Is My Duck Sick?

[CJkid]

Hey everybody,

I have a male rouen and lately he has been coughing. I just noticed it a few days ago. Could he have some kind of cold or respiratory infection and if so what should i do. Should i give him something for it or leave him alone and let him heal on his own?
Please help!!

CJ

 

[Amiga]

He could have a respiratory problem or gapeworm, perhaps. Do you have a video? Any other symptoms, or changes in the environment? Anyone else coughing?

Eye discharge?

How is his appetite?

Can you bring him into a clean, warm place for observation? Sometimes a nice warm bath is a good opportunity to watch closely, listen for wheezing, check nares for clogs or discharge, etc.

 

[CJkid]

He is the only one that is coughing I haven't noticed any discharges but I haven't really checked closely for them. I will first thing in the morning.
I think he's eating ok, I def saw him drinking. Because of the cold weather our ducks haven't had access to a good pool (they have a water dish right now) but we brought them into the house a couple times and let them play in the tub for most of the afternoon. And he seemed to enjoy his bath as much as he usually does. But it didn't seem to help his cough at all.

 

[Amiga]

He also could have something stuck in his throat.

I wish I had some better ideas about how to sort out what's causing the coughing. Infections can be bacterial or fungal. Then if it's tapeworm, that would require different medicine. I would seriously consider a few days indoors, where it is relatively warm, with clean bedding and lots of opportunity for head washing and drinking.

Vitamins always help the immune system, and they would not hurt.

I also would think about checking in with a vet.

 

[CJkid]

ok thank you very much for the advice. We have been mixing a small amount apple cider vinegar to their water.
Would bringing them into a warmer environment be ok since they are used to the cold?
And are there any specific vitamins that you would suggest?
Again thank you

 

[Amiga]

I keep my ducks inside at night at around 40F. While rapid big changes in temperature can be a stressor, I have found that letting them inside and outside once or twice a day does not seem to be a problem. But we keep our house cool, so the basement is cooler, too.

I would not, for example, bring a duck in from 30F outdoors into a 85F tub of water. I would first bring it into a cooler spot in the house for an hour or so, then into a tepid bath, like 70F.

When we have days-long storms, I keep the ducks in. Just keep providing fresh water and a little company so they don't get completely stir crazy, and so far (3 years) it has worked well.

 

[CJkid]

Ok thank you so much

when we brought them in before we kept the water cooler. When you mentioned that something could just be in his throat it made a lot of sense.
he doesn't cough all the time (so far i haven't heard him cough tonight) and he ate really good today. and i checked and he doesn't have a runny nose or anything.
so i'm hoping that's all it is.