Runners lost quack, respiratory issue

[EvaluationUnit]

Hey there,

Hoping some of you may have an idea of what's going on here. Two of my adult runners came down with some sort of ailment. I only have 2 runners so these are the only 2 in the flock affected out of a flock of 6 ducks total. What we noticed is that both ducks are struggling to quack (one more than the other) and my blue runner is having labored breathing.

After bringing them to the vet, a test for avian flu (negative, thankfully), and a week of antibiotics (tylosin), neither of these girls seem any better. Both are still eating and drinking, though my blue runner is less able to than my fawn and white runner (she seems, understandably, tired). Neither appear to be laying eggs. I've called the vet back who wants to see them again, but is scheduled out pretty far in advance.

Is there anything I can do to aid them in the meantime? I have about 3 days left on the antibiotic just to finish it out but if there's anything over the counter I can try whether they've got a virus or otherwise I'd love to try it.

Thank you!

 

[Lauraduck]

Hey there,

Hoping some of you may have an idea of what's going on here. Two of my adult runners came down with some sort of ailment. I only have 2 runners so these are the only 2 in the flock affected out of a flock of 6 ducks total. What we noticed is that both ducks are struggling to quack (one more than the other) and my blue runner is having labored breathing.

After bringing them to the vet, a test for avian flu (negative, thankfully), and a week of antibiotics (tylosin), neither of these girls seem any better. Both are still eating and drinking, though my blue runner is less able to than my fawn and white runner (she seems, understandably, tired). Neither appear to be laying eggs. I've called the vet back who wants to see them again, but is scheduled out pretty far in advance.

Is there anything I can do to aid them in the meantime? I have about 3 days left on the antibiotic just to finish it out but if there's anything over the counter I can try whether they've got a virus or otherwise I'd love to try it.

Thank you!

Hi! I have runners too, and have been through all sorts of respiratory and other problems with them. Mine have an ongoing problem with trichomonas, which is a Protozoa that lives in mud and loves wet areas, and is very contagious, transmitted by wild birds. I'm lucky enough to have an awesome avian vet, and at this point she's starting to wonder if runners ar particularly susceptible to Trich since she doesn't see it much in other ducks, such as Muscovies.

When my runners get trich, they're a variety of symptoms, some more subtle than others- hoarseness, coughing, weight loss, a slow down in egg production, acting tired, coughing and shaking their heads, etc.

You can ask your vet to run a fecal test or do a gram stain- if it's trich they can see the protozoans under the microscope. The snag is, the treatment is not approved for "food birds" so vets cannot prescribe it. BUT- you can order online. It's called ronidazole and the dosage is

For trichomoniasis:
6-10 mg/kg PO q24h x 6-10d. (Speer BL 2016

My birds are around 2kg, so they get 20mg per bird per day. You can dissolve it in water and do the math for the dosage. If it's trichomoniasis you should see an improvement in 2-3 days

Here's a link where to buy
https://jedds.com/products/ronivet-s-vetafarm?_pos=2&_sid=98ca00857&_ss=r

Hope this helps! Let me know what happens!