Possible Duckling Deformity?

[BoonesBirds]

I ordered some ducklings from Metzer last week and they arrived yesterday. They had asked if I could sub one of the call duck colors I ordered for Australian spotted ducks, so they sent me a free extra white call duck and Australian spotted. Unfortunately one of the Australian spotted ducks was dead at the post office, and we lost one of the white call ducks this morning that had not been doing well. It was very weak and had trouble walking around, but we got it to eat/drink in the evening yesterday and it seemed to get better. This morning it was gasping for air and sounded like it had fluid in its lungs, and passed away .

So now we just have 2 Australian spotted ducks and 2 white call ducks left. One of the white call ducks came to us with his/her face looking a little goofy from egg yolk being plastered all over the head feathers, but one eye does look deformed. One of the aus spotted also had a goopy eye, so I’ve been wiping off the goop and applied some eye gel this morning to both of them. It doesn’t seemed to have helped the white call, its eye actually looks worse now. We live in CA and don’t have access to any antibiotic ointments for eyes since they are banned without a vet prescription. Any suggestions on what’s going on or what I could do to help? We ordered calls from Metzer last year that were all healthy, but I’m really not impressed with what they sent us this year and having 2 ducklings die already.

 

[Jenbirdee]

I think if you call metzer they will make it right. As far as the eye medicine, can you visit a vet to get the prescription for the ointment? I have seen generic versions of the terramycin for sale online. But Maybe they won’t ship it to California.? how far are you from the state line? Can you have it shipped to a friend in another state?

 

[BoonesBirds]

I haven’t wanted to call Metzer yet since the ducklings that did pass away were given to us for free, and so far the others seem to be doing ok. We only have an exotic vet for birds here, and they charge $250 just to walk through the door. Unfortunately no antibiotics can be shipped here. It’s a real hurdle with having poultry. I live in northern CA, I do have a friend who lives in Nevada that could ship as long as antibiotics aren’t prohibited for poultry there too, but that would take weeks.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I haven’t wanted to call Metzer yet since the ducklings that did pass away were given to us for free, and so far the others seem to be doing ok. We only have an exotic vet for birds here, and they charge $250 just to walk through the door. Unfortunately no antibiotics can be shipped here. It’s a real hurdle with having poultry. I live in northern CA, I do have a friend who lives in Nevada that could ship as long as antibiotics aren’t prohibited for poultry there too, but that would take weeks.

Have you tried making a saline eye wash using warm water? That may help until you figure out what else can be done. Warm saline compress and gently rinsing the eyes out.

I would call Metzers and let them know what is going on. They would probably even replace the little ones that died.

 

[Strawberry74]

Have you let them have a warm swim for a few minutes supervised in the sink? They will dunk their heads and hopefully rinse out the crustys. I hope the rest are OK and thrive for you. Sorry you lost a few.

If you have a pet smart or the like you might find the following and give it a try. I've used it on all species.

 

[BoonesBirds]

I’ve been using the ophthalmic gel that Strawberry74 posted. I’ll try a warm saline compress and see if that helps more. I can fill up the sink with a little bit of warm water and let them swim around for a minute too. I haven’t even gotten them out of their brooder yet because I’ve been so afraid of stressing them out even more, so I’ve just been letting them rest.

Thank you all for the help! Hopefully the little one continues to get better, the others are looking great this morning. I’ll give Metzer a call on Monday then to let them know what happened.

 

[Strawberry74]

Oh good! Glad you have the gel on hand. I'd definitely let them swim a little. It's natural for day or two olds to take to the water and clear out their nares and eyes. I always let mine swim fairly quickly and the dry off cuddle time is always my favorite! Hope it all helps!

 

[BoonesBirds]

They enjoyed their bath! It helped a lot with getting some of the more crusty goop off of their eyes. The little one with the funky eye (we’ve decided to name it Oatmeal) still has a lot of matted down, crusty feathers though. I’m not sure if I should try to get a warm cloth and get more of it off, or just leave it. It seems to tug on the skin a little whenever I try to clean it and I don’t want to hurt the little one.