Duck Won't Eat After Flock-mate Died

[The Dim Side]

Hi, everyone,

I care for a couple disabled birds, but my one Indian runner duck (a little over 2 years old) hasn't really been eating much for the last few days after my young Pekin passed away at the vet from a blood infection (the first vet didn't catch it, and I didn't get to the second vet in time).

I had a Cayuga duck that my runner grew up with (she was blind in one eye), but she sadly passed away in February from a chronic egg-laying problem. And in April, I took in the aforementioned Pekin who had leg problems and wasn't very mobile. But he just passed away on Thursday, so I only had him a couple months.

My runner also lives with a disabled chicken who has mobility issues. And the runner is only eating some of the black soldier fly larvae I give them but doesn't seem to be eating the duck feed. I tried giving him some oats and cracked corn, but it doesn't look like he's eating that either.

My runner duck can't walk and has a chair that I built for him, he can swim well enough though. So I can't tell whether he'd be going off on his own or anything to mourn. But he doesn't seem lethargic or distant. He's chatty and seems to drink at least some water and swims/bathes/preens. It's just the food he won't touch.

It could be something else internally going on with him, but it coincides with the disappearance of his new brother. So I'm leaning toward him being sad that he's been left behind a second time.

What should I do? Should I syringe feed him some ground/wet duck feed? I also have Critical Care herbivore (that I've used for rabbits), is that something he could have? I plan on getting a somewhat disabled Muscovy, but it won't be for a little bit (and he's more mobile like the Cayuga was, so I'm not sure how well they'll even get along). And I don't think he stopped eating after the Cayuga passed away (at least that I noticed, it was sudden and really hit me hard, so I may not have been paying close attention to him), but I'm very concerned.

Thanks in advance!

 

[GodLovesU]

Is he still not eating?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hi, everyone,

I care for a couple disabled birds, but my one Indian runner duck (a little over 2 years old) hasn't really been eating much for the last few days after my young Pekin passed away at the vet from a blood infection (the first vet didn't catch it, and I didn't get to the second vet in time).

I had a Cayuga duck that my runner grew up with (she was blind in one eye), but she sadly passed away in February from a chronic egg-laying problem. And in April, I took in the aforementioned Pekin who had leg problems and wasn't very mobile. But he just passed away on Thursday, so I only had him a couple months.

My runner also lives with a disabled chicken who has mobility issues. And the runner is only eating some of the black soldier fly larvae I give them but doesn't seem to be eating the duck feed. I tried giving him some oats and cracked corn, but it doesn't look like he's eating that either.

My runner duck can't walk and has a chair that I built for him, he can swim well enough though. So I can't tell whether he'd be going off on his own or anything to mourn. But he doesn't seem lethargic or distant. He's chatty and seems to drink at least some water and swims/bathes/preens. It's just the food he won't touch.

It could be something else internally going on with him, but it coincides with the disappearance of his new brother. So I'm leaning toward him being sad that he's been left behind a second time.

What should I do? Should I syringe feed him some ground/wet duck feed? I also have Critical Care herbivore (that I've used for rabbits), is that something he could have? I plan on getting a somewhat disabled Muscovy, but it won't be for a little bit (and he's more mobile like the Cayuga was, so I'm not sure how well they'll even get along). And I don't think he stopped eating after the Cayuga passed away (at least that I noticed, it was sudden and really hit me hard, so I may not have been paying close attention to him), but I'm very concerned.

Thanks in advance!

Have you tried making his feed into soup? sometime they will drink instead of eating if they are not feeling well. I take warm water and a tad of ACV mix it into the feed to make it soupy. If you think he is losing weight then tube feeding would be a good idea. I am not familar with herbivore food so can't say if it would be good for him or not ,with tube feeding I have always used baby bird food.
so sorry no one replied before now.

 

[The Dim Side]

That's alright! He's actually doing okay, I think. I may have just thought he wasn't eating as much as normal but didn't realize that he just normally doesn't eat much. I was just more alert after my other duck got sick. He's already scrawny, especially since his legs are thin from not being able to walk. He still seems in good spirits and is pooping well enough. The only concern I have is that occasionally his poop is a little green. And I'm paranoid about that because my Pekin was having very green poops within the last few days before he passed away.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I'm glad to hear he is eating. Why can't he walk? He may not be eating enough maybe entice by adding some mealworms to his feed? Just to get him to eat better. Is the green like bright neon green

 

[The Dim Side]

It's not a neon green, which is what my Pekin had (blood infection from a wound that the local vet didn't properly treat). The poop now is a duller green, but I've only noticed it a couple times or so over the last week.

My runner duck can't walk because he has dislocated knees, I've taken him to a couple vets, but they said surgery would be the only thing that could potentially help him, but even that would only be a temporary fix if it were even successful at all. So they didn't recommend it because it was unlikely to help. I think he just didn't develop right in the egg, unfortunately. He can swim some though!

Edit: He does have mealworms/black soldier fly larvae at his disposal! So he eats plenty of that at least, lol.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Sounds like you take very good care of him! You could add some Poultry Cell to his drinking water for some extra vitamins could help his appetite too.

 

[RiDaGeckoGuy]

Can I see a picture of him I would love to see the chair design

 

[The Dim Side]

Can I see a picture of him I would love to see the chair design

So I don't have a good photo of the runner's (Dick Van Duck) chair offhand, I'll need to dig to find a better one. At the moment, I'm still in the process of redesigning his seat because he always finds a way to wriggle out of it, lol. But he likes to be able to practice standing and moving his legs, he just can't stand fully upright like a runner normally would.

So the most recent photos, the seat is a towel because it helps to prevent him from wriggling out the sides. And I need to design the new seat where it can act the same way of covering the wall areas.

You can see the same basic design in the Pekin's chair (the one who passed away, Morey Amsterduck; I also used to have a Cayuga named Mary Tyler Molt). His chair was just larger and higher though because I was trying to prevent him from touching the ground with his leg sores.

It's also pretty cheap to make out of PVC pipe, which beats paying like $300 for the disabled animal chairs I've found online, lol. I'd rather save that money for vet bills. The hardest part is getting the right seat shape for the specific disability and bird though.

 

[Miss Lydia]

How is he doing today?