Runner Duck labored/heavy breathing

[Jenbirdee]

Please update on her progress I’ll be watching the thread

 

[Miss Lydia]

I wish I could help, you covered it all pretty well [USER=587032]@Jenbirdee.

Terbinafine is sold under the brand name Lamisil.[/USER]

 

[Jenbirdee]

It is but that’s a cream like for your feet I think.
I’ve been reading a lot of medical information websites that are not AI and I am still concerned that without sending a tracheal sample to a lab to do a culture which takes around seven days to complete, there is still a possibility of aspergillosis being present along with bacteria that was seen because you cannot see the aspergillosis even under a microscope without doing the culture, which takes seven days , therefore in my opinion a phone call to the vet asking for a culture to be done would be a very good idea.
The heartbreaking thing is that antibiotics will make aspergillosis worse, which has happened to my Ducks twice now. I lost Poppy last year because of it and now Willow is in terrible shape.
I also have a question for the OP…Where did you get your ducklings? Because mine were from Metzler and it’s only my fawn and white runners who got this disease in a way that was strong enough to take them out.
There is also the correlation between the timing of winter beginning and the starting of using straw bedding again.
In the spring summer and fall, I only use pine flakes, but when winter weather comes on, I add straw over the pine flakes and that is when my Ducks came down with the symptoms, and I believe that the OP said they do the same thing? Using straw only in the winter is that true? @Beanfox?
I also do the deep litter method with the straw in the winter, but only in the winter. This year, I am not doing it because I am trying really hard to avoid anyone else getting sick.. if you do read through my thread about Poppy, you will learn that I did notice a musky smell to one of the bales of straw that I used, but I was not aware of the possibility it could make anyone sick at that time. I no longer buy straw from that vendor.
ETA forgive me, but I have edited to add things to this post several times

 

[Miss Lydia]

It is but that’s a credo am like for your feet I think.
I’ve been reading a lot of medical information websites that are not AI and I am still concerned that withoa ut sending a tracheal sample to a lab to do a culture which takes around seven days to complete, there is still a possibility of aspergillosis being present along with bacteria that was seen because you cannot see the aspergillosis even under a microscope without doing the culture, which takes seven days , therefore in my opinion a phone call to the vet asking for a culture to be done would be a very good idea.
The heartbreaking thing is that antibiotics will make aspergillosis worse, which has happened to my Ducks twice now. I lost Poppy last year because of it and now Willow is in terrible shape.
I also have a question for the OP…Where did you get your ducklings? Because mine were from Metzler and it’s only my fawn and white runners who got this disease in a way that was strong enough to take them out.
There is also the correlation between the timing of winter beginning and the starting of using straw bedding again.
In the spring summer and fall, I only use pine flakes, but when winter weather comes on, I add straw over the pine flakes and that is when my Ducks came down with the symptoms, and I believe that the OP said they do the same thing? Using straw only in the winter is that true? @Beanfox?
I also do the deep litter method with the straw in the winter, but only in the winter. This year, I am not doing it because I am trying really hard to avoid anyone else getting sick.. if you do read through my thread about Poppy, you will learn that I did notice a musky smell to one of the bales of straw that I used, but I was not aware of the possibility it could make anyone sick at that time. I no longer buy straw from that vendor.
ETA forgive me, but I have edited to add things to this post several times

You sure know a lot more than about this illness and treatment. So if you gave the Lamisil by mouth it would not have the same effect? what is the Terbinafine you got prescription for a liquid you add to the Oxine for nebulizing?

 

[Beanfox]

It is but that’s a cream like for your feet I think.
I’ve been reading a lot of medical information websites that are not AI and I am still concerned that without sending a tracheal sample to a lab to do a culture which takes around seven days to complete, there is still a possibility of aspergillosis being present along with bacteria that was seen because you cannot see the aspergillosis even under a microscope without doing the culture, which takes seven days , therefore in my opinion a phone call to the vet asking for a culture to be done would be a very good idea.
The heartbreaking thing is that antibiotics will make aspergillosis worse, which has happened to my Ducks twice now. I lost Poppy last year because of it and now Willow is in terrible shape.
I also have a question for the OP…Where did you get your ducklings? Because mine were from Metzler and it’s only my fawn and white runners who got this disease in a way that was strong enough to take them out.
There is also the correlation between the timing of winter beginning and the starting of using straw bedding again.
In the spring summer and fall, I only use pine flakes, but when winter weather comes on, I add straw over the pine flakes and that is when my Ducks came down with the symptoms, and I believe that the OP said they do the same thing? Using straw only in the winter is that true? @Beanfox?
I also do the deep litter method with the straw in the winter, but only in the winter. This year, I am not doing it because I am trying really hard to avoid anyone else getting sick.. if you do read through my thread about Poppy, you will learn that I did notice a musky smell to one of the bales of straw that I used, but I was not aware of the possibility it could make anyone sick at that time. I no longer buy straw from that vendor.
ETA forgive me, but I have edited to add things to this post several times

I will keep an eye on her and see how she is in the morning! Her tail isn’t as bobbed currently and her breathing is a lot less noisy (it was never wheezy.. just sounded similar to when you exhale hard and it makes that air sound.. if that makes sense?)
She’s still acting ‘normal’ - isn’t lethargic, can stand just fine, isn’t open mouth breathing, drinking water, etc.

