Does she need a vet?

[Diamond88]

Yesterday I noticed my month-old duckling seemed lethargic. She still walked around the yard with me and went swimming, but she didn't seem excited about anything. Then, last night, I noticed that her poop was white and frothy. It still is today, although it's mixed with some normal poop too. As far as I can tell, there's no change in her appetite or eating habits.

I'm wondering if I should take her to the vet. I'm not working right now so I'm trying to limit my expenses, but obviously I'll take her in if she needs to go. What do you think? Is this something that will get better on its own or does she need medical intervention?

 

[Amiga]

This is a tough question to answer remotely. I understand about budgets, and about not wanting to lose a duckling.

I am going to ask some questions to see if we can sift through this. You need to go with your gut in any case, but let's hope we can shed some light.

How does the poop smell? What is her brooder setup like? What is a typical day for her? Any recent changes in food? New bag? starter to grower? Will she eat treats? Have you tried vitamins? Is she getting grit?

 

[Diamond88]

I decided I'll definitely take her to the vet tomorrow. I'm just wondering now if I shouldn't wait that long, and should instead take her to urgent care tonight. I love this duck so much and I'd much rather be safe than sorry.

I didn't notice any unusual smell with the poop, but I don't know what the normal smell is either, up close and personal. It doesn't give off a strong smell ever. Just an icky stink when I get up close. It's still runny, but there's more brown in it now.

Her brooder has aspen shavings (they're new this week, was using diffferent bedding before) that I change daily. She's got a water dish and food dish that I always keep full, plus some toys. Her food is Dumor poultry grower, which she's been on for a few weeks now. I have niacin in her water.

I take her out in the yard every day, so she eats grass and bugs and gets some grit from the dirt. Yesterday she had carrot greens for the first time. She seemed lethargic before that but didn't have poop issues.

I noticed that she's very itchy. She's constantly scratching at her belly and wings, and she jerks her head around in the air like she'a trying to scratch places she can't reach. Sometimes she nips at the air.

One thing I forgot to mention is that yesterday morning she jumped out of my arms and landed on the tile floor. Could injuries from the fall cause these problems?

 

[70%cocoa]

Ducklings are physically pretty robust so I don't think that her landing on the floor would have been a problem.

The fact that she is nipping at the air, jerking her head and scratching suggests a neurological issue to me (that is just a guess). You are already adding niacin but I might switch to a general bird vitamin. It will have niacin in it too, but also other nutrients.

With the poop, very dark poop that smells extra extra gross can indicate a bacterial gut infection. If it's just a bit icky rather than 'yuck, I want to throw up' then the poop is probably normal (though hard to say over the internet

Since this duckling is so important to you I would take her to the vet. Do you have a bird/avian vet in your area? Unless the emergency vet is a bird vet, then I myself wait to take her to the normal vet tomorrow. Emergency vets are very expensive and, unless they have expertise with birds, often find it hard to diagnose a bird problem. But that is just my opinion. I am guessing that peace of mind is very important to you (same with me!) and you'd rather 'over-react' than not act.

It will help the vet to see a poop sample, or at least just a good photo of poop (in focus). Hopefully she will poop on the vet's floor (mine always do!!).

 

[Diamond88]

Thanks so much! I feel somewhat reassured knowing that her poop is probably normal. It's definitely not unusually stinky. I don't know of any emergency avian vet, although there's an exotic animal emergency center that I took my ferret to a few times. As long as it sounds probable to you that she'll make it through the night, I'll take her to an avian vet tomorrow. She was playing in her brooder recently, digging through the shavings and seeming to be having fun. If she has a neurological problem, can a vet fix it? I'm so worried.

 

[70%cocoa]

If it's a choice between a non-bird vet tonight or an avian vet tomorrow then I would wait for the avian vet tomorrow - especially since your duckling seems to be active and alert. I can't guarantee that it is the absolutely right thing, but it is definitely what I'd do. With some luck she might even be fine by the morning....

So far, the main symptoms seem to be a bit of lethargy, with perhaps a period of not eating as much a day or so ago, and poop that was a bit frothier and whiter than normal. Poop seems to have improved a little as it now has some 'solids' (brown parts) in it. Poop is not unusually smelly. Duckling is eating and drinking, seemingly as normal. Right now the duckling seems to be fairly active and interested in her surroundings, which is good. Occasionally she has jerky head movements and seems to be scratching at herself a bit. Is that about right? Just trying to summarise the story so far

Don't worry about the suggestion of the neurological problem just yet - it was only one slight possibility. It may be nothing to do with that. I'm not a vet, just a duck owner

I totally understand you being so worried (it is horrible to have a special, loved pet showing signs of some kind of illness) but don't run through all the worst case scenarios. Just take her to the vet tomorrow and tell them all the details (write them down if you think that might be helpful) and ask as many questions as you need to. And then tell us how it went.

 

[QuackedUp]

If it's a choice between a non-bird vet tonight or an avian vet tomorrow then I would wait for the avian vet tomorrow - especially since your duckling seems to be active and alert. I can't guarantee that it is the absolutely right thing, but it is definitely what I'd do. With some luck she might even be fine by the morning....

So far, the main symptoms seem to be a bit of lethargy, with perhaps a period of not eating as much a day or so ago, and poop that was a bit frothier and whiter than normal. Poop seems to have improved a little as it now has some 'solids' (brown parts) in it. Poop is not unusually smelly. Duckling is eating and drinking, seemingly as normal. Right now the duckling seems to be fairly active and interested in her surroundings, which is good. Occasionally she has jerky head movements and seems to be scratching at herself a bit. Is that about right? Just trying to summarise the story so far

Don't worry about the suggestion of the neurological problem just yet - it was only one slight possibility. It may be nothing to do with that. I'm not a vet, just a duck owner

I totally understand you being so worried (it is horrible to have a special, loved pet showing signs of some kind of illness) but don't run through all the worst case scenarios. Just take her to the vet tomorrow and tell them all the details (write them down if you think that might be helpful) and ask as many questions as you need to. And then tell us how it went.

I agree. The vets on staff after hours are typically general practitioners or first aid certified only. I have a feeling that a fecal sample will be needed. Now, if the avian vet is not available tomorrow, I would go ahead and try to get her in somewhere at all possible... You don;t want her to get dehydrated or something..... especially if it is something like coccidia or whatnot that can dehydrate the body.

 

[Amiga]

Meanwhile, I am wondering if the aspen shavings are irritating the baby. I would give her a nice lukewarm bath and go to clean towels for bedding for a couple of days.

Some animals, I am told, are sensitive to aspen shavings. She may just be itchy.

 

[Diamond88]

Thank you so much for all the answers and support!

I actually ended up bringing her to the emergency vet last night because the jerky head movements suddenly got a lot worse. They did some blood and fecal tests and found that she has a bacterial infection and a yeast infection. She's got meds for those now. The sign on the door said "Emergency Avian and Exotic Care" or something like that, so I assume they're at least reasonably knowledgeable about birds.

What's interesting is that the vet said she thinks the head jerking was because the duck was trying to make herself throw up. Her stomach was upset so she was shaking her head around in an attempt to regurgitate. I never considered that possibility. Has anyone seen that before?

Thanks again for all the answers. I was so terrified last night, but she seems to be improving already with the medication.

 

[Diamond88]

Oh, and I will definitely take out the aspen shavings and see if she stops itching.