Ducks Losses - Coyote

[thistlebloom]

Hang in there V. If she's walking and talking to you I'm confident she'll survive. Animals have an amazing capacity to heal.
I've witnessed a few of my own animals recover from devastating injuries. She may not regrow the feathers on her neck but things will start healing from the inside outward. You'll be amazed.

Coyotes are very bold, it's not uncommon at all to see them during daylight hours. They are opportunists and will return to the place they got a meal before.

I hope you can catch the animal that is going after your flock.

 

[Nyboy]

Sorry about your duck. The coyote will be back, they have puppies to feed this time of year. When feeding a litter they will hunt day and night. Good luck.

 

[hangin'witthepeeps]

I sat up one night with one of my laboring goat mommies and listened to the coyotes yip all during the night in the neighboring cow pasture. My Great Pyrenees is a challenge with the baby goats, but I'm so glad I have her for this very reason.

Good luck with your duckie, I work at UGA Vet School and a vet told me the key is to keep it moist. The Vaseline is a good idea and antibiotics in the water would ward off infection if you didn't get everything clean. She may have some puncture wounds and those need to ooze to heal properly. Keep the Vaseline around it so it doesn't scab over and the ooze can come out.

Let me know if I can ask them anything for you and if need be you can post pictures I can show them.

 

[ninnymary]

Oh Hangin'witthepeeps, thanks for helping our friend out. I knew someone would have a contact somewhere out there. I just love this site because everyone is so caring and helpful.

Vfem, I think she'll make it. She's strong like alot of us women!

Mary

 

[vfem]

Thank you Hangin' that is AWESOME!

I am going to attempt to clean the wound again today, it had bugs on it and I was trying to clean this morning before work and don't think I got all the little gnats and things out. I had a feeling I didn't get it all yesterday. I'm using swat to keep anymore from getting it.

I am vaselining her bandages constantly and its keeping everything from sticking very well. I need to get this blood off her feathers around her neck and chest to help some more, but its not working well. I'm thinking about getting scissors and removing as much of the feathers around there as I can to make this easier to care for and dress daily? What do you think?

If I share pictures, I hope no one has a weezy tummy? It's NOT pretty in the least and I'll probably have to put a warning on the thread.

 

[hangin'witthepeeps]

I have a vet friend here, I'll call her Dr. J for short and anonymity. She recently bought chicks and they are at the 14 week mark. One of her adult hens (she only has two adults) attacked one of the juveniles. Tore her up pretty bad with exposed muscle tissue, missing feathers, and a really torn up Preening Gland. She cleaned it really well with water, put Red Kote on it, smeared all her wounds with Vaseline and gave her a shot of penicillin (labeled for cows). She is keeping her on shredded paper in a cage to herself. Poor thing is almost bald, but is recovering nicely. She said if it makes it past the shock of the event and doesn't get an infection, it will most like make it.

She said not to cut any feathers off unless necessary. Changing the bandages, keeping it moist and draining are the key to wound healing. Don't use tape. She used an old sweat shirt for a kid and made a vest of some sort for her chicken. It can be removed and washed.

 

[hangin'witthepeeps]

Oh, she did say it will get pretty ugly with the scab coming on. Just keep it moist.

 

[vfem]

Great, I have it wrapped with a clean sock and then an ace bandage to hold it all on which it wrapped under her wings. This way her head is balanced but she can move it without moving the bandages. The sock is drenched in vaseline. I did have to pull some feathers away from the wound, I hope that helps they were sticking to it. Best I can do under the circumstances.

Going to buy another jar of vaseline today.

I washed her with Dawn and warm water as best I could. I found fly larva on her either though her head and neck are covered in SWAT! Ugh. I got as much as I could. I will redress it a 3rd time tonight until I'm sure the bug issue is taken care of.

 

[NwMtGardener]

One thing that might help with the blood is hydrogen peroxide. I havent used it on feathers, but we used it at the animal hospital for getting blood out of fur or our clothes. Maybe use some q-tips to dab it only on the feathers, you dont want to get it in the wound at all, because it will kill healthy tissue.

 

[vfem]

NwMt, I think I'll hold off on that. Most of her neck skin is just gone from her chest cavity to about 2-3" up all the way around. It's took risky to not hit any tissue.

She's refusing to eat since the last dressing... can only get her to take water which I put nutri-drench in to help suppliment what she's missing from her regular amount of eating.

I've been with her 4 times already today, and I will probably have to be 2 more times and will probably have to dress the wound again one more time today. I may photo then. The poor girls is exhausted!

Next batch of water I'm going to do the antibiotics for now.