Prolapsed Vent on Four Year Old Silver Appleyard Duck - Extended Care

[3bird]

Mouse is adorable, she looks like she is feeling good. Did the vet say she had to be indoors or just away from the drake? just wondering if she could have visitation with maybe a dog xpen around her.

We have been thinking the same thing. The vet really wanted to make sure we could monitor everything coming out, so being outside on the grass at this point is probably not going to work, but maybe in her crate with a towel?

 

[Miss Lydia]

I bet that would work!!

 

[3bird]

DAY 3 UPDATE: We were up a little before six and administered all her oral meds. I really wish I was better at pilling a duck. The whole thing feels way more traumatic than it needs to be. Mouse seems a little off her food. She had not eaten really any grain and wasn't even up for Grubblies. She was excited for corn, however, and had several kernels after her meds. We then let her swim in the tub for a long time. After she got out, she seemed excited for Soup for Ducks, but she didn't dive in with her usual gusto. Her feces looked good--watery but no real blood today. To be honest, she looks bored and annoyed. It's raining here today, but when it clears up, we may take her for some outdoor time in her crate. Thanks to you all for your help!

 

[KaleIAm]

DAY 3 UPDATE: We were up a little before six and administered all her oral meds. I really wish I was better at pilling a duck. The whole thing feels way more traumatic than it needs to be. Mouse seems a little off her food. She had not eaten really any grain and wasn't even up for Grubblies. She was excited for corn, however, and had several kernels after her meds. We then let her swim in the tub for a long time. After she got out, she seemed excited for Soup for Ducks, but she didn't dive in with her usual gusto. Her feces looked good--watery but no real blood today. To be honest, she looks bored and annoyed. It's raining here today, but when it clears up, we may take her for some outdoor time in her crate. Thanks to you all for your help!

My Thimbleberry had to stay inside once for months and missed her sisters so much she barely ate. I ended up taking her outside for, "playdates," where she could see her sisters and eat, then I brought her back inside. That helped a lot. Your crate plan outside will probably help Mouse.

Also, sometimes antibiotics can affect appetite.

If the medication is a tablet or capsule, as opposed to a liquid, and she'll eat tomatoes, have you tried using the tomato "pill pocket" method? I use grape tomatoes to give both my ducks meds twice daily and they gobble it up like a treat. First I cut the top off so I can see the separate lobes. Then I cut one lobe off so that one lobe is still completely intact. Then the second before I give it to my ducks I stuff the capsule or tablet inside. I think the key to success is to choose tomatoes that will be just slightly bigger than the medication, so the seeds will cover the meds but not be too hard to swallow. If this is confusing and you think she'll go for it I'll take photos tonight when I medicate mine.

 

[3bird]

DAY 5 UPDATE: We sent an update on Friday afternoon to our vet. Mouse's appetite had continued to deteriorate Friday, and she didn't even want corn anymore. There were also several instances where it was clear she was bearing down pretty hard and looked uncomfortable. Then there was a feces with more blood than we had seen previously.

Our vet's office called at 8am Saturday morning and asked if we could bring Mouse in so the vet could have a look at her between her other appointments (awesome!). We dropped Mouse off, and then went back to pick her up a little before noon (when they close on Saturday). It ended up that our amazing vet stayed for an extra hour and half and did a couple xrays and an exam. The xray revealed "a mass," which she thought might be a soft egg. So she pulled the sutures to see if she could clear it out and also to check on the tissue that had been traumatized on Wednesday (which looked okay). On further inspection, it was clear the mass was not a soft egg, so that's not good. :-(

She decided to leave the sutures out and instructed us to gently push the mass back in if it came out. She increased the pain meds (in part to address the bearing down and maybe to help with appetite), but she was pleased that Mouse was preening and moving around pretty well.

This morning, Mouse was still not eating, but she did take a bath and was drinking. We decided to get her some night crawlers, and OH BOY! Mouse was super excited and can't get enough of them now. She really perked up. It's a nice day, so we decided to take her out and set-up a pen within the field with her best boy Angus. Wow was the reunion sweet!!! Angus was so excited, and Mouse became super animated. Her posture went back to normal and she just looked so happy. They spent the next several hours foraging together (on opposite sides of the pen) and then napping side-by-side.

