Old lame duck with fluid in the lungs-is there treatment?

[raewhitewolf]

Hi I have had a search through the threads and I can't find something specific, so I'm going to ask.

I have an old muscovy duck, she is 14 and has been completely lame for 7 years, but until this pint has always maintained good health and a steady weight.

Until last week when she stopped eating and was vomiting yellow bile like vomit for two days. She seemed to perk up on the Monday, and stopped vomiting and began eating and seeming normal again by the Monday night. I took her to the only avian vet I could find around here anyway, but couldn't get an appointment till Wednesday, by which time she seemed fine again and he couldn't find anything wrong with her. I wondered if she may have just had a bad reaction to some raw pet meat she had managed to snatch out of one of the dog bowls.

However yesterday it became very clear that she has fluid in her lungs, she doesn't have overtly gurgly breathing but she has a bit of a cough, I can hear the wheezyness, and when she tries to peep it sounds like she is underwater. She also coughs and has a little fluid in her nostrils when I tried to tip her up to see if it would help her to puke some of it out.
I actually don't know if holding her head down and letting it drain is a good thing to do, it just seemed to me it might help.

So I have called the vet's to try and get a script for something to help her, but they can't even reach the avian vet now, he doesn't work all the time.
I know from past experience that they can go downhill pretty fast with fluid in the lungs, so I want to know do any of you have experience treating an old duck with fluid in the lungs?

Would an antibiotic help?
If it would I can start treating her myself since the vets don't seem in any hurry.

Is tipping her up to let her lungs drain a good idea?

I really don't want to lose her, I have had her 14 years (since she was an egg)

 

[rockriver]

Dont mean to be insensitive but i would put her out of her misery, u have given her a good life i wouldnt want her to suffer now

 

[pattyhen]

Let me see if this person can help you with your duck. God bless I hope she gets better. @Amiga

 

[Amiga]

Ducks have a strong will to live - I would give her a chance.

I haven't seen this in my flock, but I will see what I can find. I suspect helping her clear her lungs is a good thing to do considering the alternative.

Sounds like a respiratory infection. We do not know if it is aspergillis, or bacterial. If asper, then there is antifungal medicine. Otherwise antibiotics.

Since time is of the essence, I think I would start her on antibiotics and if within a day or so no improvement, you may be dealing with aspergillis.

Here is how it went with Laddy - scroll down a little to find the article in this newsletter.

http://www.majesticwaterfowl.org/mmissue121.htm

I also found a reference on a pet site (unsure of reliability) that if a cat has fluid in its lungs from near drowning, to hold it upside down to drain the fluid.

Found another site, at HowStuffWorks that shows rescuing a dog from drowning, holding the dog upside down to drain the lungs.

 

[Amiga]

@raewhitewolf

(in case you are not subscribed to the thread)

 

[raewhitewolf]

Thank you Amiga for that
I have given her amoxycillin and some oregano oil this morning, I will give her another dose when she has dinner tonight.
I am also mixing some pro biotic into her drinking water as she has no problem drinking it.
I am keeping her in her plastic tub on the porch so she is nice and warm. She at a little this morning, mostly cheese but has not had much appetite today so far, she didn't even want any cashews and those are her favourite.

I have had a listen and she does not sound as rattly in her breathing this afternoon, and doesn't seem to be coughing as much.
I tipped her up just now and held her for awhile to see if any more fluid wanted to drain out of her lungs, and it seemed like there was almost nothing compared to last night and this morning.

The vet has still not called me back, and I have now called them several times stressing how serious fluid in the lungs is for a duck.

So I think I will keep giving her the antibiotics for a few days as you suggest, and see how she is doing.
Temperamentally she seems completely normal still, she is her usual cantankerous baby finger biting, duck hating self.
I just need to get her to eat a bit more, she is eating, but not very much.


Thank you for your help guys, I will keep updating and keep an eye on this thread in case anyone else has any more advice

 

[Amiga]

If you can weigh her daily that would be good. There is a thread, Go Team Tube Feeding that might come in handy.

 

[pattyhen]

Can you give us an update on how she is doing? Thank you.

 

[raewhitewolf]

Yes, sorry I would have updated sooner, but in the last few days we've also had a goat kidding and realized our dog has kidney failure.

Goodegg (the muscovy in question) seems to be doing fine. I am still giving her a low dose of antibiotics, but very little. It seems like the fluid in her lungs may have been a secondary issue caused by the days of severe vomiting she had, vomiting which I suspect may have been caused by her snatching and eating raw pet meat out of one of the dog bowls.
Her lungs sound much better and she is eating quite well again, though she is now very suspicious if I try to offer her bread as that's where I was hiding the medicine.

The vet never called me back.




Thank you all for your help, I will keep updated, but it really does seem she is out of the woods........now to work on the next sick pet.

 

[Amiga]