Duck health

[tanamarie7]

Hello,
We live in norther MN and first time duck owners. I have read books and done lots of reading but I'm stumped as there is no duck WebMD.
I have a 7/8 month old female Pekin duck. I noticed on on Nov 26 that there must have been mating and she has no feathers on her back. She seemed tired as in unable to stand with out work. I brought her in and put her in some warm water and it seems she isn't hetting any better. Not eatting or drinking much, walks like she is drunk, lol hard to walk and stumbles keeps her neck tight to her. Just wondering what else could be wrong or if she just needs time.

 

[Duck mommy 2019]

looks like she got attacked by something. mating injuries would be on her neck

 

[tanamarie7]

She does have some on her neck as well but not like this at all. There are some males in our flock that don't seem to understand how to breed or really get it yet. Lol so I wasn't sure. Feathers are pulled out and there are no scratches or "wounds" just and empty spot here. So I wasn't sure

 

[Quatie]

I agree, she does look like she was attacked. I would clean and spray the area with a poultry disinfectant just in case. If she is not eating or drinking much you may will want to give her water with electrolytes, or Gatorade. She is likely dehydrated.

@Isaac 0 can probably help more.

 

[tanamarie7]

Perfect. Thank you so much. I will pick up some electrolytes tomorrow. Is it ok to give ducks Gatorade?

 

[Quatie]

Yes. People suggest that or Pedialyte. You can dilute the Gatorade in water. The sodium and potassium will help the duck absorb water into the body.

 

[Isaac 0]

It could be mating damage or damage inflicted by a predator of sorts. Have you checked the rest of her body, including vent area, for injuries?

Looking at the picture, I would say she is not feeling well at all, and some precautions need to be set in place before her condition worsens. My first suggestion would be bringing her inside, which you've already done. Sick birds are unable to maintain heat properly due to lack of eating/drinking, so if needed set a heating pad near her pen to help increase the temperature even more.

You do not want her getting dehydrated, so constantly try offering her, or dripping a hydrating-solution like Gatorade, Pedialyte, or sugar water along her bill. That will help fend off dehydration, but it's going to be very hard to get the amount in her, that she needs daily just by dripping drops. For that, you would need to tube feed her. I would personally start getting the supplies, but for now, just start weighing her on a scale each morning, and if she loses around 5% of her starting weight, it would be good to implement that process.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/tube-feeding-ducks-updated-5-7-2020.1211994/

As for why she is acting the way she is, it's hard to tell because the symptoms in which she is portraying are fairly non-specific so it's hard to pinpoint what might be her problem. Sometimes ducks can pick up pathogenic-type bacteria like Pasteurella in anaerobic water, maggots, decaying vegetation, etc. If she doesn't get better, you could start her on an antibiotic like Enrofloxacin, or Doxycycline and see if she shows improvement to that.


https://allbirdproducts.com/products/baytril-10
https://fishmoxfishflex.com/collections/doxycycline-bird-biotic-bird-antibiotic