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

[rockulius]

 

[jducour]

I just responded to your other post - thanks for adding a picture. To my untrained eye, it looks like a fungal infection. Is there any way you can take him to the vet for some medical advice? If not - I would start putting antifungal cream on it every day.

 

[rockulius]

Thanks for the comment. Will drug store topical anti fungal cream suffice? Maybe to kind for toe nails will be better, thoughts?

 

[Amykins]

Thanks for the comment. Will drug store topical anti fungal cream suffice? Maybe to kind for toe nails will be better, thoughts?

No. Take the poor thing to the vet. The antifungal creams for human toenails may be harmful to your bird since they have a lot more in them besides just the medication, and you are putting it on his mouth. Others may not be strong enough. This has progressed so far that I think professional intervention is necessary.

 

[JadeComputerGal]

Thanks for the comment. Will drug store topical anti fungal cream suffice? Maybe to kind for toe nails will be better, thoughts?

Rockulius, can you give us some more information? Here go a bunch of questions...Is this your only duck? If you have others, are they showing similar symptoms even if they're not as severe? What are the weather conditions like where you live, and what are the duck's living conditions like? Does it always have access to fresh clean water it can dip its whole bill and head in? How old is it? How long has it looked like this, and how quickly did it progress once it started? What is it fed, both what kind of regular feed and any treats?

All that info would help, but my guess just from the pic is that it started as bill shedding that's become infected. Infection could be either bacterial or fungal, though I'm thinking fungal is more likely. Very dry conditions can cause extreme peeling, basically the same way they can cause human skin to become dry and flaky. Something like that can also start as frostbite, though I'm guessing you live in the US and that it's nowhere near cold enough right now for frostbite to be suspect.

Do you have an avian vet, or do you at least know of one in your area? If so, I'd get a call in today asking them to call you tomorrow to see when you can get an appointment. If you don't know of an avian vet in your area, there are some vet locators we can post for you.

In the meantime, it won't hurt if you very carefully clean the bill with something like Vetericyn Wound Wash and apply a thin coat of Neosporin without pain reliever. Both of those should be applied with a q-tip and by rolling over the bill. You don't want to brush, scrape, or peel over it, just put some Wound Wash on a q-tip and gently roll the q-tip around. You would them do the same thing with the Neosporin,and you want to avoid the nares and keep it away from the eyes. I would not let the duck forage or get its bill into anything otherwise except fresh, clean drinking water and a small dish with some feed in it. Those things shouldn't be considered fixes, just interim precautions until you can see a vet. Since Neosporin is an antibacterial, it will not help if this is a fungal infection.

 

[casportpony]

Welcome to BYC!

Does the inside of his mouth look normal?

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

@rockulius , is he still eating and acting normal?

-Kathy

 

[rockulius]

Hi, thanks for the comment. Yes he's eating and acting normal.

 

[rockulius]

@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.

 

[rockulius]

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