Duck Bill and Head Trauma - Assistance Please

[3bird]

I went to check on our small flock of 9 week old Silver Appleyard ducks late this afternoon, and one had considerable blood on her bill and head. On further inspection, there was trauma to the lower right corner of the bill and numerous vertical (bleeding) scratch marks on the bill. There was also a soft tissue wound on the right side of her head just above her ear, a smaller soft tissue injury on the left side of her head just behind her eye, a soft issue injury just above her bill, and a soft tissue injury on the top of her head. The soft tissue injury just above her bill was draining blood into her nostrils which were bubbling as a result.

She was standing with the flock when I came upon her, and the injury had to occur within the past hour, as I had recently checked them then. She was fairly active and walking, but she settled down when I picked her up. Her breathing was rapid and shallow but slowed as I stroked her and checked for additional wounds. We took her to the vet, but the bird vet was away, so she got the general livestock treatment. We cleaned all the wounds with saline, and gave her a single stitch to the wound on the right side of her head. Her tongue appeared okay, and her mandible appeared uninjured. The vet gave her 500mg of Amoxicillin (by syringe in the mouth, and not all of it made it in) and recommended a 250 mg dose every 8 hours. She is home now and inside with access to water. She also has access to a heat lamp. She drank a little, stretched and flapped her wings, and now she is just standing looking very tired. The wound above her beak continues to bleed slowly, which is getting in her right nostril. Any advice anyone has for care over the next several hours would be much appreciate. Thank you in advance. Amelia is a truly wonderful duck, and we're prepared to whatever we can do.

I will post a picture shortly.

 

[3bird]

Here is a picture of Amelia.

 

[3bird]

BUMP - We are treating this as an emergency situation, and we're quite worried that we are not doing all we can--especially in the coming hours. Any advice, thoughts, comments, etc., would be greatly appreciated. She's still just standing with her bill resting on her breast. She has not had anything to drink (or eat) in more than an hour. We did wipe her bill down with saline again to help clear the right nostril of blood. We really appreciate any recommendations anybody might have as to how to proceed.

 

[3bird]

If anyone can help, we would REALLY appreciate it. We are planning to add a bird vitamin mix to her drinking water now, but she has not been drinking. We also are planning to administer 250 mg of Amoxicillin orally (by syringe) at around 1 am (~8 hours after the first dose). In the morning, we plan to clean the wounds again and treat each with Neosporin. Questions: Should we give her the option of a heat lamp tonight? Should we leave food with her in addition to her water overnight?

 

[3bird]

We administered another dose of Amoxicillin, but I fear much of it missed the mark. I held her for about 45 minutes, and we cleaned her bill. Her breathing was noticeably noisy before we cleaned her nostrils again. She rested fairly comfortably while I held her, and accepted small drinks of water mixed with bird vitamins. She defected twice while I held her but had not really done so overnight. She has not eaten at all (we offered her some crumble with some meal worms mixed in). Should we try putting some floating pellets or chopped greens in her water? Should we be helping her clean her eyes since she isn't immersing her whole head in water?

Any other ideas? Mid-morning, we'll clean out all the soft tissue wounds again and add Neosporin. We'd once again appreciate any advice from anyone else who has dealt with soft tissue and bill injuries with ducks.

Thanks again.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I haven't had to deal with this kind of injury but just wanted to say she is a miracle to have lived through a pred attack. She is in good hands with you I can tell but she maybe still in shock so keep her warm to by putting a heat lamp where she can get under it if she wants. But she can also not if she wants.

Try all the above to get her to eat. Even making a mushy meal out of her pellets sometimes they will eat soupy before dry when injured or sick. Does she like bread? I know it isn't the best to feed but I can sometimes use bread as a medium for giving meds since mine love bread. Try a little bread with the antibiotic first to see if she will eat it if she does then use small amount of bread to finish giving her the rest. Listen ducks are amazing at healing and we have seen some horrendous attacks that they have come through with good nursing as your doing. So don't get discouraged.
How is she doing now has the bleeding stopped? We also have info on tube feeding if she doesn't pick up and eat on her own.

 

[3bird]

I haven't had to deal with this kind of injury but just wanted to say she is a miracle to have lived through a pred attack. She is in good hands with you I can tell but she maybe still in shock so keep her warm to by putting a heat lamp where she can get under it if she wants. But she can also not if she wants.

Try all the above to get her to eat. Even making a mushy meal out of her pellets sometimes they will eat soupy before dry when injured or sick. Does she like bread? I know it isn't the best to feed but I can sometimes use bread as a medium for giving meds since mine love bread. Try a little bread with the antibiotic first to see if she will eat it if she does then use small amount of bread to finish giving her the rest. Listen ducks are amazing at healing and we have seen some horrendous attacks that they have come through with good nursing as your doing. So don't get discouraged.
How is she doing now has the bleeding stopped? We also have info on tube feeding if she doesn't pick up and eat on her own.

Thank you so much for the reply! It has felt a little lonely and scary without advice from other duck folks. She is pretty subdued by resting on and off. We're trying to give her space but also keep an eye on her. Keeping her nostrils clear was our major concern with the blood. Obviously we worry about infection too. I added a few floating pellets to her vitamin water, and we'll see if she eats them. I'll try a soupy mash later. I'm encouraged that she is drinking, but I am concerned about her eating. We have an appointment with an avian vet at 3:45. I'll keep you posted. Thanks again for the reply--it really helps!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Good to hear your taking her back in. Please let us know.

Drinking is good and hopefully eating will come soon.

 

[3bird]

On a somewhat unrelated note, we'd love to know how this injury happened. If it was a predator, we can't determine what it was based on the injuries. It seems plausible she got her head stuck somewhere and was cut on wire, but we can't find the place where it happened. We're keeping her six siblings confined to their run for the time being just to be safe. Ideas?

 

[3bird]

Amelia had a little taste of some crumble mixed with water into a mash--just a taste. She continues to drink little bits but fairly frequently. She's being a little more vocal but still very subdued overall. The biggest concern beside the soft tissue injuries and the risk of infection is the noise she makes when breathing. It seems there is clearly some partial obstruction of the nostrils, which we continue to wash out regularly with a saline solution. After wiping her bill she breaths a little easier. She is stretching and flapping her wings periodically (like normal), and she has started to try to preen her feathers, but clearly the trauma to her bill makes it too difficult/painful. She has not immersed her head in water since before the injury. Should we be wiping her eyes for her? Thank again for any help or advice you can offer.