Eggbound young Call Duck?

[Alycea]

Hello. I have a young call duck, small but not super small. She will be a year old in April. I think she is eggbound with her first egg, but I am not completely certain.

Please note - We do not have a Vet willing to deal with ducks near us, so going to a vet is not a possibility. Therefore, any advice, suggestions, insights would be helpful.

To start, I noticed she was listless and quiet yesterday, sometimes just standing about on her own. This is not her normal nature. She has two sisters and they normally are constantly chatting, calling to each other and running about like mad.

It is very early spring here (in France) and a few eggs have been laid, but we can't tell exactly by whom as we have a few older females too. They are currently at the random laying stage, not yet nesting.

Anyway, I brought her inside yesterday to isolate her and provide a quiet warm atmosphere. A couple warm baths and she perked up a little, taking lots of time to fluff her feathers. Eating quite a bit, drinking lots of water. I provided a nesting box, which she would go into time to time, but with no result.

I have lubricated and checked her vent and felt carefully about. She does not like if I prod her at all, as though the area is very tender or sore to the touch. There is no egg showing. I can feel something hard, and lubricating and inserting my finger it feels like the shell, but of a very small egg. She is able to pass watery feces.

I have added turmeric and niacin to her food. Crushed eggshell to her water (as currently do not have any calcium carbonate).

She spent the night quietly, sleeping standing up, interspersed with drinking lots of water. I have noticed that she is not sitting, even in the nesting box and as far as I can tell has not sat or lay down since yesterday. Today she is not eating, but still drinking lots. She has had several warm baths, which she floats about in for a long time before getting out and going straight to the nesting box. Still no egg.

There is little change to yesterday, other than I would say more tired (she is closing her eyes more). She regularly now goes into the nesting box, comes out a while later to drink something, then goes back in.

I am going to see if our pharmacy has calcium carbonate - as I understand this might help. Though I would like to understand how or why (any answers please?)
And any other thoughts on what can be done, or even in fact is she actually eggbound?

ADDENDUM: No calcium gluconate, citrate or carbonate available at our pharmacy. What is the best substitution?

Thank you in advance.

 

[Isaac 0]

The symptoms you mention, and what you've found during the physical exam are highly suggestive that she is suffering from egg binding. Generally, with egg bound birds the immediate goal is setting them in a warm area, that's humidified to help prevent mucosal desiccation, which could impede exiting of the egg, and induce dehydration.

Calcium supplementation to help induce muscle contractions is also vital, for that, it would be preferred you use a calcium supplement such as Gluconate 23%, or Calcium citrate, the reason for not using carbonate is it's fairly fast-acting and does not stay in the bird's system for very long, however, if that is the only option you have, use it. Otherwise, get citrate + D3, or calcium gluconate.

Contuine with the warm bathes, as that will help sooth her muscles, and allow expansion of the oviduct lining, but very little of the egg itself. Monitor how much she is drinking, as it can easily prove fatal if hydration status is not maintained with an egg bound bird. Hopefully, you see improvement soon.

 

[Alycea]

The symptoms you mention, and what you've found during the physical exam are highly suggestive that she is suffering from egg binding. Generally, with egg bound birds the immediate goal is setting them in a warm area, that's humidified to help prevent mucosal desiccation, which could impede exiting of the egg, and induce dehydration.

Calcium supplementation to help induce muscle contractions is also vital, for that, it would be preferred you use a calcium supplement such as Gluconate 23%, or Calcium citrate, the reason for not using carbonate is it's fairly fast-acting and does not stay in the bird's system for very long, however, if that is the only option you have, use it. Otherwise, get citrate + D3, or calcium gluconate.

Contuine with the warm bathes, as that will help sooth her muscles, and allow expansion of the oviduct lining, but very little of the egg itself. Monitor how much she is drinking, as it can easily prove fatal if hydration status is not maintained with an egg bound bird. Hopefully, you see improvement soon.

