Runner Duck labored/heavy breathing

[Beanfox]

Hello,

Noticed this morning that my runner duck is heavy breathing. It’s not noisy and she doesn’t seem lethargic to me. It is 23°F here currently with a feel like of 10. Could that be causing it?
No one else is breathing funky. It is just her. She is quite small compared to everyone else.

I haven’t noticed it before, although on days that I work they put themselves to bed by the time I get home since it gets dark so early now.

We use the deep bed method in the winter with straw. Haven’t had any issues in the past with doing this.

Also she is about 6months old if that matters.

 

[Jenbirdee]

I lost a fawn and white runner last year from the same thing I had her tested. It came positive for aspergillosis here is her thread. You can skim through it if you want to. Currently, I am dealing with her sibling duck who I believe has the same thing. I stupidly treated her with antibiotics first, which only made it worse. Don’t know why I did that again. It should have learned the first time. Right now she’s getting nebulizer treatments every eight hours and have been giving her meloxicam and terbinafine. Every 12 hours. And I just made this video of her breathing. She started when I started using straw again when the weather got cold. I believe she had a mild case of the aspergillosis last year, but I treated her along with her sister and she revived quickly although her sister died and now that aspergillosis has returned. Here’s the thread (which includes videos of Poppy ) and the video I just made of Willow.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/runner-duck-cough-or-hiccups-aspergillosis.1606047/

 

[Goosebaby]

Hello,

Noticed this morning that my runner duck is heavy breathing. It’s not noisy and she doesn’t seem lethargic to me. It is 23°F here currently with a feel like of 10. Could that be causing it?
No one else is breathing funky. It is just her. She is quite small compared to everyone else.

I haven’t noticed it before, although on days that I work they put themselves to bed by the time I get home since it gets dark so early now.

We use the deep bed method in the winter with straw. Haven’t had any issues in the past with doing this.

Also she is about 6months old if that matters.

I’m sorry!

Is a vet an option?

What’s her body condition? Does her keel feel like it juts out far from her body like a blade?


She is having serious respiratory issues, sometimes that can be caused by a tumor pressing on the lower airsacks or it’s caused by a respiratory illness, bacterial, viral, or fungal.

Straw bedding is a source of mold spores, if her immune system is weak she would come down with asper quicker and more easily than the others but that doesn’t mean she necessarily has asper, it could also be a mycoplasma or another bacterial or viral infection.

You could put her on Tylosin and/or bartril or doxycycline if you have any, that should take care of most respiratory bugs, if she has a fungal infection it will make it worse.

 

[Goosebaby]

I lost a fawn and white runner last year from the same thing I had her tested. It came positive for aspergillosis here is her thread. You can skim through it if you want to. Currently, I am dealing with her sibling duck who I believe has the same thing. I stupidly treated her with antibiotics first, which only made it worse. Don’t know why I did that again. It should have learned the first time. Right now she’s getting nebulizer treatments every eight hours and have been giving her meloxicam and terbinafine. Every 12 hours. And I just made this video of her breathing. She started when I started using straw again when the weather got cold. I believe she had a mild case of the aspergillosis last year, but I treated her along with her sister and she revived quickly although her sister died and now that aspergillosis has returned. Here’s the thread (which includes videos of Poppy ) and the video I just made of Willow.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/runner-duck-cough-or-hiccups-aspergillosis.1606047/

I’m so sorry you’re going through this!

 

[Beanfox]

I lost a fawn and white runner last year from the same thing I had her tested. It came positive for aspergillosis here is her thread. You can skim through it if you want to. Currently, I am dealing with her sibling duck who I believe has the same thing. I stupidly treated her with antibiotics first, which only made it worse. Don’t know why I did that again. It should have learned the first time. Right now she’s getting nebulizer treatments every eight hours and have been giving her meloxicam and terbinafine. Every 12 hours. And I just made this video of her breathing. She started when I started using straw again when the weather got cold. I believe she had a mild case of the aspergillosis last year, but I treated her along with her sister and she revived quickly although her sister died and now that aspergillosis has returned. Here’s the thread (which includes videos of Poppy ) and the video I just made of Willow.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/runner-duck-cough-or-hiccups-aspergillosis.1606047/

Oh gosh, I’m so sorry I appreciate you sharing the info with me, will read through the thread. Fingers crossed for a speedy recovery for your girl