Sick Duck ? Help? I think...or maybe molting?

[newbyduckmom]

Wormed? Okay, something else I didn't know. I can try it.

 

[duckmamma]

If you want to cover more than one base, you could worm her and treat her with a broad spectrum antibiotic. I see in another thread on BYC that someone treated their chicken or their duck with Baytril for 30 days to treat an infection of the shell-producing gland. You can order Baytril from allbirdproducts.com. It's put into the bird's drinking water; you'll need to quarantine the duck and take away all other water sources to treat it.

Another way to treat an unknown infection is to give your duck a nanosilver solution such as Silver Biotic, which is available at the better vitamin supplement stores. Nanosilver (a tablespoon in distilled water on an empty stomach at night, and in the morning, and at midday) will kill any bacterial, fungal, or viral infection, supposedly. Wait a half hour before letting your duck have any food after they've drank the nanosilver/water solution. I've had good luck with it when ducks go lame and the reason is hard to troubleshoot.

Here's a great website to use to troubleshoot duck afflictions:

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/list_vols/waterfowl_mod/list_waterfowldiseases.htm

 

[newbyduckmom]

Thanks for the info! Didn't know Baytril was available without a trip to the vet!

She's doing much better this afternoon. Took her outside in the sun for awhile and she was quacking and foraging and happy to see her buddies. So I separated the drakes to a separate pen and she is with the girls. Still not quite normal, but much better than yesterday. I think we still have issues that need treated, but she does seem much improved today. Thanks for the advice everyone (as usual)!

 

[Amiga]

Thanks for the info! Didn't know Baytril was available without a trip to the vet!

She's doing much better this afternoon. Took her outside in the sun for awhile and she was quacking and foraging and happy to see her buddies. So I separated the drakes to a separate pen and she is with the girls. Still not quite normal, but much better than yesterday. I think we still have issues that need treated, but she does seem much improved today. Thanks for the advice everyone (as usual)!

I cannot express how awful I felt that she has been under the weather. This is wonderful news! I think I have a special place in my heart for Mildred.

 

[70%cocoa]

I see in another thread on BYC that someone treated their chicken or their duck with Baytril for 30 days to treat an infection of the shell-producing gland.

That was me Here you can only get Baytril at a vet, prescription only. I used tablets - one a day for 30 days.

But since this bird has now laid a good egg this morning, I'm not thinking that it is an oviduct/laying problem. It's possible that the disruption to laying was caused by something else that she is now getting on top of.

I think that worming her is still a good idea. It will help her to recover if she is not dealing with worms as well (even if worms are not the primary problem).

Great news that she is now picking up.

 

[newbyduckmom]

So how can you tell if a duck has worms? Dogs and cats I know, ducks, not so!

 

[newbyduckmom]

I cannot express how awful I felt that she has been under the weather. This is wonderful news! I think I have a special place in my heart for Mildred.

Thanks, Amiga, me too! She's a trooper. And pretty darned ornery - good thing too! Been through a lot. I am not at all attached to her....And after just losing Watson to the eagle, I really can't imagine having to lose another duck so soon. The duck house looks really empty with only 5 - let alone 4. How did I get so attached to "just a duck"! (What I keep hearing from people last night when I said I had to get home to take care of a sick duck...sick horses/dogs/cats/etc they understand...) Not convinced we are out of the woods yet, but today was pretty good, and I willl take that happily!

 

[70%cocoa]

So how can you tell if a duck has worms? Dogs and cats I know, ducks, not so!

The best way is to get a fecal test done by a vet. They will look for worm eggs in the presence of poop. I have had that done so I know that worms are about on my property. Unless you are rotating birds on pasture that has been left fallow for a while you most probably have a worm presence. Mostly ducks are not too bothered by worms though and a small worm burden is not a big deal (unless the bird is having to deal with other illnesses).

The way I see it is - worm medication is harmless but worms can be harmful. I have seen birds (not belonging to me) die from a excessive worm burden. Plus worms are icky. Plus my vet recommends it. So I worm my birds routinely (every 6 months for the ducks) with a quality wormer (I use Wormout tablets but I am not sure if you can get them in the US), just like I worm my dog regularly.

 

[newbyduckmom]

So apparently I have two ducks with issues! Mildred laid another normal egg and seems to be doing much better. Only got one soft shelled from the two hens that were in the duck house with the drakes for the night (Mildred was in sick bay). Somebody ate the soft shelled egg and left the pieces in the water dish.

 

[Amiga]