Thank you Isaac. Very helpful. The room is warm to hot and I am hopeful because she keeps drinking all the time. I do think it is her being young and her first egg, but there is always the worry...
She suddenly rushes off her nest and goes to take sips of water, so she is obviously trying to stay hydrated, but I am also monitoring.
I have looked up the translations for calcium gluconate and citrate to see if they are offered here in France. Hopefully my pharmacy will have one of these.
Kind regards

 

[Isaac 0]

Thank you Isaac. Very helpful. The room is warm to hot and I am hopeful because she keeps drinking all the time. I do think it is her being young and her first egg, but there is always the worry...
She suddenly rushes off her nest and goes to take sips of water, so she is obviously trying to stay hydrated, but I am also monitoring.
I have looked up the translations for calcium gluconate and citrate to see if they are offered here in France. Hopefully my pharmacy will have one of these.
Kind regards

New layers are known for laying abnormally large eggs, or soft-shelled eggs, both of which can be hard to expel. If you don't see any of the products mentioned, if you wish, send some pictures of what they do have in-stock and we might be able to comment which one would be best.

 

[Alycea]

The symptoms you mention, and what you've found during the physical exam are highly suggestive that she is suffering from egg binding. Generally, with egg bound birds the immediate goal is setting them in a warm area, that's humidified to help prevent mucosal desiccation, which could impede exiting of the egg, and induce dehydration.

Calcium supplementation to help induce muscle contractions is also vital, for that, it would be preferred you use a calcium supplement such as Gluconate 23%, or Calcium citrate, the reason for not using carbonate is it's fairly fast-acting and does not stay in the bird's system for very long, however, if that is the only option you have, use it. Otherwise, get citrate + D3, or calcium gluconate.

Contuine with the warm bathes, as that will help sooth her muscles, and allow expansion of the oviduct lining, but very little of the egg itself. Monitor how much she is drinking, as it can easily prove fatal if hydration status is not maintained with an egg bound bird. Hopefully, you see improvement soon.

Hello again Isaac. Our pharmacy does not have calcium gluconate, citrate or carbonate available. Any other suggestions of what I can try?

 

[Isaac 0]

Hello again Isaac. Our pharmacy does not have calcium gluconate, citrate or carbonate available. Any other suggestions of what I can try?

Do they have any Rennie®?

 

[Alycea]

Do they have any Rennie®?

I did not see any. I explained to the pharmacist what it was for, but she didn't suggest anything else they might have. Normally they are very good about suggesting alternatives, if they have them.
I could order online (all but the calcium gluconate), but the earliest I would get is tomorrow afternoon. My concern there is it would be too late, either because she has already passed the egg, or worse.

 

[Isaac 0]

I did not see any. I explained to the pharmacist what it was for, but she didn't suggest anything else they might have. Normally they are very good about suggesting alternatives, if they have them.
I could order online (all but the calcium gluconate), but the earliest I would get is tomorrow afternoon. My concern there is it would be too late, either because she has already passed the egg, or worse.

I would suggest ordering the calcium citrate, as well as calling any additional pharmacies in your area, and ask if they might have any products. If they don't, in the meantime, I would suggest grinding up some eggshells in a food grinder, mixing a small amount of water with it, strain any particles out, and drip drops along the duck's bill using the solution often.

 

[Alycea]

I would suggest ordering the calcium citrate, as well as calling any additional pharmacies in your area, and ask if they might have any products. If they don't, in the meantime, I would suggest grinding up some eggshells in a food grinder, mixing a small amount of water with it, strain any particles out, and drip drops along the duck's bill using the solution often.

Thank you. Would you know if straight forward Calcium would work? Or calcium with magnesium? I think our food store might have this in their 'health food' aisle. Or does it have to be gluconate/citrate/carbonate? (and what exactly is the reason if it must be these?)

 

[Isaac 0]

Thank you. Would you know if straight forward Calcium would work? Or calcium with magnesium? I think our food store might have this in their 'health food' aisle. Or does it have to be gluconate/citrate/carbonate? (and what exactly is the reason if it must be these?)

With my limited experience in regards to calcium, I don't believe there is "straight calcium" there are forms of calcium, such as gluconate, citrate, or carbonate - if you look at the back of the bottle you should see the calcium form. I would not give calcium + magnesium.