Worried about my ducks health. Please help

I like both of those!

Yay! I just go with the first thing that comes to mind when I see their photo. He looks very distinguished, but also like he has a secret sassy side. LOL

The vet put him on an antibiotic for his cough. 1 ml twice/day. On the script label it says
SMZ-TMP Susp. /ml. I looked it up on line and the abbreviation I find stands for Sulfamethoxazole Trimethoprim Oral Suspension. Then I looked it up in some threads on here and it sounds like it is by trade name known as Bactrim. I always like to research a drug before I give it. Does anyone have any info on this drug? Is it safe, side affects (the vet tech said there weren't any), is it overkill for an infection diagnosed only by listening to the lungs. No throat swab for a gram stain was taken. Or is it a pretty normal drug to prescribe in this case? Thanks

I don't know - antibiotics are not my strong suit - and your questions are good ones. I know of a vet who does sensitivity tests, but many do not.

Much over due update. So much has happened since my last post. I gave him all of his SMZ. During treatment he seemed to be getting better but the day after his last dose he took a nose dive. The very next morning he had extremely labored breathing was kind of making a squeaking sound and basically sounded like he was drowning from the inside. So off to the vet. A different vet than the one I had been using.

This new vet really seemed to know his duck stuff. ( He has been asked by the state of Wisconsin to conduct lectures on poultry disease). Yay! Finaly found a vet that is very knowledgeable about chickens and ducks!!

We did x-rays and he said that the x-rays looked better than he sounded but that the air sac that feeds the lungs directly had a lot of fluid in it as well as the lungs themselves. The air sac was feeding infection into the lungs. His other air sacs were pretty clear. Forgive me but I can't remember the names of the air sacs. So anyways, he put him on 7 days of 2xs/day of Bayril IM injections. He showed me how and they are pretty easy.

He also looked at his poop and found that he now had Coccidiosis! Ugh!!!! But the good news is that the capillaria worms were gone. The Safeguard that I had him on for the Capillaria worms is not effective against Coccidiosis. He was put on Corid (Amprolium) for that. It's a drug for cattle but can be used on ducks by putting it in their water. If anyone has experience with Coccidiosis in ducks please give me any info you have. I don't know if he is drinking enough of his corid water to get rid of the coccidiosis.

The vet showed me how to tube feed after I had told him about syringe feeding him and suspecting that I had caused him to aspirate before he went on SMZ, and that I had looked into tube feeding. He said that syringe feeding is dangerous and that tube feeding is the safest way to feed a duck.

After seeing all of the info on here and with a lot of help and then seeing the vet demonstrate it in front of me.........I finally was not afraid to tube feed. It really is not hard to do. It is easier with 4 hands instead of 2 but can be done either way. Please do not be afraid of tube feeding if you are considering it. My biggest concern when I was contemplating it was that I would put the tube down the wrong hole and that I wouldn't get it in far enough or I would put it in too far. My vet told me that with the tube I had (18 French catheter) there was no way I would get it in the wrong hole. He also showed me that as you put the tube in you can feel and see where it is on the side of the neck so you know exactly where it is and all you have to do is get it into the crop. I read all of these things on here and although seeing it in person helped me get over my fears everything I have read on here is exactly how he showed me to do it.

That is where we are at right now. He is still wheezy and his eye still has some foaminess on occasion. We are on Day 2.5 of the Baytril. I'm really hoping to see an improvement over the weekend.

Hope everyone has a great Labor Day Weekend.

Thank you for the update! I'm so glad you found a good vet. Tube feeding looks and sounds so much scarier than it is! I'm so happy everything is working out.

@duckitup , how's he doing?

-Kathy

He is doing well. Yesterday was his last shot of Baytril. He is up to 3.23 lbs. Didn't tube yesterday or today. Hoping he won't need it any more since I have surgery tomorrow. I'll update more when I can. I have a lot to get ready for tomorrow. Sorry I can't spend more time on this right now.

duckitup said:

He is doing well. Yesterday was his last shot of Baytril. He is up to 3.23 lbs. Didn't tube yesterday or today. Hoping he won't need it any more since I have surgery tomorrow. I'll update more when I can. I have a lot to get ready for tomorrow. Sorry I can't spend more time on this right now.

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Thanks for the update and good luck tomorrow! Wishing you a speedy, uncomplicated recovery.!

-Kathy

Thank you @casportpony. My recovery is going well.....as well as Mr. Fiona's!!!! Today is a big day. He has been doing so well we decided to start reintroducing him to the other ducks (through a pen next to the pond) over the weekend in anticipation of releasing him. Just a couple of hours ago we let him out! After about 10 minutes of intermittent getting picked on by the other drake in the flock, all is well. Mr. Fiona was able to hold his own and all are getting along great now. Looks like he may already have a girlfriend as well hehe. We will be keeping a close eye on him to make sure everything goes smoothly and to make sure he doesn't start to lapse again.

This is a great day and I am so happy to see him back with his friends. He was so so so happy to get back on the pond. Wings flapping, head dunking, fast swimming, greeting everyone. It was so cute!


Thank you everyone for all of your help. He never would have made it back to the pond without you!