Help! Just discovered my male peking is not well!

[Duck Lady1]

He's not smelling so good. Could be the pond water - his feathers are still brown from being on the pond way to long. I think I might give him a warm bath this morning.

 

[Isaac 0]

The problem with him on his back, is that's where his lungs are located, so prolonged pressure can cause breathing difficulties.

Would you happen to have any tube feeding supplies, or I.V supplies on hand? It sounds like he's eating and drinking, but not much. My #1 goal with all sick birds usually revolves around hydration.

 

[Duck Lady1]

Good to know. I'll keep him on his stomach. No I don't have tube feeding equipment. I'm just visiting him every 20 minutes or so and gently putting his bill in water. He seems to drink when I do that. I also use a straw to drop water into his bill.

And I feed him too. Is it important to feed him? Or is the water the important thing?

 

[Isaac 0]

Both are very important.

Here's what I'll suggest instead. Grab a gram scale, and get his weight down, if he lose's 5% of that weight over the next few days, you need to start Tube-feeding. Something we need to consider, is he's drinking and eating, but is it as much as usual, likely not given his condition.

 

[Duck Lady1]

Definitely not. He feels notably light when I lift him.

 

[Way2Addicted2Quack]

@Duck Lady1 https://opensanctuary.org/article/how-to-conduct-a-duck-health-examination/ this link is a good exam checklist and may help you figure out what you need to do to help him

 

[Duck Lady1]

He's eating and drinking. I just wrap him somewhat in a towel to keep him from contorting (he seems to be in pain) and then prop up a bowl of food and water right in front of him. Hopefully that will work. I hate how sloppy his little bed I made for him is, but no matter what I do to try to clean him up he squirms and slops everything around.

 

[muddy75]

have you checked his legs and hips closely.....as my drake grew I noticed that one leg was pigeon toed and then he slipped a tendon in the other leg he started the flipping and continued to emaciate despite hand feeding him 2-3x daily. i finally made the difficult decision to cull earlier this week.

 

[Duck Lady1]

@Duck Lady1 https://opensanctuary.org/article/how-to-conduct-a-duck-health-examination/ this link is a good exam checklist and may help you figure out what you need to do to help him

This was so helpful... thanks!

 

[Way2Addicted2Quack]

This was so helpful... thanks!

Hope he feels better soon!!!!!!