Yep just like people..Things need weeks to heal.

 

[Jennifer_M]

Yep just like people..Things need weeks to heal.

I feel better knowing that people are thinking the same thing I am. Thanks for all the feedback