Sick, weak duck, what is wrong, what treatment?

[Meghan McClendon]

I have a pekin duck who is only 1 yr and 4 months old. She has been showing all of these symptoms mentioned above, plus some - for about a week now. We took her to the vet on the 3rd day. He did several tests, and the only thing we could find was that her entire instestinal track was extremely swollen and bloated. However, there were no foreign objects in her body. She had not been laying for this entire time, so I initially had taken her to the vet because I assumed she was just egg bound, despite the oyster shells and vitamins I mix in with the flocks food. I also have been giving her charcoal, as I have another duck with similar issues that recovered to a stable condition after charcoal treatments (however, she still has issues walking as her legs are now bowed inward.) The vet gave me some antibiotics to try, and if they do not work, we are to put her down. We live in lower Alabama, and he mentioned that it is highly likely she has some sort of bacterial infection causing her stomach to swell/ become filled with gas due to toxins. However, she is eating (somewhat) and drinking water and having normal bowel movements. She just cannot balance on her own. If I hold her up she can stand but as soon as she tries to take a step, she falls. I think this is somewhat an improvement though, because the first day she did not even try to stand on her own, but today she has tried several times. I suppose the only way to know if the antibiotics are truly working would be to do another test, but they ar expensive. The vet also suggested if she does pass that we send her body to a local lab that can run tests and find out exactly what the two ducks have. I did not think the two illnesses were related, because the first duck got sick over a long period of time while this one has been a matter of days. I am going to the store to try honey and yogurt and see if she will take that. We also have been giving her epsom salt baths. I guess now it is just a waiting game :/ could you tell me how long your duck was sick for?

 

[Amiga]

Was there an x-ray?

 

[Meghan McClendon]

Was there an x-ray?

Yes, there were several. That is how he discovered that her intestinal track was doubled the size of what it should be, and how he concluded that there was no egg (as I thought that was the issue) and there are no foreign objects in her body. Lead poisoning or Egg yolk peritonitis has also been ruled out. The only thing the vet could think of that would cause her to become like this is a bad bacteria that causes toxins in the body, making her have peritonitis and affecting her nervous system. If it is a viral infection, however, there is obviously no cure for that. Either way, she is on a two week antibiotic (we are on day 4 of that now) and I have been giving her vitamins, a little bit of charcoal, and her normal oyster shells ( because she has started laying normally again ) along with her regular feed and extra of her favorite treats. As I mentioned before she is still having normal bowel movements. Her tummy gurgles because of all of the gas and inflammation. She will eat and drink ( not her normal amount, but enough to maintain a healthy weight.) She just cannot walk! That is what has been so weird about this. The vet said that he didn't think the swelling was the issue that was causing her to not be able to walk - he believed that whatever kind of infection this is affects their nervous system and causes them to lose the ability to use their legs very well. However, I have to disagree. I think that the swelling is what is throwing her balance off, because she CAN stand/walk if I hold her. She is all the time kicking her legs and flapping her wings to try to stand up. I am hoping that this antibiotic will kick this illness' butt! She is starting to look a lot better, and she has more energy now and fights me a little bit harder and tries to stand more often. Last night after giving her a bath, I had her wrapped up in a towel and lying on my chest, and she preened her feathers for the first time since falling ill. Perhaps because I was holding her, she felt balanced enough to try. I see improvement, although it may be little by little. I was looking for any other suggestions that might quicken her healing process or about how long this mysterious illness would last, and any similar cases, as we do not officially know what is causing these problems (and would not know for sure unless she were to pass and we sent her to a lab).

 

[travislilliana]

Mine is very sick. How much Epsom salt to I use if giving it in her mouth with syringe.tried this once but in her water so I don't know how much she got at that time
Had her to get.have her antibiotics as he said hard to tell what's wrong. Seems to be getting worse not eating again and not cleaning herself.used to love kiddie pool now won't stay in water
Please help

 

[chickens really]

Mine is very sick. How much Epsom salt to I use if giving it in her mouth with syringe.tried this once but in her water so I don't know how much she got at that time
Had her to get.have her antibiotics as he said hard to tell what's wrong. Seems to be getting worse not eating again and not cleaning herself.used to love kiddie pool now won't stay in water
Please help

Start a thread....Epsom salt causes extreme poops....

 

[calicobella]

hi everyone! my female 9 month old duck silverwing who i got yesterday is acting a bit sick she is a white layer and has had trouble running fast and judging by the feather loss on her neck had been pecked a lot, when she tries to make a sound she sounds like a hoarse duckling if you need i have footage of her walking and pictures, thanks!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Pics would help. If you just picked her up yesterday she may just need time to acclimate into her new surrounding. Give her good feed and a stress free area to feel secure. You could add some poultry vitamins to her water for now to give her a health boost. Or even some apple cider vinegar if you don't have vitamins. ACV is 1 Tab to 1 gal of water. Do you think drakes have been abusing her. That maybe one reason why she isn't walking well. Running isn't that easy for heavy weight ducks so keeping her from doing that especially while she is getting in shape from previous home would probably be best. Hopefully just some good TLC from yo now will have her in tip top shape real soon.

If you feel she is sick though and a vet is something you can do that might be the way to go.

 

[calicobella]

no, the other duck was running around and she was trying to keep up

 

[Miss Lydia]

They do that mine are the same but till she is looking and feeling better you might want to keep her from over exerting herself that way you can observe and make sure she isn't really sick just in need of some TLC.

 

[aflacmy3rdson]

Aflac has kind of the same symptoms but his tounge is more white then pink now