Bubbles in the mouth and nasal

[RunnerWhisperer]

My runner tonight is acting sick. She has bubbles in the corner of her beak and in her nasal. I noticed her acting funny this evening when I got home. The dogs ran by her twice while she was sleeping and she didn't even flinch. She just stood around the yard, no forraging as usual. At one point I found her hiding in a bush just standing there like she didn't want to be seen. I tried to get her to drink, I opened her mouth to see if something was in there. Her throat is swollen a little like the under part of her jaw or our jaw on a human. Just now I went to check on her and I see bubbles and I can hear her breathing. Plus the swollen spot feels warm to the touch. I am really not sure if she was stung by a bee maybe, bitten by a spider, ate something that made her ill, or if she has some sort of infection in her mouth. She keeps shaking her head and opening her beak like she is trying to shake something off. Kinda like when she eats a big slug. Her tounge seems swollen too!? Any suggestions as to what may be going on? She didn't lay an egg this morning either?

I PM'd coopbuilder with my concearns, but I couldn't wait and needed feedback. Mostly to calm my nevrves. I will check on her in the am. I hope she will be ok!? If she seems worse than it's off to the duckie doctor for sure!!

 

[FenDruadin]

Aww, poor little girl. I think you're right that it could be any of the things you mention. It's really hard to say. The good news is that ducks are very hardy, running a naturally high temperature, and infections don't often last long. However, if you want to give her the best chance possible of making it through, you may want to look into some antibiotics in case it is an infection. Best of all would be if you could get her to a vet who knows something about waterfowl.

Of course there's no way of knowing which direction it may go, but I do think there's a good chance she'll pull through. Keep her somewhere safe because she's very vulnerable to predators right now. Give her a quiet, sheltered area to hide out, and easy access to lots of water.

You're doing good, and a lot of folks here will be pulling for her. Hope she feels better soon!

 

[kuntrygirl]

Does it look like an abcess?

 

[RunnerWhisperer]

She is eating right now but still shaking her head. I pushed on the swollen part and felt around last night, I didn't see any puss. Just saliva and bubbles. Come to think of it, I had just bought a bag of new food. I think I will dump it and get a new bag of food today.

I just let them out and she ran out as normal and started forraging like usual. Good sign!! I will get some antibiotics today as well and keep an eye on her. It is so scarry because I can see how they can go from good to bad so quickly!

You think you are doing all the right things and they still can get sick!

Thank you for the feedback! I did also get a pm from coopbuilder too!! So comforting to know that there is help when you need it!!

 

[RunnerWhisperer]

She went back into her pan shortly after I let her out. Basically she put herself in to rest. So cute! I am not taking any chances and have scheduled a Dr visit this afternoon. Hopefully it is something common and treatable!

 

[featherfinder]

Good luck! Let us know how things go at the vets.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
x2. Good luck. I'm pulling for her.

 

[RunnerWhisperer]

Well....the doc said she seems to be fine. He didn't hear any "gut noises" and that seemed to be a concearn for him. She gracioulsy poo'd in her kennel while she was there so he took the sample to look for parasites and anything else. He checked her over pretty well I must say. He gave her some kind of detoxin in a syringe and gave me three more to give to her tonight, and tommorrow. Plus an pack of Transfer Factor Plus to give to her with a treat. It's an animal stress pack with vitamins and electrolites. He seems to think that she may have ahd a "female issue" is what he called it because she skipped a day of egg laying. If she does not improve by tomorrow then I am to bring her back. He also said with birds it's hard to tell what is ailing them because they hide it so well. Other than a few slight symptoms, she was very healthy overall.

She did well in the car and at the vet, I am proud of her! She seemed really happy to be back home!! So far she has been her normal self, and hogged down on some watermelon tonight with Jade. He will call me in the morning for stool results. Hopefully all is well.

Thanks for all the well wishes!!

 

[kuntrygirl]

Good to hear that she is ok. I hope she gets back to 100%. Please keep us posted.

 

[RunnerWhisperer]

Update: So Cocoa's fecal sample came back negative for parasites!! Yea!! Which means she is a healthy duck. The doc said that unless she is around other birds or ducks she is less likley to contract parasites, they usually don't get them just from free ranging in the backyard he said. Makes me feel better!! So far the antioxident, antistress, electrolite homepathic remedy he sent to put on her treats seems to have brought her back up to spirits. She is just lively again!! So happy!!