Duck keeps laying down

[fe0208]

My one duck keeps laying down and she seems to be sleeping a lot more. Her breathing also seems a little heavy. I didn't notice her breathing through her mouth but he was was breathing heavy and her tail was going up and down. I'm afraid it could be aspergillosis because their straw gets damp pretty often. Are there any other physical signs and should I be treating her with something?

 

[Miss Lydia]

@casportpony May know what antibiotic can be used. Best thing to do is get rid of that straw and use horse shavings it is better at absorbing but still needs to be cleaned often to keep mold from growing. Don’t put food and water in they house. That will help keep it drier. Tail pumping up and down can mean egg bound. How old is she?

 

[Jpat]

I agree with miss lydia and i tried my hardest with hay and now i use pine shavings. night and day difference!!

 

[fe0208]

I will try the pine shavings. I used that when they were ducklings. I don't keep food or water in the house at night but the run is smaller than I'd like and that is where most of the moisture is.

The ducks just started laying so I'm not sure who is and who isn't yet. Is there a way to tell if she is egg bound? She is about 6 months old.

 

[Miss Lydia]

You can try to palpate her tummy gently and you could give her a nice warm soak in the tub sometimes that helps if they are having trouble laying . What do you feed your ducks? Do you put out oyster shell for calcium?

 

[fe0208]

You can try to palpate her tummy gently and you could give her a nice warm soak in the tub sometimes that helps if they are having trouble laying . What do you feed your ducks? Do you put out oyster shell for calcium?

Ok, I can try that. Would I feel the egg in her stomach? I did have some oyster shell out for them but then I stopped because it didn't seem like they were bothering with it.

 

[Miss Lydia]

They don’t gobble it down like feed they use as needed. I’d def keep it out in separate bowl close to feed bowl. Might feel an egg might not but also look at her vent see if it’s red and swollen any discharge? This might not be her problem just hard to say. I lost one of my Muscovy ducks to egg laying problems I kept her in the bathroom and soaked her often In warm water in the tub tried to get her to take calcium over peas cal gluconate but it was too late for her. I hope you can figure out what’s going on with your female and help her. Always rec a vet but understand that isn’t always feasiable

 

[stuka123]

Definitely check to make sure you don’t feel an egg. More towards the back under her vent. I’ve gone through this with a few of mine and those were the first signs.

 

[fe0208]

Ok, I'll check her tomorrow and see how she is doing. Does anyone know what the symptoms of aspergillosis would be? Would they be much different than an egg issue?

 

[Miss Lydia]

It’s also called brooder pneumonia I am sure you can find info on line about symptoms.