[Treatment of breast injuries in marine ducks hospitalized at a wildlife shelter]. / Traitement des plaies du bréchet de canards marins hospitalisés en centre de soins de la faune sauvage.

Seabirds kept in care centers frequently show secondary lesions subsequent to detention conditions: this is the case with scabs. These scabs are very often looked upon as a cause for euthanasia, mainly after an ecological disaster, such as an oil spill, when the number of oiled birds is very large. Seaducks (Melanitta nigra, Melanitta fuscus, Somateria mollissima) were very numerous at the Veterinary School of Nantes after the wreck of the tanker Erika in December 1999. A protocol for the treatment of sternum wounds of seaducks is described. This protocol had a high success rate, with more than 65% of the treated Scoters being completely healed and more than 40% being either released or removed to Dutch care centers to await their molt.