Breathing heavy **UPDATE back from the vet**

[dianaross77]

Good luck.

 

[Amiga]

Sounds like a good plan. I pray she gets through just fine.

 

[Miss Ducky]

Thank you, everyone. She wasn't with the others this morning. She's pretty much just staying right by the pond, drinking a lot. I think that maybe she's one of the ones that tends to lay on the shore of the pond. (We get three eggs in the garden and two on the pond, usually) I don't know how I'm going to catch her now, since she's just going to go into the pond as soon as I get too close. Maybe if I swim after her? It's so hard to catch free-range ducks! Especially with a pond! Any ideas?

 

[Amiga]

Can you bribe her with treats?

I'm not much help, as I was able to hand raise my runners and they're easy to get ahold of in case of emergency. The approach has its drawbacks, certainly.

Actually, if you can get her to swim a bit that might help.

 

[Miss Ducky]

Usually they eat out of my hand, but she didn't eat any peas when I brought them out yesterday unless I threw them directly in front of her. I hand-raised most of mine from day-olds, but after I put them outside they became pretty wild, aside from eating out of my hand, thought they do come up to me when I call, and follow me when I tell them to. But they freak out if I try to touch them. Everyone has to go to church, and I'm going to go with them because I can't catch her without help anyway. She has been swimming quite a bit. My cat's watching them and I think it's freaking them out enough to have them want to stay on the pond. The same cat they've chased before

 

[Miss Ducky]

We caught her, and it doesn't look like egg binding. I can't feel any eggs in her belly, and her vent isn't swollen or distended at all. It looks like a respiratory problem. She's really struggling to breath, and she sounds really raspy. Any ideas? Right now I think my mom is trying to find a local vet who treats ducks.

 

[Amiga]

I would go with a vet, tell them the duck sounds like it has a serious respiratory problem and see how quickly you can get help. Ask also if there's something you can start giving the duck. Can you keep her inside overnight?

 

[Miss Ducky]

There's an avian vet in the city over that opens in the morning that we'll call. My mom called the animal hospital at MSU, they told us to keep her inside for the night to prevent further stress on her body. She's in a dog kennel inside, and has calmed down. She's not eating on her own, but is very eager to eat and drink from my hand. I go in there every now in then to give her food and water. Now she nibbles up my arm and hand like "What did you bring me?" She hasn't layed down yet, but appears to be pretty calm. We'll take her to the vet in the morning.
(My dads not very happy...)

 

[dianaross77]

Could be a fungal infection in her lungs. Where in Michigan are you? I bought a big bottle of Oxine online. You can put it in a vaporizer or a spray bottle and mist the bird so they breathe it in. You could also try Tylan 50 injections. I just did my first round on a chicken. It wasn't that big of a deal.

eta a link for a thread by speckledhen on fungal infections https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=560301&p=1

 

[Miss Ducky]

Just got back from the vet. We ended up having to go to a place an hour and a half away. He did a throat swab on her, it's bacterial, probably pneumonia-related. He did a nubilizer treatment, which is basically putting her in a clear box and pumping the medication in as steam so she breaths it in(similar to what Dianaross suggested-thank you!), and gave us antibiotic pills to give her every 12 hours. He told us to keep her inside for a few days, and asked us to call and give him an update tomorrow. Everyone there was quite nice. My ducky handled the car ride well. We put her in the cat carrier, and I sat in the back seat with her, giving her water every couple of minutes and petting her beak. I left the door to the carrier open and she didn't try to get out or anything. She slept on the ride back. She was quite happy to go back into the dog kennel when we got back and stretch her legs! I think she'll be just fine. I'll keep you posted, and thank you to everyone for the advice and support!