female pekin with diarrhea but vet meds not working

electrics1

In the Brooder
Aug 14, 2016
30
1
14
My adult female pekin duck named Berkeley has diarrhea for several weeks. losing weight. she has as 12 or more poops a day. some are mostly normal but many are very runny. various colors reflecting what she is eating. she is eating well(crumble and greens) plus some celery in morning and some tomato in evening. I put some rolled oats and sometimes cracked corn in the crumble. I also add some grit for her. I give her some oyster shells on the side since she is a layer, diet had not changed when this began. I think the only difference was new bag of nutrena layer feed which she had before. the vet says the tests show bacterial infection. kidneys are fine, no foreign objects found and she is laying normally. vets have tried several antibiotics-septra SMZ/TMP in suspension, nystatin, and Ceftazidine by injection. The Ceftazidine helps a bit but not much.
the vet won't even discuss probiotics-she barely asked what i fed her. will probiotics help? could the bag of Neutrena have tainted feed? I bought it at a feed store.
Please help.
 
Probiotics certainly would not hurt. Try giving her some canned pumpkin. I have no idea if ducks like it, but it helps with diarrhea in dogs. Good luck.
 
thank you. will give it a try. also heard that organic apple baby food could work. she does not like yoghurt.
 
I would also change feed right away. Anything might be in her water? Can she get into any nasty mud puddles?

You are doing so much that should be helping her.

Could it be a fungal infection, like a candida overgrowth? In that case, antibiotics won't help - at the same time, if she has a bacterial infection, she would need appropriate antibiotics. My vet prescribed Bactrim a month ago when Sechs was eggbound and showing signs of infection. Perhaps that - which is a sulfa drug - might do the trick - ask your vet.

And also consider she may have a couple of things going on.

You know to try to keep her hydrated. What about bananas? Some ducks eat those. Just a little bit of cooked rice, perhaps? If I were to try those, I would try just tiny bits, since those foods can cause constipation. But then, that's one reason I am suggesting you consider them. I checked here https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/242460/the-ultimate-list-of-duck-treats-and-supplements
 
I am getting new feed for her. i am feeding her greens, rolled oats, some cracked corn. she loves bananas so i will give her more. I don't think the water is a problem.
she is laying an egg every day so she is not eggbound. She has had a few ultrasounds that show no blockage or egg binding.
I will talk to the vet about Bactrim.
thank you.
 
If you have time and a way to do so, perhaps you could take a photo of her poop. We have some duck poop experts here on the forum.

That may sound weird, but really, it can help to see what we are talking about.
 
I took some pictures a few days ago that I can post. I have to figure out how to do that. I am new.
 
I think you need to have posted a certain number of times first, but I am guessing you have.

This is what the upload photo icon looks like - then you can select the file from your computer to upload.
 
ok. the only problem with the poop is that I have many different poops in a 2-3 hour period. I will post soon.
 

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