Duck opening and closing bill and making rasping sounds

[KaleIAm]

I did call my vet this morning, but have not gotten a call back. The original vet who saw her is not in today, but the attendant said another exotic pet vet will try and call. The original vet did mention that there could be something going on which is causing her to lose weight, but didn't say exactly what that might be.

I'll try to see if I can get the test you mentioned, but it might be difficult. Getting an exotic pet appointment these days is liking finding hen's teeth (or duck teeth, for that matter.) I called another vet and they said 'no appointments until the 25th. Yikes!

Unless they think she needs a barium swallow it is probably a waste of money and too much stress on Solrikka. Pigweed had to stay at the clinic for 12 hours for the test and it cost $5-600. Hopefully you get some answers when they call you back.

 

[austroberta]

Unless they think she needs a barium swallow it is probably a waste of money and too much stress on Solrikka. Pigweed had to stay at the clinic for 12 hours for the test and it cost $5-600. Hopefully you get some answers when they call you back.

Thanks for the info! Stress is definitely something she doesn't need right now. I feel like all my interventions are stressing her out and 12 hours at a clinic away from her buddies would really stress her out.

 

[Isaac 0]

Here are 2 not so great videos (she thought I was chasing her with meds, so it was difficult to get a proper video), but you can somewhat see how she is breathing. Now that I am looking at her, I think the deep breathing has diminished somewhat, maybe? She's still doing the tail bobbing/deep breathing, but it seemed more pronounced before. Perhaps the anti-biotics are kicking in?

I felt her stomach and it feels doughy. I can also feel her bones quite succinctly, which really concerns me. She was always a well fleshed duck, so she has definitely lost weight.

My husband gave everyone tomatoes, and she ate with gusto. I did notice that her flock mates are chasing her out. I'm going to put her in the duck run, with her welshie sister, even though her welshie sister will hate it.

Her breathing appears to be fairly normal.

If you think she is losing weight, it may be best to start weighing her on a scale every morning, or every few days to see the rate at which she is losing weight, so you know if you need to implement supplemental tube-feeding. I apologize for not being too much of a help here. I think your duck has us all stumped.

My first guess would be EYP, which can cause a build of pressure in the body due to accumulation of fluids in the abdominal cavity which can affect properly respiratory function, but if that were to be the problem, it's unlikely she would be getting better, and not showing other symptoms like lethargy, etc. A blockage in her trachea is a possibility, although some shaking-head like behavior would likely be present.

My suggestion would be to continue to provide supportive care, and make sure she's getting enough feed, and water inside her, until she can see a vet.

 

[austroberta]

Her breathing appears to be fairly normal.

If you think she is losing weight, it may be best to start weighing her on a scale every morning, or every few days to see the rate at which she is losing weight, so you know if you need to implement supplemental tube-feeding. I apologize for not being too much of a help here. I think your duck has us all stumped.

My first guess would be EYP, which can cause a build of pressure in the body due to accumulation of fluids in the abdominal cavity which can affect properly respiratory function, but if that were to be the problem, it's unlikely she would be getting better, and not showing other symptoms like lethargy, etc. A blockage in her trachea is a possibility, although some shaking-head like behavior would likely be present.

My suggestion would be to continue to provide supportive care, and make sure she's getting enough feed, and water inside her, until she can see a vet.

Thanks. I did see her do a bit of head shaking today after she had eaten something. It hasn't been something I have seen consistently, but I did see it earlier today. If something is in her trachea, would it cause her to vomit if she was ingesting food, but was blocked by an obstruction?

Would she have EYP at this time of year? She did stop laying recently, but she is molting, so that's not a red flag, and light hours are such that it's likely she has stopped laying for the season. Her runner sisters stopped laying last month.

I do wonder if the breathing is bacterial/infection related, as the anti-biotics do seem to be working...her breathing does seem to be getting better. I saw her later on this afternoon and she was doing much less of the tail bobbing.

 

[KaleIAm]

Thanks. I did see her do a bit of head shaking today after she had eaten something. It hasn't been something I have seen consistently, but I did see it earlier today. If something is in her trachea, would it cause her to vomit if she was ingesting food, but was blocked by an obstruction?

Would she have EYP at this time of year? She did stop laying recently, but she is molting, so that's not a red flag, and light hours are such that it's likely she has stopped laying for the season. Her runner sisters stopped laying last month.

I do wonder if the breathing is bacterial/infection related, as the anti-biotics do seem to be working...her breathing does seem to be getting better. I saw her later on this afternoon and she was doing much less of the tail bobbing.

