# Strange strange thing on/in my ducks neck!



## mamajohnson (Nov 27, 2002)

ok, this morning my daughter brought me a muscovy duckling (about 5-6 months old) that was limping. She found a lump on his neck, and said he was limping, barely getting around.
While I was looking him over, I found absolutely nothing wrong with his legs or lower body. The lump on his neck was about 3 inches down from the head, right along side the neck bone.

Well, on further investigation I see there is something inside that lump, and it is very very hard. My ducks tend to get on the other side of the fence and my neighbor has fired his shotgun at them, I guess looking for duck dinner, so I immediatley assumed it was shotgun shells in the neck. So, I decided to remove them. I could see black in there, figured we had a feather turned in with the bee bees in there.
I started working on getting this thing out, and the skin was stretched and sorta rotting away, got some tweezers, got under this hard 'thing' and started pulling it out. Amazing enough the duck was very still.
I extracted what looked like a beetle! it was almost as big as a penny. No insides to the beetle, just a shell. I had to keep pulling out pieces of this thing, legs, body, head... and what looked like a cocoon thingy that had been around it. I cleaned it all out real well, and put in some ointment.
The hole is rather large.

What I am thinking is, this thing got in the ducks neck as a larvae and puppated (or whatever the word is) there.
But, I am wondering, what IS it???? I will post a picture soon, just wondering if anyone has ever seen anything like this?
I have searched for something online and can't seem to find any info on anything like this. 

Maybe it is just a freak thing?

Oh, and the duck is not limping near as bad, I think it was pressing on his spine or something. These are meat birds, so if it survives it is bound for freezer camp, but I have about 40 birds out there - we had a bumper crop this year - (free range) and am wondering if I need to check each one over real well???

ANY thoughts on this are welcome!


----------



## mr.breeze (May 23, 2009)

No advice but I give you a lot of credit for cleaning that wound out, and that duck must have some how known that you were helping him out by feeling the release of pressure in his neck,hope he pulls through.


----------



## mamajohnson (Nov 27, 2002)

Well, I guess my curiousity got the best of me! lol! And I am not easily grossed out. My daughter, however (she is 11) was holding the duck, and turning her head. lol!

I was amazed to just keep finding stuff in there!


----------



## cheryl-tx (Jan 3, 2005)

Probably way out there, but, a bad bug that got caught in the craw and managed to hang on, crunch its way out. Abscess and there you have the skeletal remains?


----------



## mamajohnson (Nov 27, 2002)

ohhh interesting theory Cheryl!


----------



## mamajohnson (Nov 27, 2002)

Here is the ducks neck, after the removal. There is peroxide in the hole, that is the bubbling you see.












Picture of the bug I removed.


----------



## cheryl-tx (Jan 3, 2005)

hmm, doesn't that look a bit like a june bug? Some nasty beetle type, who knows.
Hopefully a freak thing and will still be quite tasty outta the freezer (the duck).


----------



## mamajohnson (Nov 27, 2002)

June bug was my first thought. We have lots of those around here. But, it seemed a little different. very black, but maybe from where it was?

Yeah, I figure the duck will still be good eats.


----------



## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

http://insects.tamu.edu/fieldguide/bimg146.html

Think this might be it?


----------



## mamajohnson (Nov 27, 2002)

well, we do have a ton of dung beetles around here lately. Didn't think about those. But this is really a lot smaller, of course if it was pupating (or whatever) that would explain the size.


----------



## greenboy (Sep 5, 2005)

I do believe this is the animal you got in your duck neck.

What made me sad was not the fact of this beetle on your duck neck what made me sad if you neighbor shooting your ducks just because they go thru the fence, that made me sad, and I pity you with such wonderful neighbors. Ciao


----------



## waterpossum (Apr 19, 2009)

i/m thinking i agree with cheryl...if the duck didn/t crunch the beetle good enought before it went down i think it could have very well came back up and tried chewing its way out. think about trying to hold a june bug or other beetle in your hand and you can feel how strong they are and digging into your skin...what could it do with a little ole duck? tell him he needs to chew his food 20 times before swallowing!


----------



## mamajohnson (Nov 27, 2002)

greenboy said:


> I do believe this is the animal you got in your duck neck.
> 
> What made me sad was not the fact of this beetle on your duck neck what made me sad if you neighbor shooting your ducks just because they go thru the fence, that made me sad, and I pity you with such wonderful neighbors. Ciao


Yeah, I have a bad neighbor. Worse yet, he is related to me! UGH!
Shoots my ducks, and shot my dog. Think the Sheriff put and end to that.
But, what can ya do when you live next to an old drunk?

At least he is the only neighbor I have.


----------

