tl;dr - Duck w/respiratory infection is getting better, thanks to meds and tube feeding, but still doesn't have much interest in food. How can I get her to eat for herself?
One of my ducks got what we believe is a recurrence of the respiratory fungal infection she had over the winter, starting last Wednesday. We started tube feeding her 60cc 3x a day a week ago, because she had lost a lot of weight (2.1kg -> 1.6kg) and wasn't eating anything. That (and the meds) have done wonders for her, and she's doing much better now -- preening, bathing, honking at me angrily, etc. She's still slower than the other ducks though.
However, even though she's doing better, she still has very limited interest in food. She'll eat cut-up strawberries or torn up lettuce, ONLY if they're floating in water, and she has zero interest in pellets, crumble, or even mealworms, even if I float them in water. She briefly ate blueberries but now turns up her beak at them. I tried dropping one of the tube feedings, and she immediately lost .1kg, so I put her back on 3x a day feedings for now.
Any suggestions for how to increase her interest in food? The vet doesn't have any ideas beyond "keep her weight up". I want to keep her healthy, but I also have a deadline for her to become self-sufficient because I'm going out of town June 11th, and while my spouse can pill her, there's no way tube feeding will be happening.
One of my ducks got what we believe is a recurrence of the respiratory fungal infection she had over the winter, starting last Wednesday. We started tube feeding her 60cc 3x a day a week ago, because she had lost a lot of weight (2.1kg -> 1.6kg) and wasn't eating anything. That (and the meds) have done wonders for her, and she's doing much better now -- preening, bathing, honking at me angrily, etc. She's still slower than the other ducks though.
However, even though she's doing better, she still has very limited interest in food. She'll eat cut-up strawberries or torn up lettuce, ONLY if they're floating in water, and she has zero interest in pellets, crumble, or even mealworms, even if I float them in water. She briefly ate blueberries but now turns up her beak at them. I tried dropping one of the tube feedings, and she immediately lost .1kg, so I put her back on 3x a day feedings for now.
Any suggestions for how to increase her interest in food? The vet doesn't have any ideas beyond "keep her weight up". I want to keep her healthy, but I also have a deadline for her to become self-sufficient because I'm going out of town June 11th, and while my spouse can pill her, there's no way tube feeding will be happening.
