What is wrong with this ducks bill? How can I help him?

[JadeComputerGal]

@JadeComputerGal
This is our only duck.
We live in the desert south west. He is very well taken care of.
He is a rescue and has a damaged leg because of fishing line.
He has water and a kids pool to float and bathe, he can submerge his whole head.
We don't know how old he is, we rescued him 3 years ago. he was full grown at that time.
It's looked like this for a long time, more than 6 months. It's slowly progressed to the point it is at now.
He is fed a variety of grains, fruits, vegetables, and a bit of salmon and rice dog food. Also rinsed canned corn and cheerios.

He also scratched/cut his bill on the edge of a mirror, this is when the problem started.
We thought it would clear up but by now but it's obvious that it's getting worse. We don't have the means to take him to a vet. So we are going to try applying a daily anti fungal cream from the drugstore.

@casportpony Thanks for the comment. The inside of his mouth looks normal.

I really, really would not recommend applying an antifungal you pick up from a drugstore, especially in light of the fact that you said this started when he cut his bill on a piece of glass.

Kathy, there are other things I'm thinking of here, but would you mind saying what you think in light of what the OP said? It's so hard to say in these situations when you can't see something in person, but I'm very hesitant to apply a random antifungal to a duck based on a pic. I'm thinking a very arid environment could be a big part of the extreme shedding and that the cut from the glass more likely introduced something bacterial?

 

[casportpony]

@casportpony Thanks for the comment. The inside of his mouth looks normal.

That's good news... Here's how I see it... If you have $100 or more to spare, take him to a vet, but if money is tight, like it is for me, I say keep a close eye on him, keep it clean and see if it gets better on it's own. Of course if it starts to get worse, or if he starts looking off, take him to a vet.

-kathy

 

[casportpony]

Quote: It doesn't look that bad to me, but hard to say with just pictures. You all know how much I love drugs, lol, but this is not one I would give drugs to unless it looked painful or infected.

-Kathy

Disclaimer: I have no medical training.

 

[casportpony]

@rockulius , if you press on it, does any fluid ooze out? Is there a bad odor to it?

-Kathy

 

[rockulius]

@casportpony No, there is no fluid that oozes. We may try manuka oil, it's an all natural anti fungal. Also this suggestion: "very carefully clean the bill with something like Vetericyn Wound Wash and apply a thin coat of Neosporin without pain reliever"
I'll keep the thread updated with his progress. Thanks for your comments.

 

[casportpony]

@rockulius , if you can, get a baseline weight on him, then weigh him every few days. Any weight loss might be a sign that there is something more serious going on.

-Kathy

Edited to add the word loss

 

[casportpony]

@casportpony No, there is no fluid that oozes. We may try manuka oil, it's an all natural anti fungal. Also this suggestion: "very carefully clean the bill with something like Vetericyn Wound Wash and apply a thin coat of Neosporin without pain reliever"
I'll keep the thread updated with his progress. Thanks for your comments.

That sounds like a reasonable plan.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

@rockulius , do you know what poultry pus looks like? If not, would you like me to post some pictures of it here?

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Kathy, there are other things I'm thinking of here, but would you mind saying what you think in light of what the OP said? It's so hard to say in these situations when you can't see something in person, but I'm very hesitant to apply a random antifungal to a duck based on a pic. I'm thinking a very arid environment could be a big part of the extreme shedding and that the cut from the glass more likely introduced something bacterial?

I think you're right.... if it is infection it seems more likely that it would be bacterial.

-Kathy

 

[JadeComputerGal]

It doesn't look that bad to me, but hard to say with just pictures. You all know how much I love drugs, lol, but this is not one I would give drugs to unless it looked painful or infected.

-Kathy

Disclaimer: I have no medical training.

LOL. Yes, dear Kathy, I know how much you love drugs (in the right circumstances, and meaning in treating poultry, so let's clarify that).

No assisted peeling or scraping or brushing, don't you think? I'm okay with it if you think otherwise. A vet would scrape it a bit to culture it, but peeling or scraping just to "help" could open it to more infection, right? (Or not right? Okay if you say you think not right. I've always been in the 'don't "assist" peeling or shedding' mindset.)