Gasping duckling

[DuckingSerious90]

I have a duckling not walking well- but is trying it's been on and off gasping for 3 days now. It's approximately 12ish days old.

Had goopy eyes and wasn't walking great- those improved, still not walking great but moving around on its own...but it is now gasping for air. Growth is stunted.

Has been given vitamin B complex, acidpak, sulfatrim and I sterilized it's area by fogging virkon s- been placed in shower for steam treatment to help breathing. I'm kind of suspecting aspergillosis(sp?) Has anyone ever had a duckling make it or should I cull?

 

[Isaac 0]

Welcome to BYC. Could you post a video of the duckling gasping? To post a video, upload it to a video platform like Youtube or Vimeo, and copy/paste the link here.

Gasping, or heavy breathing in ducklings can be due to several problems. Most often, the heavy breathing is just overheating, but conditions like brooder pneumonia (aspergillosis) can cause breathing problems due to fungal spores in their environment, which then starts to colonize their lungs. If the environment the duckling is being kept in, is dirty, that also increases the chance of a bacterial infection, which along with aspergillosis can cause respiratory problems.

A video would be nice before suggesting anything, but regardless of the problem, you'll want to make sure the duckling is in a well-ventilated, dry area, with clean water, and feed.

 

[DuckingSerious90]

I have a duckling not walking well- but is trying it's been on and off gasping for 3 days now. It's approximately 12ish days old.

Had goopy eyes and wasn't walking great- those improved, still not walking great but moving around on its own...but it is now gasping for air. Growth is stunted.

Has been given vitamin B complex, acidpak, sulfatrim and I sterilized it's area by fogging virkon s- been placed in shower for steam treatment to help breathing. I'm kind of suspecting aspergillosis(sp?) Has anyone ever had a duckling make it or should I cull?

Video posting is just after a steam treatment...

 

[DuckingSerious90]

Welcome to BYC. Could you post a video of the duckling gasping? To post a video, upload it to a video platform like Youtube or Vimeo, and copy/paste the link here.

Gasping, or heavy breathing in ducklings can be due to several problems. Most often, the heavy breathing is just overheating, but conditions like brooder pneumonia (aspergillosis) can cause breathing problems due to fungal spores in their environment, which then starts to colonize their lungs. If the environment the duckling is being kept in, is dirty, that also increases the chance of a bacterial infection, which along with aspergillosis can cause respiratory problems.

A video would be nice before suggesting anything, but regardless of the problem, you'll want to make sure the duckling is in a well-ventilated, dry area, with clean water, and feed.

The duckling is in clean dry bedding and in my spare room in a box. Conditions prior to - came from large flock fairly clean barn though.

I also just shared the video I had to upload to youtube first.

 

[Isaac 0]

The duckling is in clean dry bedding and in my spare room in a box. Conditions prior to - came from large flock fairly clean barn though.

I also just shared the video I had to upload to youtube first.

Poor guy. Just reading the part where you mentioned you gave him Bactrim, and since you saw no improvement, it seems unlikely the problem would be related to a bacterial or viral infection. Looking at the video, it's easy to tell the problem is not due to heat, but rather something serious. Aspergillus comes to mind, as well as pneumonia, especially if you've tried to give him fluids into his mouth.

If you live near a vet, I think the best outcome would be achieved by going there, so you can confirm what exactly is causing the gasping.

If you can't see a vet, you could try to "treat" the duckling with a fungistat or euthanize the bird. The reason I put quotes around the treat, is because there is no treatment for aspergillosis, but there are things you can do to subside the symptoms. Generally, those include making sure the duckling is kept in a dry, clean area, and administering a fungistat. For a Fungistat you could use Nystatin, but , just like ordering anything online, it will take time to arrive, so you may go to your pharmacy, and pick up some miconazole, which is a fungistat, and can be found in a vaginal cream form, and give her some of that.

If you do choose to use Nystatin, you can get it here :

https://allbirdproducts.com/product...is Nystatin 400 000,on game birds and poultry.

I would keep him out of the shower for now, as fungal spores thrive in moist areas. Towels may be better than wood chips to keep fungal spores from reproducing.

 

[DuckingSerious90]

Poor guy. Just reading the part where you mentioned you gave him Bactrim, and since you saw no improvement, it seems unlikely the problem would be related to a bacterial or viral infection. Looking at the video, it's easy to tell the problem is not due to heat, but rather something serious. Aspergillus comes to mind, as well as pneumonia, especially if you've tried to give him fluids into his mouth.

If you live near a vet, I think the best outcome would be achieved by going there, so you can confirm what exactly is causing the gasping.

If you can't see a vet, you could try to "treat" the duckling with a fungistat or euthanize the bird. The reason I put quotes around the treat, is because there is no treatment for aspergillosis, but there are things you can do to subside the symptoms. Generally, those include making sure the duckling is kept in a dry, clean area, and administering a fungistat. For a Fungistat you could use Nystatin, but , just like ordering anything online, it will take time to arrive, and it's your choice if you want the duckling to suffer for that long.

If you do choose to use a Fungistat, you can get Nystatin here :

https://allbirdproducts.com/products/medistatin#:~:text=Medistatin is Nystatin 400 000,on game birds and poultry.

I would keep him out of the shower for now, as fungal spores thrive in moist areas. Towels may be better than wood chips to keep fungal spores from reproducing.

Thanks,
I'll order some either way for in the future again- as I plan to have ducks this spring...I don't own ducks I was given this one by a friend to try and rehab...

I'll post the outcome in a few days.

 

[Isaac 0]

Thanks,
I'll order some either way for in the future again- as I plan to have ducks this spring...I don't own ducks I was given this one by a friend to try and rehab...

I'll post the outcome in a few days.

I added a part to my post, regarding available fungistats to use.