Recommendations for duck with laryngitis?

[hobbyhomesteader]

Hello duck gurus! I'm hoping for some sage advice. We have a mixed flock of two year-old Pekins (one female Daphne, one male Peep) and two 3-month female Swedish Blues (Puddles and Stormy). Peep the male Pekin has had a bit of a cough kinda like he's trying to clear his throat for 3-4 days (according to my husband, I haven't seen it myself so it's really quite infrequent). Now Stormy - one of our Swedes - has lost her voice similar to laryngitis where only raspy breaths come out. Everybody in our flock, chickens included, is acting normal otherwise. They're full of energy, eating and drinking well. Nothing unusual with their feces as far as I can tell. No drainage from the eyes or nares and no shaking of the head. There's a full baby pool of fresh water available for everyone.

From searching BYC, I'm considering that it might be...
- gapeworm (seems unlikely since they don't have any other symptoms)
- hardware obstructing the throat (seems unlikely that both would have it)
- respiratory illness (most likely?)

There seems to be a mix of medication options...
- ACV (started that tonight)
- dewormer like SafeGuard (most effective) or ivermectin
- pharmaceutical antimicrobials like Tylan, baytril, tetracycline, doxycycline, etc
- natural antimicrobials like oregano oil or colloidal silver

Aside from the ACV, which should I try next? Given that they are acting normal otherwise, is it safe to wait and see if the ACV alone does the trick? I'm in CA where we cannot access antibiotics over the counter from feed stores so the best I can do is order oregano oil, colloidal silver, or injectable Tylan (dosed for cattle) through Amazon. Beyond that I would have to try to find an avian vet.....

 

[MagpieDucks]

What gender are they?

 

[hobbyhomesteader]

What gender are they?

Pekins (one female Daphne, one male Peep) and two 3-month female Swedish Blues (Puddles and Stormy). Peep the male Pekin has had a bit of a cough kinda like he's trying to clear his throat for 3-4 days (according to my husband, I haven't seen it myself so it's really quite infrequent). Now Stormy - one of our Swedes - has lost her voice

 

[MagpieDucks]

Oh sorry, I must have missed that. .

Anyway, I was thinking they might just be getting their male voice. I guess I can put that theory to rest.

I think @Amiga and @HannahDuckLover have has similar instances.

 

[hobbyhomesteader]

@ViolinPlayer123 oh I didn't realize that sometimes males go horse as they age! Agreed that's likely not the case here because one of ours is female but that's really good info to know. Thank you!

 

[shawluvsbirds]

I think I remember someone saying that you have to get a specific type of wormr if it were to be gapes.
Have you tried to look in their throat to see if you see anything?

 

[shawluvsbirds]

I don't think you could see gape worms though. I was thinking like maybe a long string of grass stuck in the throat or something
Drakes always sound to me like they have smokers cough anyway so would be hard to tell if something was off with their voice I would imagine.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

@Ravynscroft . .
Ya got some of that "free" time we were talking about?

 

[hobbyhomesteader]

Drakes always sound to me like they have smokers cough anyway so would be hard to tell if something was off with their voice I would imagine.

I know what you mean! I was really skeptical there was anything going on since I hadn't heard it myself and we're both new to ducks. I figured it was some feather or gunk in the nostril or grass in the throat. But when the female Swede lost her voice I started thinking this is a genuine illness. I guess it could be coincidence where the male is just being a male and only my girl is sick

 

[shawluvsbirds]

I know what you mean! I was really skeptical there was anything going on since I hadn't heard it myself and we're both new to ducks. I figured it was some feather or gunk in the nostril or grass in the throat. But when the female Swede lost her voice I started thinking this is a genuine illness. I guess it could be coincidence where the male is just being a male and only my girl is sick

That's what I was wondering. But you say otherwise she acts fine?
No other symptoms?