ethelandfred
Chirping
Hello, I am new to this website but have actually visited quite a bit over the last few days, the information I gleaned here actually saved my duck. I just posted in the Emergencies, Diseases, Injuries and Cures the other night but got no response and since my question is duck related I figured I'd try here. Any help or input welcome! There is more information available below so I'll keep this post shorter.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ck-and-weak-looking-for-some-answers-opinions
Last Wednesday my female duck Ethel was lethargic. We have her and a male, Fred. They are about a year old. She had just started laying and hadn't laid for about 5 or so days but that wasn't unusual. The following day she laid a regular sized egg and was back to normal.
She was fine for the next few days but when I went out Saturday night I found her by the door, near death. Her legs were straight out in back of her and she could barely lift her head. Both ducks aren't handled much and because of this they don't liked to be picked up and when she didn't protest and I knew something was wrong.
I immediately brought her inside and set her up in our cellar, I grabbed some molasses and syringed what little I could into her, left her some food and water and hoped for the best.
I was surprised to find the next morning she was sitting on her own. She had drank quite a bit but she still couldn't stand up and was trembling a bit. She had passed some loose droppings but not quite diarrhea, they were a dark green. I gave her a charcoal slurry that morning, and offered her some yogurt with honey to see if she would eat but she wouldn't. She passed some charcoal in her next few stools and a lot of water but I knew this was because of how much she was drinking. I was concerned about her not eating but she seemed much better but definitely not 100% yet. I gave her a mix of baking soda/salt and sugar in her water for electrolytes.
We aren't anywhere near an avian vet so I called the closest place to see what I could do for her. He was sure that the molasses gave her a boost of energy that must have aided her, I am very glad I tried this option first, over Epsom salt or charcoal. I then described what had happened and he didn't think it was botulism and told me to stop the charcoal slurry. He said from what I described it sounded like an infection, and said he thought she might have been attacked or injured herself and somehow got an infection. He said that she could have been sick for a while and hid it.
We did find a small amount of blood in their portion of the shed a few months back (they are in the same shed as our goats but portioned off separately) but it is almost impossible for anything to get into the shed other than small mammals like a mouse or such. We were confused but couldn't find any wounds or abrasions on either bird. But still unsure as to what happened to this day.
He said to try apple cider vinegar in her water, mash up some pellets and baby food and to offer her leafy greens. He also said to keep her warm so we moved her closer to our wood stove.
She wasn't interested in the mash or the veggies but boy did she gobble up the pellets that night! I was glad to see this.
The following day she was standing but wobbly and the day after she was walking. She got feistier and more lively with every day.
The day after I found her I went out to tear apart the shed and came up with a little moldy hay around their water bowl and some mouse droppings in their food bowl. I pulled all the hay out and we purchased shavings to lay down instead. Aside from being upset with his separation Fred has acted fine. I did notice his droppings are pea colored green and a little more loose than usual but no other symptoms.
Anyway I brought her out to see him yesterday for a bit and although timid at first they greeted each other and were quite happy with their reunion. It is still pretty cold out and he was attempting to court her so I decided to bring her back in, much to their dismay. Today it had warmed up and I let them out together for a few hours, they were happily snurfling in the mud and she acted completely fine other than being a little wobbly on her legs here and there and fell on some snow once when she got excited.
I brought her back in for the night tonight and plan to reunite them for good tomorrow but I am still concerned, I have scoured this site for any kind of illness that matches what she had but nothing fits. The three I researched specifically were botulism, fowl cholera and antipestifer, but there isn't much information out there I could find, here or otherwise.
If it is an infection of some sort I would like to put her on antibiotics to make sure she has a chance of fighting it off, I would hate to have her get this far just to loose her. We do still have some penicillin left over from a sick goat but I am unsure how to proceed or if I should do so. Tractor Supply is the closest carrier of any poultry needs.
I was also wondering if chicken egg shells could have made her sick? We had some in our fridge that I had given her the day I found her under the weather initially, which were eaten to some extent but I'm not sure which duck got them. They were from cracked eggs, not boiled ones as such they still had mucus left on them but she had had them before with no issue.
She is still a bit wobbly here and there and her droppings are pea green colored and loose, not complete diarrhea but close and I am concerned about this. But am wondering if this is stress related?
I have been giving both ducks a mix of pellets, scratch grains and corn and they both have clean water available with some apple cider vinegar in it.
She also hasn't laid since the egg I found last Thursday.
Mainly my questions are:
1. How do I treat the diarrhea? Should I treat the diarrhea itself or look for some underlying condition like a disease?
2. Should I be worried about something more serious like fowl cholera and antipestifer and could those diseases kill her in time untreated? Could my male be sick also?
3. Should I utilize antibiotics and if so should I treat BOTH ducks?
4. Are the few eggs she had laid edible? Not a huge issue but if she was sick I am curious. She has laid a total of 3 so far.
