Pompom Duck has her eyes infected

[Aunt Angus]

There is a vet not too far away, but first she has no clue about poultry…
Second she is a yuppie puppie vet, treating the chihuahuas and siam pets from rich people and charges arms, legs and kidneys.
Went there with Mr. Limpy and apart from giving him a steroid injection she did nothing for him.

Yeah, vets these days are CRAZY expensive. Every trip costs me at least $500. Hubby's dental surgery was about half what the dog's was, and that was before hubby's dental insurance was deducted!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Reading through all that:

• Hayfever in ducks is (presumably) non existent
• The hay i made and use has been thoroughly dried, i know from bad experiences (parent;'s bunnies died) about the dangers of damp hay
• Only a few of a flock of almost 50 ducks are affected, with just one duck being a severe case.
• Ammonia can (imho) be ruled out too, it has been worse last summer and i am also fighting it.
• Treatment with triple antibiotics had very little effect, except with PomPom duck.

What if it is not a bacterial infection?
=> I need to do some research on parasites and viruses…
Found this on the fly:
https://www.chickenwhisperermagazine.com/health-and-wellness/do-your-fowl-have-mansons-eyeworm
but that is very unlikely, as roaches would be eaten very quickly by the ducks…
But there are other things infecting bird's eyes.

I need to go and feed the Runner!

 

[Aunt Angus]

Reading through all that:

• Hayfever in ducks is (presumably) non existent
• The hay i made and use has been thoroughly dried, i know from bad experiences (parent;'s bunnies died) about the dangers of damp hay
• Only a few of a flock of almost 50 ducks are affected, with just one duck being a severe case.
• Ammonia can (imho) be ruled out too, it has been worse last summer and i am also fighting it.
• Treatment with triple antibiotics had very little effect, except with PomPom duck.

What if it is not a bacterial infection?
=> I need to do some research on parasites and viruses…
Found this on the fly:
https://www.chickenwhisperermagazine.com/health-and-wellness/do-your-fowl-have-mansons-eyeworm
but that is very unlikely, as roaches would be eaten very quickly by the ducks…
But there are other things infecting bird's eyes.

I need to go and feed the Runner!

That's what I was thinking - that maybe you've got a somewhat mild respiratory infection or something making its way through your duckies.

 

[Quatie]

My thoughts would be a fungal infection. Hay molds, which is why it is not usually recommended as a bedding. Straw won't mold. If they did get a fungal infection antibiotics will not treat it. The neomycin polymyxin is actually a better treatment than terramycin in my experience. My jerk of a vet does eye issues really well, and that is what he always gives me. He hates terramycin. Not to say terramycin won't necessarily treat it. But if you have been using neomycin and polymyxin and haven't seen it work, the terramycin will likely not work either.

It is also possible that they have a bacterial and fungal infection. But if it is fungal, I only know of vet prescribed medication. There may be OTC ones, but I just don't know now of any.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

My thoughts would be a fungal infection. Hay molds, which is why it is not usually recommended as a bedding. Straw won't mold. If they did get a fungal infection antibiotics will not treat it. The neomycin polymyxin is actually a better treatment than terramycin in my experience. My jerk of a vet does eye issues really well, and that is what he always gives me. He hates terramycin. Not to say terramycin won't necessarily treat it. But if you have been using neomycin and polymyxin and haven't seen it work, the terramycin will likely not work either.

It is also possible that they have a bacterial and fungal infection. But if it is fungal, I only know of vet prescribed medication. There may be OTC ones, but I just don't know now of any.

Terramycin works best against gram-negative bacteria but only against few gram-positive ones. I will try to get some anti-fungal stuff, maybe even drive to the vet and bluntly ask her for a prescription.
Another good reason why i don't like to go to the vet with that particular duck: She (the duck!) would likely die from a heart attack. I picked her up just 15 minutes ago and she completely panicked, even though i announced myself. - That vet also has a particular shriek voice too she can make milk curd just by friendly talking to it…

 

[Miss Lydia]

What @HollowOfWisps said about hay splinters sounded like something to look into.
Have you noticed any of the Mallards with crusty eyes?

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

What @HollowOfWisps said about hay splinters sounded like something to look into.
Have you noticed any of the Mallards with crusty eyes?

I thought about mechanical reasons too, my hay is mostly made from broomseeg and other tall, hard grasses - that's what grows here - so it is almost like straw. I haven't seen that stuff getting moldy, not even in the compost pile where it is exposed to a lot of water from the duck-house's roof and the flush-water from the waterers when i clean those.

I have not seen any of the mallards being sick at all. - Then i don't even know if i know all the Mallards by their last-name. Sometimes there is just one pair mingeling with the dux on other days there are 25 Mallards raiding the pellet feeder…

I too had the thought that this could be something brought in from the wild birds. There's a lot of birds around here, not only mallards but also the crows and the song birds. And a blue heron who scares the quack out of the ducks.

 

[Canadian Wind]

The food mill told me they get some fresh straw during the upcoming week, i will have to rent a trailer and buy some, but it will be $16 per bale!!!

I guess i need a second job… Turning burgers or so…

Come make doughnuts with me?

 

[Quatie]

Terramycin works best against gram-negative bacteria but only against few gram-positive ones. I will try to get some anti-fungal stuff, maybe even drive to the vet and bluntly ask her for a prescription.
Another good reason why i don't like to go to the vet with that particular duck: She (the duck!) would likely die from a heart attack. I picked her up just 15 minutes ago and she completely panicked, even though i announced myself. - That vet also has a particular shriek voice too she can make milk curd just by friendly talking to it…

Yeah. I am not a big fan of my vet. I use him only when I need to. Plus I just spent a ton of money on my dog at another vet to find out basically my dog is old. Never would have guessed a 10 year old dog was old .

If you didn't see any evidence of molding, than maybe fungal isn't the answer. Hay just usually molds easily in my experience. But if that hay is a different variety that doesn't mold easily, maybe that is not the problem.

Trying to remember, other ducks were having issues as well, correct? One is particularly bad? It also sounded like they were having some respiratory issues in the beginning. Are they still having respiratory issues?

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Come make doughnuts with me?

Would love to, but driving to work everyday would be a nightmare…