Duck Suddenly Panting and Whimpering

[Duckstruck]

I bet anything she is huffing and not panting?....Does she shake a bit too?...Possibly stressed being held.

She doesn't shake, but it is definitely panting. Sometime she pants so hard she whimpers. She'll pant when swimming and her breathing isn't smooth when sitting down. She's never done this to me before and she's always been the more friendly duck of the bunch. It must be something medical...
If she does have gapeworm, do you suggest separating her? Should I throw out all the recent eggs from her/others? Do all of them need deworming?

 

[chickens really]

Gape worm?.....I don't think so ?....Open her bill and look..

 

[casportpony]

I think there is Safeguard, Valbazen, or Ivermectin that would work. @Ravynscroft @casportpony do you guys suggest one over the other or is there something else that is better?

Safeguard or Valbazen, ivermectin does not treat gapes. @Ravynscroft , what does of Valbazen do you use to treat gapes in ducks? In chickens I use Safeguard at 0.23 ml per pound orally for 5 days.

 

[casportpony]

She doesn't shake, but it is definitely panting. Sometime she pants so hard she whimpers. She'll pant when swimming and her breathing isn't smooth when sitting down. She's never done this to me before and she's always been the more friendly duck of the bunch. It must be something medical...
If she does have gapeworm, do you suggest separating her? Should I throw out all the recent eggs from her/others? Do all of them need deworming?

Can you take her to a vet tomorrow?

 

[Duckstruck]

Can you take her to a vet tomorrow?

We try to exhaust all options before choosing the vet... we just recently had a $100+ bill for a duck with abscess. My mother says I'll have to pay for it this time... How urgent is this? Should I try to video it for you guys?

 

[CayugaJana]

We try to exhaust all options before choosing the vet... we just recently had a $100+ bill for a duck with abscess. My mother says I'll have to pay for it this time... How urgent is this? Should I try to video it for you guys?

Can you YouTube gapeworm and see if the behavior looks similar? Other than not eating the eggs for 1-2 wks it won’t hurt them to be treated.

Ravynscroft and casportpony will both be able to give you more informed suggestions if you can give them a video.

 

[casportpony]

We try to exhaust all options before choosing the vet... we just recently had a $100+ bill for a duck with abscess. My mother says I'll have to pay for it this time... How urgent is this? Should I try to video it for you guys?

A video would be very helpful! I don't how common gapes are in ducks, but probably no harm in treating for them.

Can you YouTube gapeworm and see if the behavior looks similar? Other than not eating the eggs for 1-2 wks it won’t hurt them to be treated.

Ravynscroft and casportpony will both be able to give you more informed suggestions if you can give them a video.

Great advice! Gapes mimic other respiratory diseases, and because they live *in* the trachea, they are impossible to detect.

There are some posts that recommend sticking a q-tip in the throat, but that won't work either, and please don't try! The duck trachea starts at the back of the tounge an travels the length of the neck, and gapes could be at the beginning, middle, or end. See the problem? One cannot check the entire trachea without an endoscope (medical device).

If you decide to treat for gapes I suggest that you follow @Ravynscroft advice. She has ducks, and lives in TN.

 

[casportpony]

So let's look at some of the other things it could be...

Symptoms are:
Exercise intolerance (swimming makes it worse)
Holding her makes it worse?
Sits more than usual.

Questions:
When did she lay her last egg?
Has she ever laid soft shelled eggs or had egg laying trouble?
Has she or any of your other ducks/chickens had any respiratory illness?

 

[Ravynscroft]

It must be that! It is literally all of that! So, now that we have found the issue, how can I deal with this? Would Co-op have dewormer? Does she need to be separated? Thank you so much!

Even if it is not gapeworm, deworming would not hurt her, and you would see improvement in 24hrs, vast improvement by 48hrs...

My local co-op has dewormer, but they're for roundworms. Any suggestions for brands/products?

She doesn't shake, but it is definitely panting. Sometime she pants so hard she whimpers. She'll pant when swimming and her breathing isn't smooth when sitting down. She's never done this to me before and she's always been the more friendly duck of the bunch. It must be something medical...
If she does have gapeworm, do you suggest separating her? Should I throw out all the recent eggs from her/others? Do all of them need deworming?

I would go ahead an separate her just to be safe... if she is overloaded to the point of panting and squeaking/rasping noises from gapes, then yes, it is severe and she needs separated and treated...

My co-op carries Valbazen, I don't know if yours does... get Valbazen or Safeguard, those are the ones that treat gapes... Valbazen treatment for gapes is 0.08mL/cc per pound for 3 days straight... Safeguard is 0.23cc/mL per pound for 5 days straight... get at least one needless syringe, the smallest you can find... or if she will eat a small piece of bread, you can put it on that and feed it to her... if that works, then yes, treat the rest of your flock, but treat her first to make sure...

And no, you cannot see gapeworm in the back of her throat... better safe than sorry, just get proper dewormer and see if she improves...

 

[Duckstruck]

So let's look at some of the other things it could be...

Symptoms are:
Exercise intolerance (swimming makes it worse)
Holding her makes it worse?
Sits more than usual.

Questions:
When did she lay her last egg?
Has she ever laid soft shelled eggs or had egg laying trouble?
Has she or any of your other ducks/chickens had any respiratory illness?

1. I'm not sure when she laid her last egg. We do get quite a few duck eggs each week, some being bigger than my other ducks (buff). I would think she's laid an egg this past week.
2. This duck is notorious for laying soft shelled eggs! Once and a while she'll lay normal eggs, but I've seen her lay those for sure.
3. My other Pekin had respiratory infection early last year, and recovered. That's all I can think of.