Mallard Duckling Struck By Car

The following story about a mallard duckling was shared with us by Carolina Waterfowl Rescue in North Carolina.

We weren’t sure if this mallard duckling would pull through. At the beginning, the prognosis was very poor, and day-to-day was a worry. Would this baby make it through another night?

This little duckling was hit by a car and rushed to us for emergency care. She had a ruptured air sac on her right side and multiple wounds to the neck and chest area. Her beak was run over and her tongue was badly cut up. When rehabbers initially examined her, she was in shock. Mentally, she was completely withdrawn. The body was processing too much pain and emotional distress to leave room for much else, leaving the poor baby stunned.

We wanted to get her warm and stable. This meant flushing and cleaning her wounds and then leaving her to rest in an incubator rather than stress her out further. She would have to be reexamined another time.

After stabilizing her, we could take another look at her. We administered fluids and carefully sutured up the injury on her neck. But she was losing weight and, at this critical stage, that was a dangerous sign. We began tube feeding her EmerAid IC Herbivore.

For five days, we monitored her injuries, provided fluids, pain relief, and tube fed her. She started to feel better. At Day 7, a breakthrough!!

Finally, after seven days of biting our nails and crossing our fingers, we could breathe a sigh of relief! The little duckling had gained 166 grams (about 5.8 ounces), from 276 grams to 442 grams (about 9.7 ounces to 15.6 ounces). This was healthy weight that her body needed to continue healing. Not only that, but she was showing an appetite herself, becoming more active and vigilant, and engaging with her surroundings. The baby was doing great. Her tongue had also healed considerably and the ruptured air sacs had resolved.

She is a CHAMPION! From being nearly lost to fighting her way back to life, this baby mallard has proven how strong she is. After seeing her at her most vulnerable to now, we are overjoyed to watch her just “be.” In an environment where every day can be grinding and victories are so often punctuated with losses, this little duck has kept hope alive!