5. Could the mice droppings or egg shells have effected her this way?
6. Also should I keep her inside where it is warm until the weather improves? .
Thank you, any help is appreciated! I may have to give the vet a call on Monday but am looking for any input here first.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ck-and-weak-looking-for-some-answers-opinions
Last Wednesday my female duck Ethel was lethargic. We have her and a male, Fred. They are about a year old. She had just started laying and hadn't laid for about 5 or so days but that wasn't unusual. The following day she laid a regular sized egg and was back to normal.
She was fine for the next few days but when I went out Saturday night I found her by the door, near death. Her legs were straight out in back of her and she could barely lift her head. Both ducks aren't handled much and because of this they don't liked to be picked up and when she didn't protest and I knew something was wrong.
I immediately brought her inside and set her up in our cellar, I grabbed some molasses and syringed what little I could into her, left her some food and water and hoped for the best.
I was surprised to find the next morning she was sitting on her own. She had drank quite a bit but she still couldn't stand up and was trembling a bit. She had passed some loose droppings but not quite diarrhea, they were a dark green. I gave her a charcoal slurry that morning, and offered her some yogurt with honey to see if she would eat but she wouldn't. She passed some charcoal in her next few stools and a lot of water but I knew this was because of how much she was drinking. I was concerned about her not eating but she seemed much better but definitely not 100% yet. I gave her a mix of baking soda/salt and sugar in her water for electrolytes.
We aren't anywhere near an avian vet so I called the closest place to see what I could do for her. He was sure that the molasses gave her a boost of energy that must have aided her, I am very glad I tried this option first, over Epsom salt or charcoal. I then described what had happened and he didn't think it was botulism and told me to stop the charcoal slurry. He said from what I described it sounded like an infection, and said he thought she might have been attacked or injured herself and somehow got an infection. He said that she could have been sick for a while and hid it.
We did find a small amount of blood in their portion of the shed a few months back (they are in the same shed as our goats but portioned off separately) but it is almost impossible for anything to get into the shed other than small mammals like a mouse or such. We were confused but couldn't find any wounds or abrasions on either bird. But still unsure as to what happened to this day.
He said to try apple cider vinegar in her water, mash up some pellets and baby food and to offer her leafy greens. He also said to keep her warm so we moved her closer to our wood stove.
She wasn't interested in the mash or the veggies but boy did she gobble up the pellets that night! I was glad to see this.
The following day she was standing but wobbly and the day after she was walking. She got feistier and more lively with every day.
The day after I found her I went out to tear apart the shed and came up with a little moldy hay around their water bowl and some mouse droppings in their food bowl. I pulled all the hay out and we purchased shavings to lay down instead. Aside from being upset with his separation Fred has acted fine. I did notice his droppings are pea colored green and a little more loose than usual but no other symptoms.
Anyway I brought her out to see him yesterday for a bit and although timid at first they greeted each other and were quite happy with their reunion. It is still pretty cold out and he was attempting to court her so I decided to bring her back in, much to their dismay. Today it had warmed up and I let them out together for a few hours, they were happily snurfling in the mud and she acted completely fine other than being a little wobbly on her legs here and there and fell on some snow once when she got excited.
I brought her back in for the night tonight and plan to reunite them for good tomorrow but I am still concerned, I have scoured this site for any kind of illness that matches what she had but nothing fits. The three I researched specifically were botulism, fowl cholera and antipestifer, but there isn't much information out there I could find, here or otherwise.
If it is an infection of some sort I would like to put her on antibiotics to make sure she has a chance of fighting it off, I would hate to have her get this far just to loose her. We do still have some penicillin left over from a sick goat but I am unsure how to proceed or if I should do so. Tractor Supply is the closest carrier of any poultry needs.
I was also wondering if chicken egg shells could have made her sick? We had some in our fridge that I had given her the day I found her under the weather initially, which were eaten to some extent but I'm not sure which duck got them. They were from cracked eggs, not boiled ones as such they still had mucus left on them but she had had them before with no issue.
She is still a bit wobbly here and there and her droppings are pea green colored and loose, not complete diarrhea but close and I am concerned about this. But am wondering if this is stress related?
I have been giving both ducks a mix of pellets, scratch grains and corn and they both have clean water available with some apple cider vinegar in it.
She also hasn't laid since the egg I found last Thursday.
Mainly my questions are:
1. How do I treat the diarrhea? Should I treat the diarrhea itself or look for some underlying condition like a disease?
2. Should I be worried about something more serious like fowl cholera and antipestifer and could those diseases kill her in time untreated? Could my male be sick also?
3. Should I utilize antibiotics and if so should I treat BOTH ducks?
4. Are the few eggs she had laid edible? Not a huge issue but if she was sick I am curious. She has laid a total of 3 so far.
5. Could the mice droppings or egg shells have effected her this way?
6. Also should I keep her inside where it is warm until the weather improves? .
Thank you, any help is appreciated! I may have to give the vet a call on Monday but am looking for any input here first.