Respiratory Infection (Duck)

[kitchenwdinah]

Our duck Boston has been having respiratory issues since November. In November she developed a high pitched cough. It was rare so we thought nothing of it. In January she was open mouth breathing. We took her to ER, she was treated with antibiotics, antifungals, and dewormer. She got so bad she was living in our bathroom. We thought she was going to die a week into open mouth breathing. Her antibiotic was switched and she recovered.

A couple weeks later the the cough was heard occasionally. I took her into the doc prior to it turning into gaping. She was put on antifungals and a dewormer. Over the past two weeks she has been getting worse and worse. We had blood work drawn, she has high white blood cell counts so we know it's an infection. She is living in the bathroom again. We started giving her diluted oxine through a cool mist humidifier 3 times a day for 10 minutes. They started her on an antibiotic again last week but after no improvement, we switched to a different one last Saturday.

I feel like we are at the end of the rope. Nothing left to try. I dont know if she will recover but I have seen little improvement (though no worse) since Saturday. Just reaching out for any advice.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your duck. I am more familiar with chickens and their diseases. A high white blood cell count indicates a bacterial infection. Ducks can get MG, which is a bacterial respiratory disease that can be treated with certain antibiotics which you may get from a vet. What antibiotic did you use in the past? Has there been any bubbles in the eyes or gunk? How is your coop ventilation? I will tag @Miss Lydia and other duck people to respond.

 

[kitchenwdinah]

Doxcylcline was used first, but switches because no improvement. Sulfa Trimeth was the switch. It seemed to work but maybe she wasn't on it long enough because the cough came back. She went back on it when she got bad again but worsening of her condition made them switch her again. She is now on Clavamox.

Ventilation is good. They live in dog kettle and dog house and free range during the day.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I am so sorry about your duck being sick.Did they mention aspergillosis since you say they put her on an anti fungal? I’d feel much better letting @casportpony advise since she knows so much more about meds. I hope she’ll see my tag.

 

[casportpony]

Hi there, sorry your duck is sick. Call your vet and ask about trying Baytril or Amikacin if they think it's a bacterial infection.

 

[kitchenwdinah]

Went to the vet again today. She seems worse. Vet gave us shots of Amikacin for the next two weeks. I am wondering if this could be MG. It was slow developing and got bad after a hawk attack (my other female got attacked and lived). I read MG is slow developing and sometimes triggered by stress. Is there something good for MG specifically if it is that?

 

[Miss Lydia]

@casportpony

 

[kitchenwdinah]

So far my duck lived and has been back with her friends since a week after injections started. Her weight is back, no gaping, and is happy as can be. We are still giving shots because the concern is that this is a very resistant bacteria (because it was the only bacteria that worked, we exhausted all other options) and we want to make sure she doesnt deteriorate again, but even more resistant to meds. I just wanted to update just incase people search for this kind of problem. It was not aspergillus or gapeworm but possibly a very resistant gram negative. Whatever it was, it was also not contagious.

We hope she keeps doing well. My only concern is that she has a lingering cough. It only happens a few times a day. Hopefully it's more because of recovery from how long she was ill with respiratory issues and not because she still has something.

 

[casportpony]

Thanks for the update, glad the amikacin is working!

 

[Miss Lydia]

That’s great news!