Sick duck has now her intestines hanging out of her bottom

[firehog]

My poor Duck was having a breathing problem for a couple of days and it sounded like she was forcing herself to exhale and she would make a short quack with every breath.

She had this problem a couple of weeks ago and I gave her some antibiotics and it went away but now she split her stomach wall open. She is extremely thin when I picked her up with a sharp breast bone. She is too far gone to be saved and just now she passed a liguid egg, no shell and she keeps straining as if to pass something . I tried several times to tuck everything back inside her but it won't go in.

I gave her 1/2 of a tablet of Oxy-cotin left over from my tooth implant hoping it would put her to sleep but no effect at all.

I hate to see her suffer but can't bring myself to kill her. I know this happens a lot with chickens, I think it is called prolapse or something like that. She refuses to be put in a box and wants to be with her sisters and is currently in the pasture so want her to die with her family. Has anyone had this problem with ducks and what did you do to help them die easier? Thanks

 

[Welshies]

The most humane thing to do at this point is kill her. She is tremendous pain, and sad without her friends.
I know it's VERY hard, but you have to realise keeping her alive any longer is cruel- I mean, put yourself in her shoes (or feet).
At this point, the five best ways to kill her are:
-Chopping block (ax or butcher knife) -- make sure you cover her eyes with something. When they look at me I can't do it.
-Feeding her something poisonous (like drugs) that will give an INSTANT death- stuff the pill or powder into a blueberry or mashed treat (like bananas or watermelon)
-Get a vet to come- this is really expensive and I don't advise this but if you must, you must.
-Choke her (now I HATE this, seems so primitive and cruel to me even though it isn't... ), someone said they use zipties. But it makes me cringe just to think about it.
-If you live in the country, let her into the wild. I advise against this though; sometimes they could wander back and I would fret so much. Also it's illegal in a few places.

I know it's hard to think about killing her, but it's the most humane thing. If your dog or cat had prolapse, you'd put it down too. It's no different.

and if you STILL can't even think about killing her, provide her with a very secluded, protected spot so she can choose to crawl away and die. Keep in mind this may take days and she will be in a lot of pain.
I'm so sorry for your bad luck though, polapse is never fun

 

[Amiga]

If she's so far gone, then here is a thread on euthanasia and a method that according to the thread seems humane..... I have not had to do this. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/350057/humane-euthanasia


Post 88 here details using CO2 from baking soda and vinegar.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/208641/how-to-humanely-euthanize-a-chicken/80

 

[jennifleur]

Sometimes giving a clean quick death is the kindest thing you can do for them. Be thoughtful, be sensitive, be practical, be resolute, brave, loving and ultimately be responsible. Gah, I'm no good at these posts. No matter what, I hope any duck or poultry have many great days and if it comes to it, the fewest possible bad moments. Best wishes.

 

[Welshies]

Sometimes giving a clean quick death is the kindest thing you can do for them. Be thoughtful, be sensitive, be practical, be resolute, brave, loving and ultimately be responsible. Gah, I'm no good at these posts. No matter what, I hope any duck or poultry have many great days and if it comes to it, the fewest possible bad moments. Best wishes.

That was poetic. You should become a poet.

 

[firehog]

"Feed her something poisonous to give her an INSTANT death.. Yes, that is what I want to do but what is there out there that I can buy that will do that? And I know of no poison that is quick and it is a painful death too.

I washed her wound with warm water last evening an then poured honey over it and put a paper towel and a piece of pillow casing over it to keep the flies away. I read that honey can cause the prolapse to shrink like Preperation H. I wrapped it as snug as I could to keep it from hanging but used duct tape to hold it in place over her back.

She still will eat, I give her worms which she loves and tomatoes and just cut some fresh corn kernels which she ate. She has isolated herself in the secondary duck coop in the yard and is trembling so I am hoping she will go today. I will give her another 1/2 oxy cotin pill which I had hoped earlier would put her to sleep but maybe it would at least take the pain away

 

[Del1977]

Do you have a partner/father/friend that could euthanize her for you? I can't euthanize an animal but I'm lucky to have a brave husband that can. We had chicken with a bad prolapse earlier this year. I secluded her in the dark for 2 days with only grass and water as I had read that can help in chickens, but no luck, so she had an encounter with my husband and the axe. Very quick and painless and certainly a well recommended method if you can find someone to do it for you.

 

[mustang56]

Warm baths....with epsom salts...... then preparation H..... frozen peas in the bath...
takes about a week to 10 days.....
give her
poly vi sol without iron.... or nutri drench...
eggs for protein....
strawberries, watermelon , cooked squash, cooked pumpkin....

 

[quizzlecakes]

I had to euthanize a baby chick a few months ago, she fell and was a bit mangeled I knew she wouldn't make it. Her breathing was very shallow, Most advice I was given was to break her neck but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I put her in a plastic bag and she was gone within a few minutes, she didn't fight it. If the duck is very lethargic like she was I think it was a very humane way to go.