MamaOfDewey
Chirping
- Jan 9, 2022
- 49
- 139
- 61
Hi everybody.
Miss Dewey is a 1.5 year old female Muscovy duck, 7 pounds, imprinted/captive/non-releasable. And she needs the village's help.
Earlier today Dewey began opening her mouth and then later full on panting. She was also squinching her eyes closed as if she was in pain or uncomfortable. Her bill and legs are very warm to the touch. Her tail is not wrenching upward or downward (but does rise and fall in sync with the panting). She has a 'vibration' feeling that comes in somewhat quick on and off waves. No neck twist. No shaking of the head. No discharge from eyes Nares are clear. Oil glad is fine, no blood on vent or in poop. No caking or debris in /around vent.
She is drinking normally. She is eating - not as much as normal, but definitely a fair enough amount. She has been eating duck pellets (Purina), freeze dried crickets, apples, blueberries, greens, celery leaves, grit (normal diet for her).
Her poop is typically fairly liquid with off and on firm movements, but is now basically projectile diarrhea that smells sour and absolutely wretched - very watery, pale brown color. She has not had a clutch since prior to beginning molting a couple months ago. In front of her vent (toward the front, not behind the vent toward the tail) there is a hard area, though it is not the shape of an egg.
I started her on VetRx, Zyfend-A, and Vitamins & Electrolytes "Plus" (added to her water). On the chance she is egg-bound, I put her in a warm bath and held her there for about 10 minutes. Put fresh timothy hay in her 'box' (which is a large pet taxi with the door taken off). She was happy for that and went in her box and got it arranged and then came back onto the couch with me. (She lives indoors and spends a bit of time outside each day to forage and get her Vitamin D. Her preference is inside because she is a priss, she is imprinted, thinks she's a person, and her best friend is the resident cat. And she's my shadow. She would not do well outside alone at all and does require - and receive - constant companionship.)
I'm at a loss. I've called my vet but they are an hour away and there is at least a 5-6 hour wait tonight before she would be able to be seen. I figure our time is better spent doing all we can here at home rather than waiting for that long where she would only be more stressed and not receiving any treatment.
She seemed to feel better after the bath. I cut the bath short to run to the store before they closed to get fresh bedding because the straw I picked up from the feed store smelled moldy. She was around it for a short while until I realized it may be bad. She has a coop outside that I put it down in, and she was in the coop for a little while before I pulled it out and moved the coop over to a fresh piece of grass.
Any ideas on what this may be? And more importantly, what I can do to make sure she doesn't die tonight? If the consensus is that she is egg bound, how can I determine that for sure and also remedy it safely? She is preening, standing steady, and even doing those beautiful foot/wing stretch combinations, but I can tell she doesn't feel good at all, and the panting hasn't stopped. It's the middle of the night, so going to the feed store for antibiotics is not possible.
I'm open to any suggestions. Can you guys tell me how to determine properly if this is a bound egg? And how to safely help her with that? She seems to want to nest, but other than getting her room situated she isn't staying in there. I can put the door on so she has to, but right now I'm letting her lead the way and she's wanting to stay by my side. Her nesting box is a mere 4 feet away from me, Did I tell you she's a priss???? lol I LOVE this duck, and want to do absolutely everything possible to get her through this.
Thank you so much in advance!!
Miss Dewey is a 1.5 year old female Muscovy duck, 7 pounds, imprinted/captive/non-releasable. And she needs the village's help.
Earlier today Dewey began opening her mouth and then later full on panting. She was also squinching her eyes closed as if she was in pain or uncomfortable. Her bill and legs are very warm to the touch. Her tail is not wrenching upward or downward (but does rise and fall in sync with the panting). She has a 'vibration' feeling that comes in somewhat quick on and off waves. No neck twist. No shaking of the head. No discharge from eyes Nares are clear. Oil glad is fine, no blood on vent or in poop. No caking or debris in /around vent.
She is drinking normally. She is eating - not as much as normal, but definitely a fair enough amount. She has been eating duck pellets (Purina), freeze dried crickets, apples, blueberries, greens, celery leaves, grit (normal diet for her).
Her poop is typically fairly liquid with off and on firm movements, but is now basically projectile diarrhea that smells sour and absolutely wretched - very watery, pale brown color. She has not had a clutch since prior to beginning molting a couple months ago. In front of her vent (toward the front, not behind the vent toward the tail) there is a hard area, though it is not the shape of an egg.
I started her on VetRx, Zyfend-A, and Vitamins & Electrolytes "Plus" (added to her water). On the chance she is egg-bound, I put her in a warm bath and held her there for about 10 minutes. Put fresh timothy hay in her 'box' (which is a large pet taxi with the door taken off). She was happy for that and went in her box and got it arranged and then came back onto the couch with me. (She lives indoors and spends a bit of time outside each day to forage and get her Vitamin D. Her preference is inside because she is a priss, she is imprinted, thinks she's a person, and her best friend is the resident cat. And she's my shadow. She would not do well outside alone at all and does require - and receive - constant companionship.)
I'm at a loss. I've called my vet but they are an hour away and there is at least a 5-6 hour wait tonight before she would be able to be seen. I figure our time is better spent doing all we can here at home rather than waiting for that long where she would only be more stressed and not receiving any treatment.
She seemed to feel better after the bath. I cut the bath short to run to the store before they closed to get fresh bedding because the straw I picked up from the feed store smelled moldy. She was around it for a short while until I realized it may be bad. She has a coop outside that I put it down in, and she was in the coop for a little while before I pulled it out and moved the coop over to a fresh piece of grass.
Any ideas on what this may be? And more importantly, what I can do to make sure she doesn't die tonight? If the consensus is that she is egg bound, how can I determine that for sure and also remedy it safely? She is preening, standing steady, and even doing those beautiful foot/wing stretch combinations, but I can tell she doesn't feel good at all, and the panting hasn't stopped. It's the middle of the night, so going to the feed store for antibiotics is not possible.
I'm open to any suggestions. Can you guys tell me how to determine properly if this is a bound egg? And how to safely help her with that? She seems to want to nest, but other than getting her room situated she isn't staying in there. I can put the door on so she has to, but right now I'm letting her lead the way and she's wanting to stay by my side. Her nesting box is a mere 4 feet away from me, Did I tell you she's a priss???? lol I LOVE this duck, and want to do absolutely everything possible to get her through this.
Thank you so much in advance!!
She has a good appetite, but I am being watchful in case of an obstruction that hasn't cleared. No egg laying, but her pelvis has spread so perhaps one will be coming - which would explain a lot of the above. (she gets moody before a clutch). I don't feel like she is completely out of the woods yet, but I'm feeling pretty confident that whatever it is/was is clearing up and she is healing. I'll continue the mandated rest and relaxation, warm baths, vitamins and minerals, and such but she's still kicking and bright eyed & bushy tailed!! Hopefully a few days more and she will be all good and back to her sweet, prissy self. 
