Help! My female Pekin is losing her voice!

[Ondine]

My Pekin female, who is about 4 months old and has been quacking loudly up til now, has recently lost her voice. She opens her bill and makes a movement as though she wants to quack, but nothing comes out. Every once in a while she can let out a very loud honk but it sounds incredibly hoarse. She's also sitting a lot more than usual, so I'm really wondering what's wrong with her. She can walk and run okay, although she's a little slower than usual, and she bathes and splashes in the pool like normal.

Can female Pekins lose their voice for some reason? I've searched but all I'm finding is info about how a drake "loses his voice" when he gets older. But she is most certainly a she and like I said, was quacking very loudly up until just recently.

She's going to go to the vet asap but I'm wondering if anyone has dealt with a similar situation before. Thanks!

 

[katharinad]

This may be a wild guess, but could she be vitamin deficient? What kind of feed is she getting?

 

[Ondine]

She's getting Purina Flock Raiser like the rest of her flock (two female Cayugas and six other Pekins, two boys) and I put a vitamin supplement in their water and brewer's yeast on her food. None of the other girls have this problem, either--it's really strange.

 

[katharinad]

So its not a deficiency. Perhaps it is a viral or bacterial thing effecting her. Wonder if someone else knows something.

 

[crj]

That's interesting. I would like to know that answer to your question. I have a drake that will make the motion to sound off but nothing comes out. After he gets a drink a lot of times a sound will come out. Of course, he doesn't do anything but make soft sounds compared to my female..... Wow, what a difference.