We use straw all year round and nothing else. In the winter we usually just add extra so they’re higher off the bottom of the house floor

 

[Goosebaby]

It’s definitely good news that a bacterial infection was diagnosed, at the least it’s cheaper to treat. I will warn you however that asper isn’t necessarily ruled out, asper is sneaky and is difficult to diagnose until it’s progressed so it can require a lot of different tests to find out if it’s actually there.

One sign can be a really high white blood cell count, even healthy birds usually have a higher white blood cell count as a result of any kind of stressor, including just being seen by a vet, so an elevated white blood cell count doesn’t necessarily mean something is wrong, it’s only if the number is really high that one should worry.

 

[Beanfox]

It’s definitely good news that a bacterial infection was diagnosed, at the least it’s cheaper to treat. I will warn you however that asper isn’t necessarily ruled out, asper is sneaky and is difficult to diagnose until it’s progressed so it can require a lot of different tests to find out if it’s actually there.

One sign can be a really high white blood cell count, even healthy birds usually have a higher white blood cell count as a result of any kind of stressor, including just being seen by a vet, so an elevated white blood cell count doesn’t necessarily mean something is wrong, it’s only if the number is really high that one should worry.

This does make me nervous. She did mention a high amount of white blood cells. So now I’m back to wondering. Had no idea that was tied to asper as well.

Is there anything I can watch for that will indicate if it is asper?

 

[Goosebaby]

This does make me nervous. She did mention a high amount of white blood cells. So now I’m back to wondering. Had no idea that was tied to asper as well.

Is there anything I can watch for that will indicate if it is asper?

Voice changes.
Respiratory infections of any kind can alter their voice and make them sound more gurgly and they may be quieter anyway so don’t be alarmed if she sounds like she’s been gargling syrup.
Asper changes the voice in a different way, if it is affecting the lungs and trachea it changes the pitch of the voice completely, for a goose it makes their voice fainter yet at a higher pitch, with mallard type ducks their voice can sound more like a Muscovy which isn’t natural.

Other than that don’t let the internet scare you, all the symptoms attributed to asper are the same for any other kind of pneumonia, bacterial or whatever: heavy breathing, tail bobbing, and so on.

Your duck being sick with anything is going to have an elevated white blood cell count regardless, but like I said even a healthy bird will have a spike as a result of being stressed, asper usually shows as a considerable elevation in white blood cells, according to what my vet told me she said she usually only sees exceedingly high counts if a bird has asper or cancer.
So you could ask your vet about the results, if she thinks it was high as what’s usual for a sick bird or if it was abnormally high.

 

[Beanfox]

Voice changes.
Respiratory infections of any kind can alter their voice and make them sound more gurgly and they may be quieter anyway so don’t be alarmed if she sounds like she’s been gargling syrup.
Asper changes the voice in a different way, if it is affecting the lungs and trachea it changes the pitch of the voice completely, for a goose it makes their voice fainter yet at a higher pitch, with mallard type ducks their voice can sound more like a Muscovy which isn’t natural.

Other than that don’t let the internet scare you, all the symptoms attributed to asper are the same for any other kind of pneumonia, bacterial or whatever: heavy breathing, tail bobbing, and so on.

Your duck being sick with anything is going to have an elevated white blood cell count regardless, but like I said even a healthy bird will have a spike as a result of being stressed, asper usually shows as a considerable elevation in white blood cells, according to what my vet told me she said she usually only sees exceedingly high counts if a bird has asper or cancer.
So you could ask your vet about the results, if she thinks it was high as what’s usual for a sick bird or if it was abnormally high.

Okay good to know.

She was still quacking occasionally, in general she’s a quiet duck. Today is the first I’ve ever actually witnessed/heard her quack. It sounded normal, maybe slightly deeper compared to my other duck breeds. But I don’t have anything to compare it to as I don’t have any other runners & this is the first I’m hearing her voice. She sounded a little gurgly when I first brought her in but it didn’t last long.

Trying to hope for the best that it really is just a bacterial infection, while also preparing for the worst (her not making it) so it’s slightly ‘easier’ to accept.

I’ll have to call up there Monday! They are closed on the weekends and I don’t feel my paranoia and ‘what if’s’ would justify calling their emergency number. Even so, I highly doubt the vet would come in for that. So with that, I am trying to tell myself that for the next 2 days, whatever happens..happens.

 

[Jenbirdee]

You sure know a lot more than about this illness and treatment. So if you gave the Lamisil by mouth it would not have the same effect? what is the Terbinafine you got prescription for a liquid you add to the Oxine for nebulizing?

Nope it’s pills I got by rx for humans , I couldn’t afford the vet. I crush a pill and divide the powder into little piles to get the right milligram dosage for her weight then I mix it with a little water and give by syringe (no needle) I don’t know if you can give the cream orally I’d be afraid it would gunk up in her throat and make it even harder to breathe and I don’t remember if it had other ingredients that are not safe for ducks? I faintly remember looking all that up last year.
Someone here had a duck who got a prescription from the vet for the same pills that I got for humans, and the instructions on the pill bottle said to do what I do. (Crush into powder and mix with water)