Injured duck won't eat

[fenris16]

Hi,

Last Thursday one of my ducks was attacked by a fox. She was bitten in the muscle on her breast, quite deep but no organs involved. we are treating her with metacam and antibiotics (baytril). She seems ok, but has eaten very little, if anything, since Thursday. Wondering how long a duck can go without food. Will she eat on her own when she's ready or do I need to force feed her?

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Hi,

Last Thursday one of my ducks was attacked by a fox. She was bitten in the muscle on her breast, quite deep but no organs involved. we are treating her with metacam and antibiotics (baytril). She seems ok, but has eaten very little, if anything, since Thursday. Wondering how long a duck can go without food. Will she eat on her own when she's ready or do I need to force feed her?

How is your duck doing? If it's still applicable, there's some information in this thread that may be helpful: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1002332/how-long-can-a-duck-survive-without-food.

 

[Amiga]

How is she?

Baytril can kill their appetite. Tube feeding is a possibility, and @casportpony has published a thread, Go Team Tube Feeding that can help. You might also consider syringe feeding, there is some discussion somewhere on which might be best.

Monitoring her weight is a good idea.

 

[fenris16]

Hi,

Thanks for the replies! She seems OK now. I decided to stop the metacam (I read it can reduce appetite and cause nausea, and I thought she might not need it anymore) and syringe fed her some porridge. after a day or so she perked up and began to eat on her own. Now she's back outside with her girlfriend and seems happy (their reunion was joyful!).

One other thing I was wondering - I heard baytril causes the eggs to be unsuitable for human consumption due the the risk of passing on resistant bacteria, forever. I can see why you should avoid the eggs whilst the antibiotic is in the duck's system, but not for all time. I don't want to avoid her eggs forever because this means I would have to seperate her from the other ducks so that her eggs dont get mixed up with theirs. or i'd have to avoid all their eggs. I thought the manufacturers are mostly trying to cover their asses and not get sued, rather than issuing realistic advice - does anyone know if there is a real proper reason why the eggs would be off-limits for ever?

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

@fenris16, glad to hear she's feeling better!

That's the same justification I've run across regarding the egg withdrawal period for Baytril. The active ingredient in Baytril is enrofloxacin, a fluoroquinolone, which is not labelled for use in laying hens; approval for use in poultry was apparently withdrawn in 2005. There's more information about the prohibition on the use in food-producing animals on page 5 of this publication: https://vet.osu.edu/sites/vet.osu.e...ng the treatment of backyard poultry 2015.pdf.

There's additional discussion of Baytril and egg withdrawal in this thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/854255/baytril-and-eggs.

Because it's not labelled for use in laying hens, I'd personally select another drug to treat my flock if it became necessary.

 

[fenris16]

Thanks for those links! Looks like there's a lot of uncertainty about the safety of Baytril, I'll have to read around a bit more to make up my mind. I'll be a lot more aware in future though and ask more questions of the vet if antibiotics are necessary for future treatments - wasn't until I had already started to dose her that I thought about these implications!

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Thanks for those links! Looks like there's a lot of uncertainty about the safety of Baytril, I'll have to read around a bit more to make up my mind. I'll be a lot more aware in future though and ask more questions of the vet if antibiotics are necessary for future treatments - wasn't until I had already started to dose her that I thought about these implications!

YVW...it would be ideal if vets gave some drug options based on your needs but I know it doesn't always happen like that. Good for you for doing further research.