Help me diagnose my duckling

[SunCatcher2233]

I bought a group of 4 ducklings from TSC about a month ago. I am positive that two of them were magpies (one female, one male), and I am pretty certain the other two were female blue sweedish. After I had them for a week, I went downstairs and the little female magpie was laying on her stomach, neck stretched out, dead. Absolutely no signs of illness prior to her being dead. Two days later, same thing happened, only in a shorter time frame. I checked them and they were all up and running around acting like normal ducklings, then an hour later one of the blues was dead. She was the smallest of the bunch, and she was always much quieter and always seemed to have her eyes half closed. My husband said he though she was sick from the beginning because she never did grow like at all like the others, and she always acted sleepy. Anyways, A week after that, same thing happened to the remaining little blue sweedish girl. She was fine one minute, then dead an hour later. With her, I had noticed some water on her nostrils the day before, so it could have been a runny nose.

So, on to the remaining duckling, the male magpie. He has been sick for about two weeks now. Started with a runny nose, then progressed to him not being able to walk, he would just kind of scoot around his pen, then he started getting watery eyes. Eventually his eyes filled with mucous and it looked like his third eyelid was constantly closed. Since his eyes filled up and stuck shut, one of them became severely inflamed. I have been trying to clean out his eyes gently, and applying vetracin and neomycin ointment to them. I have also been giving him a tetracycline antibiotic in his water, as well as started electrolytes when he was at his worst. He has had greenish/brownish diarrhea off and on, but usually only once or twice a day. I think it is mostly related to him over-drinking. As soon as I put his water down, he will drink so much that it looks like his craw is going to explode. The diarrhea usually happens after the over-drinking; then his stools return to normal. He has not gone off his feed or water at any point during this. Over the last few days he has slowly started to get better, and can now walk again. However, his eyes are still gummed up and I'm afraid he will be blind.

My concern is that he might be carrying the duck plague. I can't seem to find anything else that matches up with his symptoms. None of the vets in my area have any idea when it comes to ducks, and I didn't think of sending one of the dead ones off for an audtopsy. I have two adult ducks outside with my chickens, and I certainly don't want to turn him loose with them when he gets better if it is the duck plague because I read that once they have it they become carriers. And I don't want to compromise my two pretty sweedish gals I have. Any insight into this would be great!

 

[Gigglebox]

I would get an autopsy done if you can, (EDIT: i see you've already disposed of the deceased ducks, maybe a vet appointment for the surviving one is in order) and immediately call the store you got them from. A duck plague outbreak can be very serious, especially if the flock you bought from is sick and was distributed to a bunch of customers.

Not sure what to say about the surviving duck...even if he recovers, he's a risk to all birds he comes in contact with.

If you get new birds from another source, make sure you thoroughly disinfect anything you've used for this bunch (or get new supplies).

 

[SunCatcher2233]

I would take him to the vet, but none of the vets in my area know much about duck diseases. I have already called around and asked. I have also already called the store I bought them from, but they don't have any idea either. All they could tell me was they don't have any place to keep records like that. Maybe I should call them back and ask which hatchery they got them from? I might be able to contact the hatchery to see if they have had anything suspicious. That is, if they are willing to 'fess up to it. So far I have been keeping him in an empty diaper box. I change the litter daily, and throw the box in the burn barrel and replace it with a fresh one. I am definitely worried about him being a risk to my other ducks.

 

[SunCatcher2233]

UPDATE: I was able to track down the hatchery that the ducklings came from. It took them all day to get back with me, but according to the duck hatchery manager, it sounds like pasturella to him. He said I should be using water soluable penicillin to treat the duckling.