Duck laying issues! Vet is no help!

[Pamuk]

Hello all!

My duck is 7 months old and started laying on july 20. She was egg bound with her first egg and after that was laying normally. After her tenth egg, she started experiencing some worrying symptoms such as shaking, excessive panting, wings twitching (a bit spread out as well), raspy voice. We took her to an avian vet, he said she was suffering from high calcium in her system and dehydration and when we told him she was on her tenth egg, he said she had at least three more to go and that she should stop for this season. He said if she does not stop laying, he would have to give her a hormonal injection to stop her from laying further. He gave her fluids and probiotics and we went on our way.

We went back home relieved thinking everything would be fine and that after laying three more eggs she would stop and the symptoms i mentioned above would go away for good. That was unfortunately not the case. She laid 5 more eggs in the next few days (making that 15 eggs in total) and one morning we woke up to her having the same symptoms as mentioned above and loss of appetite. Later on the day, we went to the vet and he gave her more fluids. We told him she was still laying and he said to keep her in a dark room at hours at a time until her reproduction system stops producing eggs. He did not mention the hormonal injection which i was confused about since he mentioned it in our last visit.

We've tried to keep her in a dark room by herself to let her sleep and she did the first two days after the vet visit but only for maybe 3-4 hours and then she usually wakes up to eat and drink water and ice. (she's obsessed with ice) On the third day (after the second vet visit), she woke up showing the same symptoms again (shaking, excessive panting, wings twitching (a bit spread out as well), raspy voice) and at his point, i was getting very frustrated with our vet because i feel like he hasn't been helping her stop these symptoms and just talking nonsense honestly with no end point solution, every time we visit he just injects her with fluids.

So, i phone him up that same day and explain to him that she is still going through said symptoms and i don't know but the phone call was very frustrating and again, he did not really provide us with any clear solution. All he said was to monitor her and to collect some antibiotics he's made for her (we haven't collected them yet) but i just wish he would tell us more or come up with more solutions to help her as she just keeps feeling ill and laying.

She's laid two more eggs making it 17 eggs in total now and as i've researched and been told by the vet, that is far too much and she should be stopping by now.

We are still trying with putting her in a dark room but i think she's scared of being alone in the dark and just quacks and wants to leave so, i'm not sure what to do.

Today (August 24), She's been having those symptoms again (shaking, excessive panting, wings twitching (a bit spread out as well), raspy voice) and honestly it just hurts to see her like that knowing that if i tell the vet, he'll just say the same things. I want to do more for her and I wanted to come on here and share this in hopes that i can get more insight than i've been getting by the vet.

I know some of you will say to find another vet, but i'm pretty sure he's the only avian vet in my area.

We've given her dummy eggs as well to kind of help her to stop laying. She's sits on her eggs sometimes and then gets up, so i'm not sure if that's helping the process or not.

You guys' help would be so very appreciated!

Duck breed: I think she is a swedish blue or pomeranian duck.

 

[DuneDucks]

I believe that is an Ancona duck. If so, they are prolific layers that will produce 200+ eggs a year. Did your vet indicate why he'd think she only has a few left in her this season? What does her diet consist of? Do you provide her with oyster shells? She hasn't lay any soft eggs? Usually, problems laying can occur when ducks don't have enough calcium. Did he have any guesses as to why her levels would be high?

Keeping her in a dark room seems like a band-aid solution at best. If you see her and suspect she's having trouble laying a warm bath can sometimes help pass the egg. A lot of us on here also keep calcium gluconate on hand for our layers. 1 ml of that gives the girls a nice calcium boost to strengthen the shell and push the egg out easier, but depending on exactly what your vet said about her calcium levels that might not be advisable.

I'm sorry you haven't had a great experience with your vet. Unfortunately, that seems to be a pretty common theme around here. If it's something that can't be managed with a proper diet, supplements, care routine, etc then you'll probably want to bring hormone injections/ implants back up with him again though.

 

[Pamuk]

The thing is, she only had trouble laying with her first egg as I mentioned above, she was egg bound with her first egg but after that her laying was normal. The issue here is that according to the vet, she is laying more than she's supposed to, causing her to be sick. She has the symptoms mentioned above every few days until she lays, and then she goes back feeling healthy. I'm not sure that's a normal thing though, getting sick before laying.

As for her high levels of calcium, he said that as she produces the egg, the calcium that is being produced spreads into her bloodstream.

 

[DuneDucks]

The thing is, she only had trouble laying with her first egg as I mentioned above, she was egg bound with her first egg but after that her laying was normal.

Ahh excuse me. I was a bit thrown off because the symptoms you're describing are all fairly common symptoms of an eggbound or otherwise struggling to lay duck.

The issue here is that according to the vet, she is laying more than she's supposed to, causing her to be sick.

I really don't think she's laying more than she's supposed to. Out of winter she should be laying up to 5/6 times a week if she's an Ancona.

She has the symptoms mentioned above every few days until she lays, and then she goes back feeling healthy. I'm not sure that's a normal thing though, getting sick before laying.