Unfortunately, we noticed later that the mass had popped back out. We tried to re-insert it, but we were largely unsuccessful. We would get it part way back in, but then she would push it out again. We understand that the tissue can be damaged by being outside the body, and she is likely to traumatize it when preening. We brought her inside and gave her her midday meds and then went to work again on re-inserting the mass, which we did successfully with some of the cream as a lubricant. We are not at all confident it will stay in.

Once we put Mouse down, she was standing and feisty and wanted more night crawlers...so she got a few more. We're leaving her inside now in the bathroom (where she has been living since she came home) with the door closed. She is preening, and we hope she'll rest a bit.

We will take her back to the vet tomorrow, but any suggestions for the rest of the day and tonight would be greatly appreciated. We feel like we don't want to be constantly harassing her to check and see, but we also don't want to allow a prolapse to go unnoticed for a considerable amount of time. Our vet did mention that when we initially brought her in on Wednesday morning, she had wrapped her and put her on her back, which helped alleviate pressure and swelling and allowed things to go back in on their own with just a little help. We, of course, didn't ask for instructions about how to safely swaddle her and position her on her back. Honestly I think she's too feisty (she was on some heavy duty pain meds that first day).

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I'm sorry Mouse is still having problems. Great to hear she did eat some night crawlers and had fun with Angus too.
I sure hope the vet and get her back to feeling good again.
As for laying her on her back, I have always heard that laying waterfowl on their backs was not good something to do with their breathing. I'll see if I can find any info on it. Or maybe @casportpony knows if this is true.

 

[3bird]

DAY 7 UPDATE: We took Mouse to the vet on Monday morning (yesterday) and we got a call early afternoon (vet was double-booked all day, so she was checking Mouse between appointments). The vet was not happy with what she saw. Mouse kept pushing the mass out and it was kind of dry and cracked. She has lost almost a pound since last Wednesday. The vet said it may be time, especially given how she was presenting at the vets (not eating, "depressed," not moving too much).

We talked it over and explained that when Mouse was home, she was alert, standing, drinking, swimming, and now eagerly eating every night crawler we offered her. If we put the mealworm in her soup, she will eat some greens as well and maybe a few peas and her grain. We told the vet how she presented when outside with the flock (separated in a portable pen). We asked what she thought about putting the stitches back in and then us bringing her home so she could be around familiar sounds and smells and faces. The vet thought that was a fine idea, especially given the information we gave her about how Mouse was presenting at home. Obviously she wanted us to monitor her closely. I can't reiterate how wonderful our vet is and how comforting it is to have her so close.

We brought Mouse home around 3pm and took her straight out to the portable pen we had set up in the field where the ducks were turned out. Once again, both the reaction from Angus and Mouse was heartwarming. Mouse perked up and Angus stayed close. We left her out until about five pm and then brought her in for a bath and some more night crawlers. We had a long discussion about whether or not it was a good idea to crate her in the duck run overnight, and we ultimately decided that if this was essentially Hospice care, there was no harm and probably some benefit. So we set her up with grain, soup and water, and towels in a large crate facing Angus' "Special Fort," and everybody tucked up close together.

This morning there was heavy spotting and some bloody mucousy gobs on the towels in her crate and no real feces. There was also a very hard avocado-shaped half shell (I'll photograph it later), which may have been the hard exterior to that mass? She was standing, alert and animated, and we brought her in for a swim. She ate 30 night crawlers and actively swam. There is no blood in the water after swimming for 30 minutes or so but also no feces. We are going to take her out and let her preen while we go handle the rest of the morning chores, and then we'll hit up her meds when we get back in. It's stupid hot here (like record-breaking heat for Maine) and humid. Our plan is to set-up her portable pen in the shade in the same field with Angus and let her stay out until around midday when we'll bring her in for a swim and meds. Any other thoughts?

Thanks so much!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I can't think of a thing, sounds like you are doing all you can. Only worry is her not pooping.
As long as she is happy and not showing any signs of giving up then just take it a day at a time .

 

[3bird]

Thank you for phrasing it that way (i.e., "not giving up"). I think that's the heart of what we communicated to the vet--that Mouse had not given up--and that was new information for the vet who only saw her in a stressful environment at the office. We will continue to do all we can to make her comfortable and happy. She is now closing in on 40 night crawlers for the morning. I'm wondering if there is a limit?!

 

[3bird]