Is this audible breathing concerning?

[Peas4Ducks]

This is our duck Pigpen, who @Isaac 0 and @DucksAreBest just helped determine is female (thank you again!).

She’s been stuffed up/wheezing for almost two weeks now. I took her to an avian vet ten days ago and he diagnosed her with a mild upper respiratory infection and sent me home with a ten day course of antibiotics, which we finished this morning. Because her breathing still seemed bad, I took her back in for a checkup last Monday, but of course her breathing was normal for a few hours before and after the appointment . He said everything checked out and that she’s a healthy duck.

But her breathing has consistently sounded the way it does in this video, especially at night. I read somewhere that Perkins are just wheezy ducks, but this seems extreme. Is this normal for her breed? Should I take her back to the vet?

 

[Isaac 0]

I would consider that to be a little louder than normal. In the video, it sounds there may be some debris/gunk in the nares which is causing her to breathe in harder to get air in. The same concept as if we had a stuffy nose.

This could be a lingering symptom of her respiratory tract infection or could be due to a lack of deep water - ducks rely on water to blow debris from their nares. If you do not have a deep water source provided in their pen, I suggest you provide one. Bathes will often entice them to clean their nares out. If you see her stick her bill under the water, and blow out and make bubbles you know she is attempting to dislodge some material.

 

[Peas4Ducks]

I would consider that to be a little louder than normal. In the video, it sounds there may be some debris/gunk in the nares which is causing her to breathe in harder to get air in. The same concept as if we had a stuffy nose.

This could be a lingering symptom of her respiratory tract infection or could be due to a lack of deep water - ducks rely on water to blow debris from their nares. If you do not have a deep water source provided in their pen, I suggest you provide one. Bathes will often entice them to clean their nares out. If you see her stick her bill under the water, and blow out and make bubbles you know she is attempting to dislodge some material.

Thank you for your reply.

They have a large water bowl that’s deep enough for her to put her whole head in, and they’ve been swimming in the bathtub every other day or so. I took this video after they’d been in the bathtub for about half an hour.

I guess for now I’ll assume that it’s a lingering symptom of her respiratory infection, but it worries me that it didn’t clear up after a full course of antibiotics.