Thats great that she laid it....i just read through all these posts. The best thing for her now is to feed her the duck/poultry layer feed, give her oyster shell, and keep her happy. Sounds like you are doing a great job so far!
Duck rescue
- Thread starter Cerelia
- Start date
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- #22
I can try that with the oatmeal, Amiga. My daughter is coming downstairs to see the egg. Oh gosh, hope Daff feels better and can walk a little bit now.
- Thread starter
- #23
Thank you, 1lp. I feel like a grandma! I opened her cage door and she is laying her head on the rim. I should clean her make-shift cage (big dog carrier), but I think I will put her outside for a little while and let her rest. Hopefully the cage will air out.
OK, my daughter insists we mind the vet and get the egg out. She says it won't get it any easier for Daff to give the egg up.
OK, my daughter insists we mind the vet and get the egg out. She says it won't get it any easier for Daff to give the egg up.
Edit: Happy to see the following is not an immediate concern, but I will leave it be for informational purposes. Meanwhile, hoorah for Daffodil!
Thoughts on egg binding:
From what I have been told, it depends a little bit on the duck, but the egg is near the vent (where it comes out), sometimes visible if you can get a close look at the vent. Sometimes there is mucus around the vent.
Her behavior is a big clue, if she seems to be dragging her backside, or frequently contracting her muscles, straining.
Often a nice relaxing swim (or float) in warm water, or even time in a nicely warm environment helps the muscles relax so the egg can pass.
Would love some more experienced ducklovers to weigh in on this. I have been blessed that the Pekins and mallards I had long ago never had trouble with binding.
Thoughts on egg binding:
From what I have been told, it depends a little bit on the duck, but the egg is near the vent (where it comes out), sometimes visible if you can get a close look at the vent. Sometimes there is mucus around the vent.
Her behavior is a big clue, if she seems to be dragging her backside, or frequently contracting her muscles, straining.
Often a nice relaxing swim (or float) in warm water, or even time in a nicely warm environment helps the muscles relax so the egg can pass.
Would love some more experienced ducklovers to weigh in on this. I have been blessed that the Pekins and mallards I had long ago never had trouble with binding.
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #25
Well, we have an egg...but she does not want to give it up. She took her good leg and slid the egg under her. Good mom. This is why the vet wanted to try everything we could. She has a will to live; she is feisty.
Guess I will put her cage out for a while, and then when we give her a swim later, will clean out the cage and get her egg.
I'll check back in later...cannot thank you enough.
Guess I will put her cage out for a while, and then when we give her a swim later, will clean out the cage and get her egg.
I'll check back in later...cannot thank you enough.
Quote:
Yep that sounds like a feather clip.
FYI the stick is called the the shaft. A typical flight feather features a main shaft, called the rachis. Fused to the rachis are a series of branches, or barbs; the barbs themselves are also branched and form the barbules. These barbules have minute hooks called barbicels for cross-attachment. When a duck preens her flight feathers she oils and aligns the barbules so the barbicels cross-hook together to produce a feather that will shed water and hold air. When they molt normally the whole feather falls out at the shaft which grows in first and the rest of the structure sort of opens like a flower. On a big flight feather the shaft will look purple because it contains blood needed to bring the materials to grow the rest of the feather.
It is possible that your poor duck had an injury or disease that prevents its wings from molting properly. It would have to be a experienced vet to pick up on that. I had one duckling that was about week order than a batch he was in with (lone hatch) when his feathers started coming in the rest started pulling and twisting them. They must have caused some damage to the feather producing structure since he never molted naturally on his wing tips and some tail feathers.
If you wonder, take another look, if clipped the shaft will be cut straight where it was clipped (or broken) If the shaft continues but without barbs or few barbs, it wasn't clipped, something else is wrong (probably unfixable) but you won't have to worry about a dumb human owner. Like everybody says it is unlikely that his wings had been clipped unless it was actually getting out of a pen somewhere.
BTW I am not knocking vets, but unless they have poultry experience, they don't spend a lot of school time on waterfowl, and that is mostly diseases of chickens. Good Luck! your duck may live for many years and death can be a learning event for children.
Yep that sounds like a feather clip.
FYI the stick is called the the shaft. A typical flight feather features a main shaft, called the rachis. Fused to the rachis are a series of branches, or barbs; the barbs themselves are also branched and form the barbules. These barbules have minute hooks called barbicels for cross-attachment. When a duck preens her flight feathers she oils and aligns the barbules so the barbicels cross-hook together to produce a feather that will shed water and hold air. When they molt normally the whole feather falls out at the shaft which grows in first and the rest of the structure sort of opens like a flower. On a big flight feather the shaft will look purple because it contains blood needed to bring the materials to grow the rest of the feather.
