Sick Duck and need advice 😞

[AAcres]

Hi everyone,

I have a 5 month old peking duck who has just never been healthy her whole life.
She always always has had a messy, dirty bum and her back end has never looked fully developed - it’s like she never grew a tail.
She won’t preen herself, never has, but will take baths which helps a bit.
I’ve been keeping her in the duck run (normally free-range) because her eyes were getting goopy and I wanted to just monitor her.
I noticed two days ago that her feathers all over her back were black and really awful looking. I took a look to find her covered in maggots.
She’s not interested in eating, though I did see her drink today and wash her face but the weepy goopy eyes stayed.
She’s slightly shivering and just laying there.

This is my first time dealing with a sick duck and one I’ve struggled to keep clean and healthy for 5 months now. Even as a duckling she needed constant bum cleaning and wiping down.

Should I call it and cull her? I don’t want her suffering anymore but anxious and concerned that I’ll be making the wrong choice if I put her down.

Any input would be very helpful!

 

[Isaac 0]

Several days of simply supportive care, and cleaning her up may get her back into shape quickly, so I would not be so quick to give up yet.
My first step to suggest would be on moving her into a warm, quiet enclosure she can rest in. Provide a dish of warm water with added electrolytes and see if you can get her to get some down. If she is able, then try offering any of her favorite foods/treats ( scrambled eggs, soupy feed, etc).
If she continues to refuse food, she will need to be tube fed to keep her alive. (information can be found below):
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/tube-feeding-ducks-updated-5-7-2020.1211994/
I would begin weighing her on a gram scale to determine if there is current weight loss and calculate if there is a daily decrease in weight. Along with this, a thorough physical examination of her whole body would help detect any abnormalities relating to her issue.
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/exot...ltry/physical-examination-of-backyard-poultry
With a past history of maggots and a soiled vent, I would be concerned about vent gleet and would recommend checking around her vent for abnormalities.
Providing a video, or pictures of the duck would be helpful.

 

[AAcres]

Several days of simply supportive care, and cleaning her up may get her back into shape quickly, so I would not be so quick to give up yet.
My first step to suggest would be on moving her into a warm, quiet enclosure she can rest in. Provide a dish of warm water with added electrolytes and see if you can get her to get some down. If she is able, then try offering any of her favorite foods/treats ( scrambled eggs, soupy feed, etc).
If she continues to refuse food, she will need to be tube fed to keep her alive. (information can be found below):
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/tube-feeding-ducks-updated-5-7-2020.1211994/
I would begin weighing her on a gram scale to determine if there is current weight loss and calculate if there is a daily decrease in weight. Along with this, a thorough physical examination of her whole body would help detect any abnormalities relating to her issue.
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/exot...ltry/physical-examination-of-backyard-poultry
With a past history of maggots and a soiled vent, I would be concerned about vent gleet and would recommend checking around her vent for abnormalities.
Providing a video, or pictures of the duck would be helpful.

Thank you so much.
I have moved her into a space away from the other ducks with food and water.
I ended up going out and getting something to clean her up with and an antibiotic as per a vets suggestion.
I’ll give this a shot and see if she gets better!
I will try the scrambled eggs and look up vent gleet!!!