Sick duck!

[HeatherKellyB]

One other thing I just thought about, any chance the feed got wet somehow and spoiled? Or mice could have gotten into it? My apologies, I'm just trying to think of possibilities.

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

I lost one if my girls last year who showed no signs of being sick that morning
By afternoon I went out to give treats and she didn’t come out of the pond. I had to help her. She took a few steps and collapsed and was trying to move with her wings
I brought her in and into a smaller area
She was trying to eat and was drinking well
By evening she was very hot and still couldn’t walk
I rushed her to the vet and she died seconds after we walked in
I had an autopsy done and they found a penny in her stomach as well as a few spots by her heart
The combo of the two took her away
It’s a good sign that your girl is still going
You may have to start tube feeding her as she can’t go without food
Is she still laying eggs ? Is there a possibility of one stuck ?
If she is in any pain she will refuse feed
Maybe the vet could give a pain med or I believe you can use kids aspirin
@BelovedBirds may have some info on that. Hopefully it gets sorted soon

 

[JamieMcClain]

Can you get food grade charcoal
That’s what is used if the ducks eats something poison

I did that last week when I first found her

 

[JamieMcClain]

As for food, my Pekin is very picky. She does enjoy live earthworms, crickets, and minnows. My little ducks like bite sized apple pieces, squash, cut up grapes and dried black soldier fly larvae.

When did she lay an egg last?

It’s been over a week since she has kid an egg. I should note she also had started molting.

 

[JamieMcClain]

One other thing I just thought about, any chance the feed got wet somehow and spoiled? Or mice could have gotten into it? My apologies, I'm just trying to think of possibilities.

I don’t think so, it’s kept in my garage in 30 gallon trash cans and none of our other birds have had any issues with it

 

[JamieMcClain]

How do her feet (tops and bottoms) look? How about her joints? Any chance you're able to get a video of her and upload it to YouTube and share the link here? I'm worried she could have had an infection that's turned septic.

Her feet look fine. Joints don’t appear to be swollen. I thought about that also and is another reason I did the round of keflex and a shot of rocephin (I’m a nurse so these are readily available to me). She does act like her left leg bothers her or she’s more unstable on it than the right.

 

[JamieMcClain]

I lost one if my girls last year who showed no signs of being sick that morning
By afternoon I went out to give treats and she didn’t come out of the pond. I had to help her. She took a few steps and collapsed and was trying to move with her wings
I brought her in and into a smaller area
She was trying to eat and was drinking well
By evening she was very hot and still couldn’t walk
I rushed her to the vet and she died seconds after we walked in
I had an autopsy done and they found a penny in her stomach as well as a few spots by her heart
The combo of the two took her away
It’s a good sign that your girl is still going
You may have to start tube feeding her as she can’t go without food
Is she still laying eggs ? Is there a possibility of one stuck ?
If she is in any pain she will refuse feed
Maybe the vet could give a pain med or I believe you can use kids aspirin
@BelovedBirds may have some info on that. Hopefully it gets sorted soon

It’s been over a week since she’s laid an egg. She’s had also started molting last week so that stopped her egg production. She does act like her left leg bothers her more or likes she’s more unsure or unstable on it than her right leg.

 

[BelovedBirds]

My 3 year old female pekin has been sick for over a week now. I was thinking poisoning of some sort because of her symptoms and strange blue/green poops. Started a week ago. She seemed very dizzy, unstable. Brought her inside. She’s not eating but drinking a ton. I’ve treated her with cephalexin d/t her digging at her oil gland while inside and making it get infected. I’ve tried giving her scrambled eggs (nope), duck feed (nope), peas (nope), yogurt (nope), and meal worms (barely). I’m putting vitamins including niacin in her water. She’s still alive and moving more but just still very weak and wobbly. She has to use her wings for balance sometimes. I just want to help her get better! Any suggestions? I talked to our local vet (not an avian vet) who suggested trying some steroids to perk her up and maybe get her appetite going.

Did you give charcoal, if so, how much and how often?
Does she have access to oyster shells?
Does her abdomen look/feel abnormally swollen?
Niacin is always a great thing to try, but maybe also add some nutridrench to her water since shes off her food.
You mention somewhere along the thread I think, that you're worried about one of her legs?
Have you felt her leg/checked for heat, swelling? I recently had one of my girls hurt her leg, and I didnt notice any heat or swelling but the vet confirmed it was a sprain. I gave her aspirin and that helped her regain her appetite.

You can try an aspirin- a 75mg dose for a larger breed, 45mg for a medium sized breed.
You can put the tablet into half a grape, blueberry, or hidden in a tablespoon of wet oats, or egg, whatever she will take.

Your vet should be able to prescribe some pain medication for her. My vet gave us a simple pain meds and anti inflammatory that is usually given to dogs. It worked much better than aspirin.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Here is info on tube feeding which sounds like needs to be done now. When my Runner was sick she got antibiotics and I tube fed her which I am sure helped her recover. They can't go long without eating.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/tube-feeding-ducks-updated-5-7-2020.1211994/

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I agree I would start tube feeding immediately. Are you using flush or flush free niacin? What brand/type of vitamins are you giving her? Adding vitamins to water is great for preventive measures, but when they are showing signs of an ailment I have always seen the best results dosing orally with a syringe. Diluting in water doesn't ensure that they are receiving the correct amount needed. Another thing that I have found over the years is that not all supplements are created equal. Years ago I had a duck who started acting wobbly and I used regular niacin capsules diluted in water with no luck. I went to tractor supply and picked up Durvet's B complex and started dosing her orally with a syringe. She perked up by the end of the day and by the next she was showing improvement. She ended up making a full recovery.