Help call duck not eating!!!!!!

[Miss Lydia]

So happy to hear that he's coming along so good. Everyday your seeing improvement thats great. Just remember when you decide he can go back out to do it gradual so he can get use to the cold temps again. He'll probably want to be a house duck with all the attention he's getting. Good job!

.. forgot to tell you I have 3 mini dachshunds, and 1 mix that looks a little like a spaniel of some kind.

 

[sandracollins]

What colour are your dogs ? We have a black and tan and a red the red is 11 and we nearly lost her twice in the last 2 months , she had heart failure and the vet wanted to put her down(she is also very fat) but we tried heart tablets first and she was like a new dog after a day on them, then three weeks later she started to bleed and she had a septic womb and we had no choice but to operate the vet said she only had a 50 percent chance of surviving but she made it , she is a very expensive dog it cost about600 dollars for the op and 130 dollars a month for her tablets but thats the price of having animals and loving them too much

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hi, I know what you mean about the cost of vet, care but they are worth it. My oldest is 31/2 shes red[ called wild boar] the names of the colors lol then we have a chocolate dapple he was 2 in Dec. then our youngest ids a red pie bald he was 1 in Dec. We are starting over again since our last ones all passed away after living long lives. They are very special. Hope your girl continues to to heal and be healthy.

 

[sandracollins]

Hi he is much the same today brought a lady in to keep him company and he perked up a bit ,I wouldn't tell anyone else this because they would have me locked up but i brought in a big tray of muck and added water to it and put it on my kitchen floor he got straight in and rubbed his chest in it and then shook , you should see my kitchen !!!!!!!! ,what worries me now is that when he gets wet it takes forever for his chest and underneath to dry ,how do ducks oil themselves ? I am worried that when I let him outside again he will get really cold if he stays wet ,any ideas whats up with his waterproofing

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hi sandra, that is so funny about bringing in the muck and letting him have some fun, it's your house do what you want.....Ducks have an oil gland at the base of their tail that they use to oil their feathers with, when he preens you'll see him rubbing his head down there to bring the oil or wax actually up over his body, He should be fine as long as you slowly get him use to being back out. Ducks have a built in down jacket. I bet he like having a friend with him too. Call ducks are so cute how many do you have? Look at his oil gland it's right where the tail and body meet, it may be clogged up, One of my muscovy hens had that happen and I just used warm compresses on her and it got okay. Glad to here he's doing good.

 

[priss]

Yaaaaay so glad to hear he's improving. The muck and water thing was inspired! Brilliant!
I thought I read somewhere that swimming helps to induce preening which spreads the oil. Maybe without him getting so much time in water he's just a little less oiled than usual?
Keep up the brilliant work!
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[sandracollins]

I have 6 call ducks 3 white and 3 apricot only got them in November , I have his friend in for the last 6 hours !!!! Nothing is getting done in my house because I am spending all day watching him to see if he is eating ,the weather is to get warmer and wetter for the rest of the week so I will put him outside for a bit longer each day .Where the wound is on his chest is quite hard and the feathers dont move the same its quite hard to see the wound clearly because the feathers dont move on his skin because of the scab but there is no smell or discharge and it all seems to be quite dry.I am just hoping he continues to improve I am going to feed him only once today just to make sure he is getting enough food I am afraid if I feed him too much he wont have any intrest in food on his own.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Probably a good idea, when you get a chance how about some pic. I've seen the white but don't think I've seen the apricot color. It's so amazing how quickly they heal has something to do with their body temps. being so high helps to ward off infection. Thank goodness. keep up the good work, and don't worry about the house it will be there, as I have found out lol...

 

[sandracollins]

hi just an update he was doing ok and eating a bit on his own but two days ago he started limping , I think he slipped on an icy puddle the other day,he is still very quite and if I put him out with the others he just stands around and now he sits a lot because his leg is sore and he dosent seem intrested in anything he is not asleep but just sits.I thought he would be nearly back to normal by now(its 11 days since it happened) the wound is dry but the skin under the feathers is all scabbed and very hard and it has lost its waterproofness so if he swims in the sink it stays wet ,help from any one please

 

[Miss Lydia]

He probably isn't preening is the reason he's not water proof. Do the wound site have a smell? If it has a scab that good it means it's healing, could he have had some internal injuries also when attacked? I don't know sandra but it does seem he'd be doing better, you might want to contact the vet again and tell them whats going on, I can understand how he could have hurt his leg my ducks and chickens have been ice skating here as well, it's worrisome about them hurting themselves. Please keep us updated. Sorry I couldn't help more,