It is possible that your poor duck had an injury or disease that prevents its wings from molting properly. It would have to be a experienced vet to pick up on that. I had one duckling that was about week order than a batch he was in with (lone hatch) when his feathers started coming in the rest started pulling and twisting them. They must have caused some damage to the feather producing structure since he never molted naturally on his wing tips and some tail feathers.
If you wonder, take another look, if clipped the shaft will be cut straight where it was clipped (or broken) If the shaft continues but without barbs or few barbs, it wasn't clipped, something else is wrong (probably unfixable) but you won't have to worry about a dumb human owner. Like everybody says it is unlikely that his wings had been clipped unless it was actually getting out of a pen somewhere.
BTW I am not knocking vets, but unless they have poultry experience, they don't spend a lot of school time on waterfowl, and that is mostly diseases of chickens. Good Luck! your duck may live for many years and death can be a learning event for children.
- Thread starter
- #27
But your little duckling turned out OK, Goosedragon?
She is sleeping now...when I get her out for a swim I will check her. I am certainly learning a lot. Very knowledgeable group!
Had an awful time finding a vet who would look at her (which is why I drove over an hour away). I know this vet takes exotic birds. Don't think anyone around here is used to getting ducks. I had emailed the vet Sunday and she said to bring her in. When I called yesterday, though, the receptionist asked if this was a pet duck. I had to explain the situation to her and assure her that I was paying for Daffodil.
She is sleeping now...when I get her out for a swim I will check her. I am certainly learning a lot. Very knowledgeable group!
Had an awful time finding a vet who would look at her (which is why I drove over an hour away). I know this vet takes exotic birds. Don't think anyone around here is used to getting ducks. I had emailed the vet Sunday and she said to bring her in. When I called yesterday, though, the receptionist asked if this was a pet duck. I had to explain the situation to her and assure her that I was paying for Daffodil.
- May 11, 2009
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Your vet may have very likely already ruled this out, but if not maybe ask them about the possibility of infection.
I rescued a Pekin a while back that had at some point been bitten by a dog. She initially recovered, then began having trouble walking, then became entirely unable to walk (I learned this from the person who initially tried to help her). It was at this point that she came to me. I took her to the vet, who also did x-rays and saw what was apparently old, since healed breaks in the hip. She said that these were not likely to cause the lameness, though, and so she was pretty sure that the duck had an infection from that dog bite I mentioned. Had she been put on antibiotic early, she would have lived. As it was, unfortunately, the infection had reached her brain, causing the lameness, and she died the next day
She was only in my life for a total of about 3 days, but I still tear up thinking about that!! Anyway, I remember feeling so sad because it would have been totally fixable if antibiotics had been given soon enough. So, if you think that this is at all a possibility, maybe run it by your vet.
Good luck and God Bless you!
I rescued a Pekin a while back that had at some point been bitten by a dog. She initially recovered, then began having trouble walking, then became entirely unable to walk (I learned this from the person who initially tried to help her). It was at this point that she came to me. I took her to the vet, who also did x-rays and saw what was apparently old, since healed breaks in the hip. She said that these were not likely to cause the lameness, though, and so she was pretty sure that the duck had an infection from that dog bite I mentioned. Had she been put on antibiotic early, she would have lived. As it was, unfortunately, the infection had reached her brain, causing the lameness, and she died the next day
She was only in my life for a total of about 3 days, but I still tear up thinking about that!! Anyway, I remember feeling so sad because it would have been totally fixable if antibiotics had been given soon enough. So, if you think that this is at all a possibility, maybe run it by your vet.
Good luck and God Bless you!
You should probably take the egg away from her soon, it probably will do no good waiting to take it away.
- Thread starter
- #30
I am so sorry, IHS.
I don't think they did a blood test. They checked her stool sample for parasites (none found), and she was going to run another test on the sample. I will call the vet and ask if she found anything (don't know if they can tell that way). Thank you for letting me know -- that helps. I do know that she inspected her and didn't think she had any bites, but I would think that would be hard to tell visually.
I don't think they did a blood test. They checked her stool sample for parasites (none found), and she was going to run another test on the sample. I will call the vet and ask if she found anything (don't know if they can tell that way). Thank you for letting me know -- that helps. I do know that she inspected her and didn't think she had any bites, but I would think that would be hard to tell visually.
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