There's a hole in my duck!

[PeachnPippin]

I have a 3 mo old Swedish blue duck. She has a hole in her side; it is not infected, nor was it ever.

Its kind of like a skin pocket, but it does produce mucous. It does not seem to bother her, she does not touch it too often, unless she's cleaning. It does smell a bit, which I think may be from her feathers and down around the area being constantly moist from the mucous. She lets me probe around with tweezers and I have pulled out pieces of down from it.

Has anyone else seen something like this? any suggestions for cleaning or keeping the feathers dry around it.

I have been contemplating going to a vet, but I have never had much success there with other problems and the only change I see is in my wallet. I am also not one to use medications unless they are natural. I have used various salves I have made for different cuts and skin problems on my ducks in the past and they have worked every time.

Thanks for any advice

Also I'm not sure if its a girl, still waiting for the signs.

 

[Adalida]

Any chance you could post a pic?

I'm with you on the vet...I've spent hundreds between my dogs and horses, only to be told they couldn't do anything. I'm always jealous of people who have good vets, especially for birds.

 

[PeachnPippin]

Its about the size of a pencil eraser.

 

[TeeMom]

How long has it been there? I don't know what climate you're in, but that almost looks like what you would see with bot fly larvae.

 

[PeachnPippin]

I noticed it when she was much younger, before her feathers cam in and it was much smaller. I am in North central Arizona, I am not sure where Botflies live, but I'll look into it

 

[TeeMom]

If it's not that and it's been there that long, especially of it's weepy, there is most likely infection. You need to clear the feathers in that area and wash it well with some kind of antiseptic. If it is a bot fly, clearing away some of the feathers should also reveal movement of the larva in the hole, in which case it needs to be removed and then flushed and cleaned well.

 

[chickens really]

It looks like a feather follicle infection.....Like an ingrown hair on people ......Wash it good with epsom salt and apply an antibiotic spray......if that doesn't clear it up? Then go to a Vet.....





Cheers!

 

[mayfl0wer]

I have a 3 mo old Swedish blue duck. She has a hole in her side; it is not infected, nor was it ever.

Its kind of like a skin pocket, but it does produce mucous. It does not seem to bother her, she does not touch it too often, unless she's cleaning. It does smell a bit, which I think may be from her feathers and down around the area being constantly moist from the mucous. She lets me probe around with tweezers and I have pulled out pieces of down from it.

Has anyone else seen something like this? any suggestions for cleaning or keeping the feathers dry around it.

I have been contemplating going to a vet, but I have never had much success there with other problems and the only change I see is in my wallet. I am also not one to use medications unless they are natural. I have used various salves I have made for different cuts and skin problems on my ducks in the past and they have worked every time.

Thanks for any advice

Also I'm not sure if its a girl, still waiting for the signs.

Hi! Did you ever find out what was wrong with your duck? We found a hole in our female duck's side today and we do not know what it is. It sounds almost identical to what your duck had. We want to go to the vet, but they are all closed right now. Do you have any advice on what you did?
Thank you in advance.