My duck is limping

[renay]

I have a very skittish 1 year old khaki cambell that is limping. She can move around but is using her wings often for balance. I was able to have a look at her leg - it is swollen and her hock has an inch long wound that seems to be a few days old. Would the swelling be infection? I was going to give her meloxicam. Should I consider antibiotics as well? I have amoxil and clavamox on hand - are they suitable for this? I will have much difficulty getting her to take anything - she panics easily.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Sure sounds like infection. @casportpony can help with which med is best. Is a vet an option?
Sometimes we have to think of many means of getting meds into our birds. pills I have found can be smooched into a small piece of bread and given, give a small piece first so they know it's a treat. Liquid can be put into dried meal worms of thawed peas and mixed well. Also if liquid a small syringe with out a needle can be used wrap bird into a towel snuggly then open bill and put tiny amounts in let the bird swallow then do again until empty. There is also info showing how to put down into throat not wind pipe I'll get that for you.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...nd-supportive-care-updated-5-14-2018.1048620/ there is pics on here of how to administer liquid meds to a bird.

 

[casportpony]

Can you post a picture of her wound?

You can use Meloxicam if it the veterinary one and ether of the antibiotics. How much does she weigh? You will need to know her weight to know how much of the drugs to give.

 

[renay]

Thanks Miss Lydia. Bread will work just fine! Thanks for that
A vet is not an option - there are none in my area that will treat birds.
casportpony, I don't think I can manage a picture as she takes both hands to restrain and I have nobody around to take hold a camera. I'll give it a try though! She weighs just about 4lbs, so I'm thinking .25mL of meloxicam (metacam susp 1.5mg/mL) once daily and 25mg of clavamox twice daily. Do I have that right? Thanks for your help!

 

[casportpony]

The Meloxicam dose sounds right, though my vet had me give it twice a day. The Clavamox dose might be okay for a four pound cat, but I think it should be much higher for a four pound bird (my vet had me give 250 mg twice a day to a 6.6 pound bird). Is the Clavamox you have fresh? I ask because I think is has a pretty short shelf-life once mixed.

 

[renay]

The clavamox is a pill and good til 2019. I thought the dose sounded low - I read it from a vet here https://www.justanswer.com/bird-vet/5qqzg-rescue-pekin-ducks-dumped-local-ponds.html
(*edited to fix broken link*)

 

[casportpony]

The clavamox is a pill and good til 2019. I thought the dose sounded low - I read it from a vet here https://www.justanswer.com/bird-vet/5qqzg-rescue-pekin-ducks-dumped-local-ponds.html[URL]

Yeah, not sure I trust those vets, lol. I go by what my vets have told me to use, which was 250 mg Clavamox for a 6.6 pound bird and 500 mg Clavamox for a 9 pound bird. Additionally, I use three veterinary textbooks, and all three list the higher dose for birds.

 

[renay]

Ok. Thank you!!