Duck stung by fire ants

[ForDuckSake]

Hi all!
I believe my duck stuck her bill in a giant fire ant hill

She’s acting lethargic and isolating. Keeping her eyes closed quite a bit.

Should I take to a vet? (We dont have an avian vet with amazing resources nearby).

I was also reading I could possibly give her baby aspirin and benedryl. But I am not sure the dosage. She’s about 4 pounds.

This is my guess of what’s up with her. Or she could be starting a molt.

Any help would be great.

Thank you.

 

[SnackMeat]

Ugh. I juuuust had this happen last week. I wish I had put him down. He had gotten pinned by a fence and had been stuck being bit by ants til I saw him. I washed him off and wrapped him up. Then later checked on him and there were still ants in him!!!! I wish I had soaked him in a bath or something instead of rinsing.


Even then, made it til the night (and was looking better) and dead by morning. I think it was maybe 12-18 hours from when I grabbed him to when I found him dead.


Considering the amount of pain my foot is in from 1-3 ant bites, sometimes bone deep throbbing pain, I cannot imagine, in my case, a 1-2 pound turkey dealing with however many times he had been bit.


Truly horrific.

I wish I had put mine down :/

I can't say anything about your situation. If you have the money, then yeah, vet.

 

[ForDuckSake]

Ugh. I juuuust had this happen last week. I wish I had put him down. He had gotten pinned by a fence and had been stuck being bit by ants til I saw him. I washed him off and wrapped him up. Then later checked on him and there were still ants in him!!!! I wish I had soaked him in a bath or something instead of rinsing.


Even then, made it til the night (and was looking better) and dead by morning. I think it was maybe 12-18 hours from when I grabbed him to when I found him dead.


Considering the amount of pain my foot is in from 1-3 ant bites, sometimes bone deep throbbing pain, I cannot imagine, in my case, a 1-2 pound turkey dealing with however many times he had been bit.


Truly horrific.

I wish I had put mine down :/

I can't say anything about your situation. If you have the money, then yeah, vet.

Oh that’s awful. I’m so sorry. I have checked her over a few times and haven’t seen any ants on her. I just know one of them stuck their head in an ant pile. Just not sure which one. Molts are also confusing cause I know it can make them feel really really bad.

 

[SnackMeat]

Yeah, I would definitely go through her feathers a few times simply because I had lifted wings, legs, looked around butt looking at injuries and everything looked fine.


But yeah, I'm not that knowledgeable but from what I have read stress could cause a molt. I'm not familiar with OTC anti histamines or pain killers for poultry but if they can have them then yeah that could help her feel better. Otherwise, extra protein for the regrowing stage.


I'm glad it seems to be turning out better for you. I've been trying to kill off the bad ant piles where I can but it's hard because they've branched in to areas the chickens use so it's slow going.

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is dosage for Benadryl which is 2-4 mg per every kilogram of weight or 0.9 mg per pound.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dramine-for-poultry-under-construction.74175/