Female duck off her food but still foraging?

[Shannonjonson]

My female duck stopped laying around 2 weeks ago, she’s been to the vets and is not egg bound but had an X-ray and had some strange tissue on her left bottom side internally. She was given a vitamin B 12 injection and a course of antibiotics and steroids! She was better the first day and then seemed to go back to quiet/not eating etc. i then put her onto a vit boost for 5 days with the steriods/antibiotics and seemed to be a little better. I’ve now decided to not give her anymore steriods and she seems a lot better after her vit boost course of 5 days but she is still off her feed/peas but is very eager to eat live bugs I find for her so she’s not lost her appetite? Is she maybe bored of her feed or is this a sign of something else? She’s also still not laying but seems much better after being taken off the steroids for one day.

 

[Quatie]

It is not unusual for a duck to stop laying when they are not feeling well, especially if she lost any weight.

However, if she is not eating her normal feed, I would keep an eye on her and watch her weight. If her weight drops too much, she would need tube feeding. You may not need to tube feed, but it is one set of supplies I think they are good to have on hand. Hopefully she has just been stressed by the experience and will start eating again normally soon. If not, here is a link on how to tube feed and what to get.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ng-guide-pictures-under-construction.1064392/