Need help with a sick Pekin duck

[sgolem]

I have an 8 month old male, Pekin duck (Donnie) who has been acting sick for the past two weeks. It began around Dec. 28th. He started displaying listlessness and started separating himself from the other water fowl. His appetite started to decrease, and he would stumble every once in a while. About a week ago, these symptoms continued and we started hearing a little rattling when he quacked. He isn’t a very vocal duck so I am not sure how long ago this developed. We decided to bring him in about two days ago and he has gotten worse since. The following are a list of symptoms he has since procured:

Listlessness
Loss of appetite (at this point, it seems he isn't eating at all)
Drowsiness
Increased thirst (some of the water seems to fall back out of his beak when he drinks)
Loss of coordination (stumbling, prefers to sit)
Heavy breathing at times (he even starts breathing through his mouth at time, but his nostrils are clear)
Shaking head (and watery mucus sometimes comes out when he does this)
Trembling and shaking (every once in a while)
Loss of energy (he rests his head against the water bowl, lays down all the time)

My local feed store is out of antibiotics, and the earliest they will have any will be Friday. They have ordered Duramycin-10 (powdered form). The only other thing they recommended was a shot of penicillin, which we haven’t done yet.
In the meantime, we have gotten him some electrolytes for his water.

Does anyone have any idea what he might have? Upper respiratory? Would a shot of penicillin work? Or is it enough with the duramycin? Is there anything we can do while we wait for the antibiotics?

Here is a photo of him

 

[Amiga]

Poor guy. Look online into oregano, see if you think it is worth a try.

One other possibility is a fungal infection, that can happen, also.

Is he in a clean, dry, relatively warm environment? Have you given vitamins, electrolytes, probiotics? If not, I would do so a.s.a.p.

I need to sign off. Did you try posting in the emergencies section? I know people write that they get no response from that forum when they post about duck problems, but it is a possibility.

 

[sgolem]

Thanks for responding!

Could you clarify what you mean by oregano?

We gave him electrolytes in his water. The package called for 3 tablets for a quart of water. After leaving the water with him for a few hours, we checked on him and he was shaking and trembling. I was afraid he had maybe overdosed? So we gave him regular water for the rest of the day. Will try again tomorrow. Maybe I should only let him drink from it for a little while, three times a day? He is inside the house where it is warm and has plenty of water. He gets water everywhere but we are trying to keep him as dry as possible. I think he is in shock. He has started trembling when we come near him, and he is much labored by attempting to stand which cause him to start breathing heavy.

I have heard that they can go into shock if they are moved from place to place. He was moved a couple of times in December, and his symptoms began around the same time he got back home. Is this a possibility?

 

[Amiga]

(added: I am looking for recommendations. An animal can get too much oregano oil, so caution is good. Anything I suggest is for you to look into to your own satisfaction, and you need to decide what is best. I wish I could give you specifics, I am still researching this, myself.)

Moving may have caused a problem, but I have not heard of a duck getting that sick from just being moved.

Some things that can be problems include

moldy food
moldy bedding
rotten vegetation or animal carcases
hardware disease (eating metal)
viruses
bacteria

Here is a link that talks about oregano and other herbal supplements (I did not read the entire article, but it is from the University of Kentucky.

http://www.ca.uky.edu/smallflocks/factsheets/natural_remedies.pdf

And here is mention of an oregano-containing product for poultry

http://www.worldpoultry.net/Breeders/General/2007/10/Oregano-improves-poultry-performance-WP001836W/

 

[sgolem]

Donnie didn't make the night. We just buried him.

I really thought he'd be okay.

He was our first duck. He's the one in my avatar. He was so wonderful. We're really going to miss him.


Thank you so much for all your help. It means a lot to us. I take comfort in that your long detailed post could help another duck down the line.

 

[Nebraskagirl]

I am very sorry for your loss You did the very best you could and that is great. Again, sorry for your loss.

 

[Amiga]

Oh, no.