Can you switch her to pine shavings? Or at least create a system around the water bucket to prevent spillage? She really needs water deep enough to dunk her head fully, this is so that she can clean her eyes, her nares etc. I know the wet mess is challenging indoors but it's really important for their health. You could also put her in the bath once or twice a day, it would provide enrichment and allow her to clean herself and her face
How much of her diet is treats such as fish etc? Ideally they should only make up 10% of her diet, but since she's unwell I would hold off on treats (except when giving medicine). Just ensure she has feed and water available all day. Does she have grit?
The thing worrying me most is the possibility of her being or becoming egg bound. Hens need to be outside in the sun to get plenty of Vitamin D for egg production- they also need oyster shells to regulate calcium levels. Giving her doses of calcium wont work longterm as a supply for her, as she knows how much she needs and we dont, thats why free choice crushed oyster shells is important. She'll be able to take as much or as little as she needs.
Without those two things (calcium and Vit D) she may not be able to properly make her eggs, and they could become stuck inside her, a condition which can be painful and even fatal if untreated.
You can supplement Vit D, and supply oyster shells to prevent this.
Is she laying down excessively, limping or walking funny, bobbing her tail? Off food at all? Panting? If she has any of those symptoms I would treat her for egg binding to be on the safe side. To do this you'll need calcium gluconate, either in the durvet liquid form from TSC, or in powder form from a health store or online. The liquid version says injectable, but you just need to give it orally, 1 ml over a treat. For the power, use 1.5 tsp over or mixed into a treat.
This needs to be done asap.
It's possible that it may be another cause, but this calcium won't hurt her either way, it's a good idea.
Also please don't feel like I'm grilling you at all, just trying to rule as much out as possible so we can help you to help her
Unfortunately, I believe pine shavings aren’t exactly a good idea for the environment she lives in. However, we will try to find a way to prevent her from spilling water while having enough water to dunk her head in to clean her nares and face. Thank you.
Right now, her diet consists of salmon, shrimp, and mussels since her duck feed is arriving late. We can’t buy any of her feed nearby and switching to any other feeds that are an option isn’t a good idea for us since most of them lack protein.
We’re hoping to drastically decrease her treats once she gets her feed back, but she’s rather picky. Unfortuantely, she gets sick of her feed at least once every few meals, so it might be difficult to only give her a treat or two everyday. It might take awhile.
I try to put food and water out for her whenever I’m awake, but we can’t when I’m sleeping since she makes the dog pads wet and eat from it. She also has a habit of soaking her chest feathers into the water when we give her water, so unfortunately, it’s not exactly the best idea to give her food and water without someone watching her.
Oh, she doesn’t have grit.
Oh, I see. Thank you for telling me.
We’ve also been concerned about lack of sunlight. The vet has mentioned this before, so we’ve already brought a fluorescent lamp for her. We try to turn it on and cover her eyes or go out on a walk with her so she can get some vitamin D. It isn’t enough, so we’re still trying to figure out a good way to help her get sunlight without having to stay outdoors with her for long periods of time everyday.
Thank you, we’ll try to buy her oyster shells soon.
She does have some of those symptoms, but that’s likely because of her infection.
Please don’t worry about that, it doesn’t bother me. Thank you for the help, I really appreciate it. It’s a lot better and much more reassuring to get help from other people who have ducks. It’s my first time raising a duck and just kind of a pet too, so I’m lacking a lot of knowledge regarding birds and ducks specially. Any advice is much appreciated, thank you.
