Weasel Attack - badly injured duck

[Swampfarm]

Hello..

Two days ago we had a weasel attack our ducks in their coop. It only got one and tried to drag her out of the front fence. I got outside in time to scare the weasel off. To my surprise the duck was still alive - I tried to catch her but she managed to get back into the coop with the others for the night.


The next morning I caught her. She’s very wounded on the back of her head. Some of her bone was exposed and she was missing all skin/feathers. I cleaned out the wounds and put ointment all over the back side of her head before wrapping it up in gauze. She Then ate a few bites of food and drank some water.

This morning I cleaned out her wound again and let her have a bath in the sink. She seemed really relaxed and played in the water for over an hour. I bandaged her back up and put her in her cageIt’s been a couple hours and she’s still wet. She’s shaking and I just noticed she has a tiny thin yellow line around both of her eyes. I towel dried her and put her cage closer to the warm wood stove. She seems dry and is now sleeping but I’m worried she’s got an infection.

I don’t want her to be in pain, but it’s hard to tell if euthanizing her is the right option when she gave us so much hope this morning. Any thoughts will help, thanks.

 

[Isaac 0]

And, you said you've flushed the wound well, applied an ointment, wrapped gauze, and bandaged, correct? If so, you've done good, and just as you, with bite wounds, especially with wild animals, bacterial contamination transfer from their oral flora onto the wound is high, so especially if the lavaging process was delayed there always a chance the bacteria was taken away into her bloodstream, and her body is having a hard time taking care of these bacteria.

That said, it may be good to start her on a systemic antibiotic. For a case like this, something like Enrofloxacin, or Cephalexin may be good. Both can be obtained online, the only problem being how long it will take to arrive. Chewy may be able to get to your house in under three days if you pay extra.

https://allbirdproducts.com/products/baytril-10
https://www.chewy.com/fish-aid-antibiotics-cephalexin/dp/185208

Looking at the wound, I would personally attempt to treat. Birds tend to take wounds fairly well, and can survive even when inflicted with severe damaging wounds. The main goal with most wounds being treating it initially, then fending off infection, and dehydration. If you decide to order the antibiotics, in the meantime, keep the wound clean, and try to keep her hydrated as best as you can. If needed, drip sugar water, or an electrotype like Gatorade along her bill.

 

[Fluffy_the_chicken]

So sad we have had a dog attack our poor Plymouth Rock three times. The first time her spine was exposed. What we did is put some ointment on her and wrapped it up in that wound cloth. After that she slowly recovered inside. Assuming that your season right now is mid fall, I would keep her inside because the others might want to peck at her when they smell the blood. So far it seems like your doing good. (I find it that they like to watch tv and have little exploration time now and then) I really hope she gets better.

 

[Swampfarm]

What kind of cream are you using now? Neosporin, Silver sulfadiazine cream or Preparation H will work. Wounds should only be flushed/lavaged once. Repeat lavaging can effectively wash off healthy cells in the wound bed.

Triple antibiotic ointment is what I’m using now.

The wound overall looks good. But she is showing concerning signs like shivering and what looks like an involuntary wing twitch/movement when she’s trying to sleep.

I ordered the oral antibiotic, hopefully it will be here soon. Until then I’ll do as you said and keep her hydrated.

 

[Isaac 0]

Continue on using the triple antibiotic ointment, that will work. Sick/injured birds often don't eat much, which directly results in lowered metabolic energy levels, so she's not able to maintain heat well. That's why it's important a lot of the time to provide some sort of supplemental warmth.

Which antibiotic did you order?

 

[Isaac 0]

Sorry to hear about your duck, could you post a few pictures of her wounds?

 

[Swampfarm]

Hi.
This is the only picture we took yesterday. It looks better today. Skin has starting to grow back already.

 

[Swampfarm]

And, you said you've flushed the wound well, applied an ointment, wrapped gauze, and bandaged, correct? If so, you've done good, and just as you, with bite wounds, especially with wild animals, bacterial contamination transfer from their oral flora onto the wound is high, so especially if the lavaging process was delayed there always a chance the bacteria was taken away into her bloodstream, and her body is having a hard time taking care of these bacteria.

That said, it may be good to start her on a systemic antibiotic. For a case like this, something like Enrofloxacin, or Cephalexin may be good. Both can be obtained online, the only problem being how long it will take to arrive. Chewy may be able to get to your house in under three days if you pay extra.

https://allbirdproducts.com/products/baytril-10
https://www.chewy.com/fish-aid-antibiotics-cephalexin/dp/185208

Looking at the wound, I would personally attempt to treat. Birds tend to take wounds fairly well, and can survive even when inflicted with severe damaging wounds. The main goal with most wounds being treating it initially, then fending off infection, and dehydration. If you decide to order the antibiotics, in the meantime, keep the wound clean, and try to keep her hydrated as best as you can. If needed, drip sugar water, or an electrotype like Gatorade along her bill.




Thanks for your response.

When I initially cleaned the wound I didn’t use alcohol or hydrogen peroxide...I only used soap and water. It’s such a huge gaping wound with a lot of exposed flesh, I just couldn’t get myself to poor a solution on it.

With that being said, do you think I should now try to apply something stronger besides the antibacterial cream? I could do it tonight when I clean the wound. Then possibly leave the bandage on for a couple of days.

I’ll order those antibiotics you suggested. Thanks.

 

[Isaac 0]

What kind of cream are you using now? Neosporin, Silver sulfadiazine cream or Preparation H will work. Wounds should only be flushed/lavaged once. Repeat lavaging can effectively wash off healthy cells in the wound bed.

 

[Swampfarm]

Continue on using the triple antibiotic ointment, that will work. Sick/injured birds often don't eat much, which directly results in lowered metabolic energy levels, so she's not able to maintain heat well. That's why it's important a lot of the time to provide some sort of supplemental warmth.

Which antibiotic did you order?

The one from chewy that you recommended