Respiratory issues?

[austroberta]

Hi. My Runner Duck Sage's voice started changing a few days ago. She seemed to be going broody, so I thought it might be related to that. Now she's lost interest in sitting on her eggs and seems to have just lost her voice. She's usually very vocal, but this morning I hear she's not vocalizing, but making breathing/raspy noises instead. I don't see her lungs straining, tail bobbing and her mouth is staying closed, but I do hear those raspy, gurgling noises coming from her. Her eyes and nares are clear. So far she is still eating, drinking and pooping fine. Does anyone know what this might be?

 

[Miss Lydia]

I remember @Amiga had a Runner lose her voice a few years ago. I can’t remember if she ended up taking her to a vet or what she did I’ll see if I can find the info.

 

[austroberta]

I remember @Amiga had a Runner lose her voice a few years ago. I can’t remember if she ended up taking her to a vet or what she did I’ll see if I can find the info.

Thanks! If she could let me know of her experience, I would be grateful.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I’m been searching and can’t find it that way but still looking

 

[Miss Lydia]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/silent-duck.1241501/#post-19939849. This is the one I remember.

 

[austroberta]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/silent-duck.1241501/#post-19939849. This is the one I remember.

Thanks so much! I do have Turmeric, so I'll try that. In the meantime, I'll keep my eye on Sage. I'm also concerned about the raspi-ness. She seems fine, but I always think it's better to nip things in the bud before they develop into something nasty.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Defiantly better.

 

[austroberta]

I just went out to check on her and I did see her open and close her mouth several time in succession. She's also sitting alone a lot and seems to be less interested in food then her mates. I don't see that the other ducks are displaying any symptoms, so could it be gapeworm?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Do you know if gape worm is prevalent in your area. @casportpony you could give her safeguard for 5 days

 

[Isaac 0]

Loss of interest in food, isolating herself from the flock, heavy breathing, gurgling noise are some really concerning signs that your duck is probably sick. If you think she has Gapeworm you could go ahead and treat with SafeGaurd Liquid Goat Wormer, the dose is 0.23ml per pound for Five straight days. Since the eggs are expelled through the affected birds' waste and then into the environment you’d probably want to treat the whole flock with it too.

The one thing that she be understood is Gapeworm isn’t very common, so other common diseases/conditions should be addressed first so you treat accordingly. As I mentioned above her symptoms are nonetheless abnormal and if you have the ability to a vet I would suggest doing so. Worming won't hurt much, so if you just want to rule out the possibility that she may have it, that's fine. You really don't want to be treating for the wrong thing, while the main problem worsens.