Right, so I don't think she's getting sick before laying. She's getting sick while trying to lay. I think it'd be worth trying a warm bath and 1 ml of calcium gluconate next time she exhibits these symptoms. Do you currently leave out any oyster shell or anything for her?

As for her high levels of calcium, he said that as she produces the egg, the calcium that is being produced spreads into her bloodstream.

To be honest, if he doesn't even know how many eggs a year she should be laying then I'd be a bit skeptical he knows exactly what her calcium levels should be at either.

 

[ruthhope]

The thing is, she only had trouble laying with her first egg as I mentioned above, she was egg bound with her first egg but after that her laying was normal. The issue here is that according to the vet, she is laying more than she's supposed to, causing her to be sick. She has the symptoms mentioned above every few days until she lays, and then she goes back feeling healthy. I'm not sure that's a normal thing though, getting sick before laying.

As for her high levels of calcium, he said that as she produces the egg, the calcium that is being produced spreads into her bloodstream.

Did the vet actually do a blood test to determine her calcium level? Or did he just say she has high calcium becuase of the symptoms? The symptoms are suggestive of reproductive difficulty that is often associated with low calcium -- hence the treatment with Calcium gluconate

 

[Pamuk]

Did the vet actually do a blood test to determine her calcium level? Or did he just say she has high calcium becuase of the symptoms? The symptoms are suggestive of reproductive difficulty that is often associated with low calcium -- hence the treatment with Calcium gluconate

Yes, He took a blood test.

 

[Pamuk]

Ahh excuse me. I was a bit thrown off because the symptoms you're describing are all fairly common symptoms of an eggbound or otherwise struggling to lay duck.



I really don't think she's laying more than she's supposed to. Out of winter she should be laying up to 5/6 times a week if she's an Ancona.



Right, so I don't think she's getting sick before laying. She's getting sick while trying to lay. I think it'd be worth trying a warm bath and 1 ml of calcium gluconate next time she exhibits these symptoms. Do you currently leave out any oyster shell or anything for her?



To be honest, if he doesn't even know how many eggs a year she should be laying then I'd be a bit skeptical he knows exactly what her calcium levels should be at either.

I used to leave out oyster shells for her but then she started getting sick and then the whole thing with high calcium levels so i was scared to keep giving it to her in case it would affect her calcium levels even more. These days I'm giving her probiotics that the vet prescribed for her.

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

I have pekin
She is a year old and has laid An egg every single day since sept 2021 minus when she went broody for 4 weeks and even then she started to lay 1 week after her baby hatched Even through my Canadian winter so not sure why your vet thinks your duck should be done laying by now
@DuckyDonna
@Miss Lydia
@BelovedBirds
These ladies may have more advice
What type of feed And treats do you feed
Do you provide grit ?
I don’t think I would remove the oyster shells as ducks eat what they need
My boys don’t even touch them
Girls are smart and know how much they need to lay
Does she have plenty of clean water to drink
I only ask cause the vet said she was dehydrated

 

[DuneDucks]

I used to leave out oyster shells for her but then she started getting sick and then the whole thing with high calcium levels so i was scared to keep giving it to her in case it would affect her calcium levels even more. These days I'm giving her probiotics that the vet prescribed for her.

I would probably start putting them back out for her. Most ducks aren't going to be eating more oyster shell than they need.

I do think I probably figured out where your vet came up with the misconception that she should stop laying soon though. I was just reading a few articles and I saw mentioned multiple times that "ducks will lay 8 to 15 eggs in one cycle" before going broody. The thing is most domestic breeds, including Ancona, have had the broodiness largely bred out of them. That means your duck will just continuously lay until she molts for the winter and takes a break. If she never sits on her eggs the "8 to 15 in one cycle" is largely irrelevant.

Here's a decent article on Ancona if you want to read up on the breed a little more. https://www.thehappychickencoop.com/ancona-duck-breed-everything-you-need-to-know/

I would probably bring up the fact with your vet that her particular breed can lay from 210-280 eggs a year, and ask if that could explain/attribute to her elevated calcium levels.

 

[Pamuk]

I have pekin
She is a year old and has laid An egg every single day since sept 2021 minus when she went broody for 4 weeks and even then she started to lay 1 week after her baby hatched Even through my Canadian winter so not sure why your vet thinks your duck should be done laying by now
@DuckyDonna
@Miss Lydia
@BelovedBirds
These ladies may have more advice
What type of feed And treats do you feed
Do you provide grit ?
I don’t think I would remove the oyster shells as ducks eat what they need
My boys don’t even touch them
Girls are smart and know how much they need to lay
Does she have plenty of clean water to drink
I only ask cause the vet said she was dehydrated

She's always drinking water and I'm always cleaning it out and replacing it with clean water. She's also obsessed with ice so she's always eating that. I was shocked to be honest, when the vet mentioned she was dehydrated.

She eats worms, corn pellets and veggies. She eats rice as well.