Pompom Duck has her eyes infected

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Hi Friends,

Pompom Duck is battling with eye-infections since two weeks now: First she kept one eye closed, then the other, things got better but since last weekend she has both of her eyes infected and keeps them closed as much as she can, just dozing off the days.
When i hand out treats, she won't eat them i assume she can't find them fast enough before the others gobble them up, but in the evening she is viciously defending her place at the supper-bowl.
I have added a cup of vitamin-c infused rice to their diet since Sunday evening and Pompom has eaten a lot of it.
Finally, yesterday, i was able to sneak up to her while she was dozing at the rim of the pond and grab her.
I am deaf and full of scratches now, so she is still a strong birb. And she pooped me…
I cleaned the feathers around her eyes with a saline soaked piece of cotton and applied a generous amount of antibiotic cream around her eyes in the hope that some of it would end up in the eye, then release her back to the flock. Immediately she jumped into the pond and started to bathe of the pesky fat that the dumb humon has smeared in her face and refused to come out of the pond until dinner time. (Vitamin C rice again!)
Here she is, bobbing in the pond, actually swimming backwards. After about one minute i managed to zoom in more closely and you can see that she keeps her eyes closed as much as she can.

Update from today: Her eyes look better today, so maybe some of the antibiotics got to work

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

When i searched the internet for reasons why duck's eyes get infected, it boiled down to two things: Drakes and Ammonia in the duck house.
It is winter now and the drakes are very gentle this time of the year, also Pompom wasn't missing any of her neck feathers, drakes ruled out.
I got to my knees yesterday and stuck my head into several of the nest-caves in the duck house. Yes, there is a slight smell of ammonia, but barely noticeable - anyways, i have sprayed down the bedding with some vinegar to neutralize any ammonia - no i haven't overdone it - there was no smell of vinegar in the air when i returned to the house an hour later.
What could that be?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Dust from bedding or feed is one. Not head washing is another. Foreign object. Saline rinse can help also Terramycin eye ointment.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Dust from bedding or feed is one. Not head washing is another. Foreign object. Saline rinse can help also Terramycin eye ointment.

Could it really be that some of my ducks are allergic to hay?
I have switched over from straw- to hay-bedding as i ran out of straw and currently no straw is for sale here in the area…
I have another duck, an Indian runner female keeping her eyes closed as much as she can and one of the Monty Python drakes had watery eyes today.
Everybody else is doing just fine! In fact they love the long hay and have started to build elaborate nests out of that stuff.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Could it be a respiratory infection?

 

[Canadian Wind]

You just cleaned everything out and put in fresh shavings, right? Could that be it? In any case, one application of antibiotics isn't going to do anything for the long term. It needs to be continued for a bit, until after everything is cleared, or else you risk having antibiotic-resistant bacteria. You may have to catch her (and others) and keep them confined for treatment for a week or so.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Yes since it's more than one and you changed bedding out and they are making nests it could be from the bedding. But I'd follow @Canadian Wind advise and put the ones having issues up where you can treat them and keep an eye on them. The saline wash will clean out any debris and the Terramycin will help clear up.

and @Aunt Angus brought up respiratory infections having them contained you'll be able to treat and keep the others from it if it was an illness. Hopefully it's just irritations from the hay dust.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I have not changed the bedding!
I can't do that at the moment, because nobody is selling straw bales here.
There are several layers of bedding in the duck-house, i started in November last year with a thick layer of straw and kept adding straw as the ducks pooped. During the winter i used up several bales of hay (the girls love hay in winter!) and a couple of bags with dry leaves (they love those too!)
Now i am down to one straw bale and five hay-bales (from my own pasture) and have switched to daily spreading hay on top of the bedding. I don't want to clean out the whole duck house before March, the composting layers are generating some warmth and i need at least three straw bales for the initial bedding or the ducks will have some cold and uncomfortable nights. At least 3 inches of bedding is needed to start.
The last two hay bales i have used contained a lot of grass "flowers" (?) - so i wonder if some of the ducks may suffer from some kind of "hay-fever"?
I have sprayed down the whole bedding with vinegar, to neutralize whatever ammonia is emerging, the bedding now smells like freshly washed towels (not really ) - definitely no ammonia smell anyway. And the mist will have knocked every allergen/pollen from the hay out of the air. Also removed the shower-curtain from the back-side of the house to increase the airflow in the top of the house.
Good news is that Pompom duck is almost back to normal today, she left the house together with the other ducks and drilled her bill into the cat-food container while i was distributing the morning treats. I haven't noticed the other runner-female with the crusty eye i saw yesterday, so she might be better too. Naughtius Maximus is still having issues with his left eye though he looks better than yesterday.
Thinking about all of this, i remembered seeing Pompom sneezing several times last year during hay-making season when they were "turning" the hay for me…
Guess i will use up my last straw-bale and hope for the best…

 

[Aunt Angus]

I have not changed the bedding!
I can't do that at the moment, because nobody is selling straw bales here.
There are several layers of bedding in the duck-house, i started in November last year with a thick layer of straw and kept adding straw as the ducks pooped. During the winter i used up several bales of hay (the girls love hay in winter!) and a couple of bags with dry leaves (they love those too!)
Now i am down to one straw bale and five hay-bales (from my own pasture) and have switched to daily spreading hay on top of the bedding. I don't want to clean out the whole duck house before March, the composting layers are generating some warmth and i need at least three straw bales for the initial bedding or the ducks will have some cold and uncomfortable nights. At least 3 inches of bedding is needed to start.
The last two hay bales i have used contained a lot of grass "flowers" (?) - so i wonder if some of the ducks may suffer from some kind of "hay-fever"?
I have sprayed down the whole bedding with vinegar, to neutralize whatever ammonia is emerging, the bedding now smells like freshly washed towels (not really ) - definitely no ammonia smell anyway. And the mist will have knocked every allergen/pollen from the hay out of the air. Also removed the shower-curtain from the back-side of the house to increase the airflow in the top of the house.
Good news is that Pompom duck is almost back to normal today, she left the house together with the other ducks and drilled her bill into the cat-food container while i was distributing the morning treats. I haven't noticed the other runner-female with the crusty eye i saw yesterday, so she might be better too. Naughtius Maximus is still having issues with his left eye though he looks better than yesterday.
Thinking about all of this, i remembered seeing Pompom sneezing several times last year during hay-making season when they were "turning" the hay for me…
Guess i will use up my last straw-bale and hope for the best…

Glad to hear Pom Pom is doing better today! I hope Naughtius follows suit. And I really hope it's a bedding allergy! That'd be an easy fix (if you can find it).

 

[Canadian Wind]

I have not changed the bedding!

Well, you changed *something* and put it all on Mount Caca. In the run? The wood chips?

Glad to hear they're doing better. Knowing you, you'll be watching over them like a (friendly) hawk.