Help! Duck with eye shut and funny breathing :(

[duckluck]

Well, I have seen both problems but seperately, not together. I have a call drake here that got his eye pecked by another drake but after a week of dunking his head in water and trying to keep it rinsed, it cleared up on its own.

Have also seen calls with bad sinuses that sound wheezy as a habit but I am not familiar with your breed, so I don't know if that is something they get. Sorry.

 

[Shadowhills Farm]

Thanks for the help duckluck.

This happened overnight, as she was fine last night around 4:45pm Fl time...


Everyone else is fine, I checked them again when I went out to give them water and feed at 4:30pm

 

[duckluck]

I just read your post about the CareCredit thing, and was very sorry to read what happened. I know a chiropractor who has sometimes taken payments in trade (she actually took payments in eggs once) but I don't know any vets like that. All the people I know who do stuff like that are usually the non-professionals, or at least don't advertise themselves as such but often do better than some "experts" I know. Guess we could call this The Hypocritic Oath?

If it was me, I would just do my best and let nature or nurture decide. It could be something very small that just has to pass.

 

[duckluck]

One other thing: I don't know if it holds true with ducks, but we did have one older horse who has a chronic problem with her nasolacrimal duct between her nostril and her eye getting plugged with debris...if you've ever seen one have to be flushed, it's nasty because a tube has to go up the nose into that duct and the saline they flush with comes pouring out of the eye.

This mare would have her eye mostly shut and her nose weeping snot, but after several times getting that flushed we stopped having the vet out and it would just go in cycles. She would get cleared up and then clog again...something she had to put up with the rest of her life. I don't know if that could happen to ducks but I imagine it could. Just a thought.

 

[Shadowhills Farm]

I did ask the vet's office if they would take $$ payments (because I can do that, as I get horseback riding lesson money each week), but they denied that, so.......


She has been drinking A LOT of water, her appetite has come back a little (she is eating some feed right now as I type), and I made up some applesauce and banana smoosh to feed her by a spoon. She took 3 little bites of that.


I just wish I could get her to a vet and find the problem. I keep reading things and I'm like "She might have that".....

Thanks again for everyones help and advice.

 

[rainplace]

If you're unable to get her vet care, then you might want to think about becoming your own vet. I've already told some steps you can take: keep the eye clean, let her inhale oxine, and give her probiotics (none of which I have done btw) If you feel like she may need antibiotics then search these forums (use the search feature top right between "Rules" and "My Page") and search antibiotics, underneath that is a drop down box so you can select the specific forum you want to search in and select the ducks forum, then click search) There will be a lot of threads, but you will most likely (after a lot of reading) find a list of antibiotics safe for ducks (things safe for chickens are not always safe for ducks) and if lucky, dosages and where to get them. I don't know if your duck needs antibiotics you're going to have to make that call.

Your other option is to give her access to food and water, wait and see and cull if necessary.

 

[Shadowhills Farm]

Where can I get oxide? And can I use ProBios (the kind you can get at Tractor Supply, in a powder form) for probiotics? If so, I can probably get those tomorrow....



Also for her eye, the "goop" has come back and her eye is shut, but she has opened it. Loving celery and water.....

Can I use a saline solution to get the goop stuff off her eye?

Right now I have 0 energy and I am in a lot of pain (back and joints) that I have to wait for the fiance home for him to hold her because she can be a handful when she wants to be...



Thanks

 

[rainplace]

Probiotic info found here: http://www.shagbarkbantams.com/page8.htm (looking for more info)

Here are two ways you can introduce probiotics into your birds' diet. If you have a very small flock, GNC (in most shopping malls), sells a flavored liquid version of L. Acidophilus. I've used that at the rate of .7cc per bantam per day in their drinking water. If you have a large flock, consider a powdered version that you also mix into the drinking water. This version is better because it contains several other beneficial bacteria besides the L. Acidophilus. (Of all of the beneficial bacteria though, L. Acidophilus is the most important.) First State Veterinary Supply, which advertises in the Poultry Press, has a good powdered product, but I would call the other suppliers as well to see if they carry an equivalent product.

 

[rainplace]

Someone else please help out here ...

 

[duckluck]

Personally, I have never known saline to do any harm...not a vet, but it's never hurt anything I have had on my animals' eyes...there are certain opthamalic ointments you will want to avoid, however, unless you know what is causing the problem.

Is she able to submerge her head and flush her own sinuses where she is now?