Worried about my ducks health. Please help

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duckitup

duckitup

Chirping
Jun 10, 2015
169
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Wisconsin
Hi. We have 6 runner ducks. They live on our pond and free range continually. We went down to feed them this AM and one of our Drakes that will be 13 wks tomorrow was keeping one of his eyelids closed. He did open it for a sec and close it again and just swam around with one eye closed. We tried to catch him but failed and will try again later to get a better look at him.

Over the last week or so I have been concerned about him because he has started to keep a bit of distance from the rest of the flock, rarely comes up on the bank with the rest of them at feeding time and has sort of been leaning to the right slightly while swimming. (his eye issue is on the left) When he does come on land he is a little wobbly. (the rest of them are all very stable) I've been trying to catch him so that I can make sure he is eating the brewers yeast in the food but he is very elusive.

I'm not sure if he has been eating the grower duck feed. He does eat in the pond and I've seen him eat fish food and meal worms. Could this be a vitamin thing because he may not be eating the food? I'll try to get a pic of his eye to post.

Thanks for any info!
 
That's interesting. I think it could be an eye infection. Because if he's leaning to the right while swimming he could be trying to keep it out of the water. Also, with the not eating, maybe the food caused it and he knows it. The dust and brewers yeast could have gotten in the eye and is causing the infection so he won't eat and has an infection his body is trying to fight off, which may explain the shakiness on land. That would be my guess. I'm not sure if I'm completely right but I definitely think that it's centered around the eye problem. I suggest looking at the metzer farms website and looking under care and management then health issues for waterfowl or getting a story's guide to raising ducks book and looking at their health issues section.
 
Thanks. I have a Storys guide and have referenced it but nothing in it matches. It talks about foamy eye but I don't think it has been foamy. The closest thing is possibly west nile but I think that is a stretch. Up until now I've been giving them niacin tabs in their water. Just switched to brewers yeast today because they seem to be avoiding the treated water now. He very well may be leaning to avoid getting the eye wet and we just didn't know anything was wrong with the eye until today when he started keeping it shut. I watch them every morning and night and know that the eye lid thing is new, but I could have missed an infection as they don't get real close, especially him. Thanks for your thoughts! I'll check out that site.
 
Update: We have caught him and made a recovery room in the garage. He is kind of wobbly. We have to put him in his makeshift pool and take him out. He doesn't seem steady enough to take on the ramp himself. He did eat a little bit but sat down to do it. His eye looks healthy and clear when opened and doesn't look crusty or oozy. He has been keeping it open more since we put him in the garage but still closes it more than I've ever seen before. Could he have a sensitivity to light in one eye for some reason?

We put electrolytes, probiotics and niacin in his pool along with treats, bok choy, peas, and meal worms so that he will ingest the supplements. Put them in his drinking water too but he doesn't show any interest in it. A little bit of brewers yeast in the duck grower food.

Is there anything else anyone can think of that we should be doing to help him? Or maybe something we are doing that we shouldn't (first time duck owners)? I don't wan't to run off to the vet prematurely. But I will if I need to. He pretty much walks normally but when he stops to stand still he gets unbalanced. He was much slower than the other ducks while we were trying to catch him (by kayak and net on shore). But he isn't totally lethargic or anything. He is more calm than I would expect but then again I only know his behavior with the group so that may make a difference.

Any thoughts/advice?

thanks
 
A good duck vet would be best. Ducks can hide illness till it's too late to help them. I suspect he has some kind of infection. It may be a virus. One thing may be a sinus infection - that could affect the eye, and might affect his balance. Just some educated guesses.

Glad you got him into sick bay. The supplemental goodies you are giving him should help, even if just a little bit.
 
Thanks Amiga. I'm staying home with him today and I will be watching him very closely. I kind of want to give him a day to see if he improves on his own instead of putting him through the stress of a car ride. Our Duck vet is about 45 minutes away. If he looks at all like he is getting worse I will take him in right away.
 
I just picked him up (which he hates) to examine his eye with a flashlight. His eye is slightly foggy (almost looks like a cataracts) and is weeping just a little of a very watery consistancy. His other eye is in perfect condition. So I think everyone was right and it is an eye infection. I have no idea how he got it because he is completely free range so it can't be an ammonia thing like Metzer farms suggests.

So I poked around on this site and a lot of people suggest that you can treat eye infections on your own with out a vet. Some suggest adding Apple Cider Vinegar to their water and some say to use vetericyn or terramycin eye ointment. I have, organic ACV Raw with mother, and regular ACV on hand. Does anyone know if it is best to use one kind or the other?

I will run to my feed store and see if the have the ointments which I'm guessing they will because I live in farm country.

@Amiga I've read a lot of your posts on different subjects and I respect everything you say. You are so full of knowledge so I want to ask you specifically.....Do you think it is safe to try to treat him at home, at least for now? Also I read in a post of yours somewhere on here that you don't like the idea of ducks on actual ponds. What is your reason for that?

Thanks!!!
 
Might be a good idea to get a baseline weight. He' still growing, so lack of gain or weight loss would be good to track.

-Kathy
 
@duckitup , Holderread says that opthalmic antibiotics are something to use. Some folks put a little ACV - often the organic, with the mother - but ACV should help as it is mildly antimicrobial. A tablespoon in a gallon of water.

The saline solution is also antimicrobial, as is the Vetericyn spray. If you get a product, make sure the label says it is okay for the eyes.

Ponds attract predators, and while ducks are beautiful on a pond, to me it is not worth the risk.
 

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