PLEASE HELP - Duckling oozing yellow fluid from navel.

[Brex]

Our poor little duckling only just past 2 weeks old has started oozing yellow fluid from his belly button!

This has been happening for the last few days and we are very worried!

He had a very sketchy hatch and had a scabbed over naval since the beginning but only recently has had this problem.
It's a yellow, stinky fluid that comes from his naval, occasionally it will heal up but then eventually release alarming amounts!

He is on vitamins and seems to NOT have any extenal infections...

He eats and drinks perfectly fine too which is very confusing.
I read somewhere about yolk sacs not absorbing into the body, but don't know enough to guess about it...

Please help if you're able, we're fearing the worst!

 

[FenDruadin]

I may not be much help, as I've never seen this. However, I can tell you that at two weeks, it won't have anything to do with the yolk sac. The yolk sac absorbs within the first few hours of hatch (usually before hatch), and if it hadn't absorbed, you'd know--there would be a big yellow yucky thing attached to the duck's belly and it would not have survived two weeks like that.

It does sound like an infection, but not if he's on antibiotics. How long has he been on antibiotics? They can be useful for treating acute infections, but should not be used over long periods of time, as they can mess up the internal balance and cause additional problems. Yeast infections, for instance, are encouraged rather than discouraged by antibiotics. If the duck has recovered from whatever infection you were treating for, I'd try taking him off of the antibiotics and see if that helps.

It is the case that sometimes young ducklings just don't have what they need to survive, and this seems to be true more often among young'uns who have had a tough time hatching. However, don't lose hope! Ducklings tend to be very tough little critters and he may come through just fine. I wish I had more helpful advice or experience to share, but I'm hoping for the best for you. Good luck!

 

[Brex]

Thanks curiositycat. That helps tick some stuff of the list!

Sorry for my mistype, i meant to say vitamins not antibiotics. (Fixed in original post)
I'm struggling to get onto the local vet, hopefully i'll have something to give him soon.

It's a strange situation as he appears and acts fairly lively, but this naval issue is alarming.

Again any help would be greatly appreciated.