I’m new to the duck scene. Need some advice please.

[Jasonmstewart]

Hi everyone. My fiancé and I have a Pekin duck named maverick. Maverick is almost a year old. My fiancé has had maverick since it was a chick. She had another duck named Mally that got killed by some animal. But maverick survived. Funny thing is, a few weeks ago, maverick started laying eggs. Turns out maverick is a female. This was a big surprise for us. She free ranges in our back yard. She gets fed laying pellets and cracked corn. She has a constant fresh water supply at all times. She loves attention and follows us all around the yard. She was raised with a puppy, so I think that she thinks she’s a dog. She plays with the dog and lays down with the dog.

Just today, maverick was laying down all day and not being herself. She won’t eat, drinks very little if any on her own. I carried her to her water bowl and she took acouple sips. Not like her at all. She’sacting lethargic and seems to be sick. I don’t know if she’s ingested something or has an infection or what. She’s not moving around.I checked her mouth to see if something might have been stuck. She’s has a sticky mucous in her mouth. She also has a slight tremble. What can cause this? We are in South Georgia so the weatheris absolutely hectic. 75 degrees last Saturday and/& degrees yesterday. She layed an egg in the open overnight which isn’t like her either. What should I do?

 

[DuckyDonna]

No one is a resident expert on BYC . The label is confusing. Each person that replies has knowledge but no degrees on curing the bird. Just helpful information that possibly might work?
Great the OP is getting professional help..

I disagree with your assessment of the people on here giving advice. There are some pretty smart people who've got years and years of experience which is often better than a "degree". I know lots of people with "degrees" that don't have a lick of sense!

 

[Jpat]

Hey there

Good call @DiYMama540

What color is her poop?

You could cut down on the cracked corn to less than 5% of her feed, the layer pellet should have all the nutrients she needs, The corn is more of a filler

Shes definitly sounds sick

If you could post pictures of her poop and a video of her it would help alot!

 

[Jpat]

And picking up some Nutritional Yeast and B complex vitamins will do any duck good

And the B vitamins i use is this

And most members use this from a farm store

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Miss Lydia]

A lot of very experienced members on here. Anytime a vet can be used Is ideal. But I trust many on here for good advise and help. Not everyone has access to a vet who will see poultry, which makes BYC invaluable. And I say thank you to all who have helped me when I needed it for my flock.

 

[quackiemama]

Is there any chance she could have gotten into anything...toxic? Any, oil from your car...any old ..junk that would leave a residue...anything you could think of that a duck could stick their beak in? Two of my ducks got into an old sink that had som bad insulation and junk...unfortunately it had toxins...they needed activated charcoal....that is good to have on hand for ducks, or any animal, really, to try to eliminate toxins. Otherwise I would definitely try the BComplex..they sell it At TS...in the cattle section..you can put 1 ml one a yummy treat, like meal worms, or peas, or something you know she’ll eat...it’s better than putting it in water, because then you know she’s getting it all. The vit will help to perk her up for sure, and then give her immune system a boost to fight whatever this is,..until you can find out.. @Miss Lydia is our resident expert on duck everything....she’ll be along to read this soon!!

@Miss Lydia is pretty amazing in my book!

 

[Jasonmstewart]

Well, here’s an update. We took maverick to the vet. She’s extremely dehydrated. Has a fever of 106. She’s not eating still. The vet was tube feeding her. They gave her an antibiotic and something to reduce her fever. She didn’t lay any eggs at the vets office. She seems to have more energy than the other day but I can’t get her to eat. Can I tube feed her some baby food? Pedialyte? The vet let us pick her up this morning and bring her home. She’s staying inside until she’s better. She’s drinking a good bit of water. Also the vet said she’s lost a lot of weight. We got her home, and while I was out for a little bit, she layed an egg. What should I be trying to feed her? The vet didn’t really have a diagnosis or tell us what they were force feeding her. I’m fine with force feeding, I just need to know what to feed her. I’m ready for her to feel better. I’d love to hear a quack from her. Thanks yall

 

[casportpony]

While you're out getting baby bird food, get some aquarium air line (petsmart and petco sell both), then go to Tractor Supply and get a 60 ml syringe that fits the syringe. If you decide to tube, I strongly recommend fluids first. I know you're worried about the weight loss, and I know personally all to well the urge to tube food, but trust me, fluids first is better.

I am not a vet, but tubing advice comes from years of practice, instructions from veterinarians, and researching veterinary literature on proper supportive care techniques.

If you get the aquarium air line you will need to melt the end a little. Otherwise, the ends are too sharp and they could slice her mouth, esophagus, or crop.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Bless her heart and yours for doing this for her

 

[quackiemama]

You are doing an amazing job @Jasonmstewart