Despite one of my previous ducks having EYP I don't know a lot about it. I think my duck was an abnormal case. She didn't have any abdominal swelling or tenderness so the vet didn't suspect EYP. Her symptoms were sudden anorexia and lethargy only. I tube fed her for a month while we chased a bunch of possible diagnosis before settling on avian malaria. Then she died overnight. EYP was confirmed as the actual cause via necropsy. I'm mentioning this because if your vet thinks EYP is possible you might want to get that looked into asap. I wish I had, so much.

Also I'm thrilled that she seems better!!!

 

[austroberta]

I saw Solrikka eating her kibble this morning, and was very happy to see that. I also saw later that she got very quiet and pensative later and didn't jump in the pool when I was filling it, which she normally does.

Despite one of my previous ducks having EYP I don't know a lot about it. I think my duck was an abnormal case. She didn't have any abdominal swelling or tenderness so the vet didn't suspect EYP. Her symptoms were sudden anorexia and lethargy only. I tube fed her for a month while we chased a bunch of possible diagnosis before settling on avian malaria. Then she died overnight. EYP was confirmed as the actual cause via necropsy. I'm mentioning this because if your vet thinks EYP is possible you might want to get that looked into asap. I wish I had, so much.

Also I'm thrilled that she seems better!!!

Solrikka has been eating much more today, from her maintenance food to her tomatoes to her lettuce! I'm thinking that whatever she had, the antibiotics are helping her to feel better. Her poops are also getting bigger. I'm keeping an eye on her weight, as that's still a concern. Her tail is still bobbing, although not quite so much as before, so I am keeping an eye on that as well. I'm also separating her with her sister in the duck run, as my runner ducks are being absolute bullies, driving her away from her own food and water bowl, even when they have a food and water bowl of their own.

I'm still wondering if it would be EYP, as we got an egg from her every day during egg season. Given the number of daylight hours, wouldn't it be time for her system to shut down for the season...until Spring comes around?

 

[KaleIAm]

How is Solrikka doing?

 

[austroberta]

How is Solrikka doing?

Solrikka is doing really well, but she is still making that noise and I still see her doing a bit of the tail bobbing, although not as bad as when I took her to the vet. I see that she makes the noise mainly when she is eating or foraging, but she is still making it. I got the Intraconazole a week after her initial visit, so she hasn't taken the whole course of that med. (She needs to take the meds for 4 weeks, so there is still a lot of it to go.) Despite her tail bobbing, she is still very active, has great appetite and seems to have fleshed out again and gotten her fat stores back. She was molting and all of her feathers have come back and are beautiful. Her only blip is that she and her other welsh sister are being seriously bullied by my runner ducks, I put up a partition for them at night, so they can sleep in peace and try to make sure that everyone gets something to eat when I give them treats. I separate everyone during the day when the bullying gets really bad, but the Welshies must have Stockholm Syndrome, as they really want to hang with my runners.

 

[KaleIAm]

Solrikka is doing really well, but she is still making that noise and I still see her doing a bit of the tail bobbing, although not as bad as when I took her to the vet. I see that she makes the noise mainly when she is eating or foraging, but she is still making it. I got the Intraconazole a week after her initial visit, so she hasn't taken the whole course of that med. (She needs to take the meds for 4 weeks, so there is still a lot of it to go.) Despite her tail bobbing, she is still very active, has great appetite and seems to have fleshed out again and gotten her fat stores back. She was molting and all of her feathers have come back and are beautiful. Her only blip is that she and her other welsh sister are being seriously bullied by my runner ducks, I put up a partition for them at night, so they can sleep in peace and try to make sure that everyone gets something to eat when I give them treats. I separate everyone during the day when the bullying gets really bad, but the Welshies must have Stockholm Syndrome, as they really want to hang with my runners.

Yay! I'm so happy to hear she's doing well! I wish she was all better but, I'll take less tail bobbing and filling back out!!

Lol, I get you on the Stockholm Syndrome. My dark khaki campbell is in love with my pekin, who is constantly pecking at her and not letting her have water.

 

[austroberta]

Yay! I'm so happy to hear she's doing well! I wish she was all better but, I'll take less tail bobbing and filling back out!!

Lol, I get you on the Stockholm Syndrome. My dark khaki campbell is in love with my pekin, who is constantly pecking at her and not letting her have water.

Yes, my runners will cross to the other side of the water/food bowls to peck my Welshies away. It's driving me nuts. It especially drives me nuts, as one of my runners, Fiore, used to be bullied like that by one of my drakes (until I re-homed him). The oppressed becomes the oppressor!

I really love my runners, but after having my Welshies, I've come to the conclusion that they can be real drama queens.