I posted a few weeks back after Chicky started limping badly on her right leg. The vet didn't see any signs of a break and gave her pain killers, and she gradually started walking normally again and we figured that was that.
I noticed yesterday that she was moving slow, hunched posture, far less animated than usual, wings drooping at her sides, and her quack was lower and weaker sounding. She clearly wasn't herself, and I brought her in out of the heat for a while, ran her a bath, and kept an eye on her for the rest of the day. She was strangely lethargic and just slept in the basket I put her in.
Today I took her hours away for an emergency vet appointment, but they don't have an avian vet all weekend (told me after I'd arrived) and said they suspect it could be something like septic arthritis since she has a slightly swollen toe and had recently hurt her leg. I started her on antibiotics and pain killers afterward.
I am just a wreck, she is so obviously feeling like crap and it hurts to see her like this. She is still eating, drinking, and pooping, she laid an egg today, and she has no problem getting up and moving if something motivates her to do so e.g. treats or being let out into the far side of the yard to forage. But she is taken down a few pegs, and I'm desperate to know what's going on and what I can do to help her.
Do any of you experienced duck owners have any thoughts? Have your ducks ever seemed to feel unwell for a few days and recover and maybe I'm just overreacting? Or is it normally serious if a duck shows clear signs of discomfort like this? I act like this when I have so much as a cold, but I am under the impression our pets don't show pain or discomfort to nearly the same extent and her acting like this means she is well and truly miserable...
I noticed yesterday that she was moving slow, hunched posture, far less animated than usual, wings drooping at her sides, and her quack was lower and weaker sounding. She clearly wasn't herself, and I brought her in out of the heat for a while, ran her a bath, and kept an eye on her for the rest of the day. She was strangely lethargic and just slept in the basket I put her in.
Today I took her hours away for an emergency vet appointment, but they don't have an avian vet all weekend (told me after I'd arrived) and said they suspect it could be something like septic arthritis since she has a slightly swollen toe and had recently hurt her leg. I started her on antibiotics and pain killers afterward.
I am just a wreck, she is so obviously feeling like crap and it hurts to see her like this. She is still eating, drinking, and pooping, she laid an egg today, and she has no problem getting up and moving if something motivates her to do so e.g. treats or being let out into the far side of the yard to forage. But she is taken down a few pegs, and I'm desperate to know what's going on and what I can do to help her.
Do any of you experienced duck owners have any thoughts? Have your ducks ever seemed to feel unwell for a few days and recover and maybe I'm just overreacting? Or is it normally serious if a duck shows clear signs of discomfort like this? I act like this when I have so much as a cold, but I am under the impression our pets don't show pain or discomfort to nearly the same extent and her acting like this means she is well and truly miserable...