Sick duckling??

[NovaChooks]

One of my four saxony/appleyard ducklings are sick!!
She just lays there, struggles to stand and seems very sleepy. If you walk by the cage the other three look at you an deep and react the way you would expect, she just lays there with her eyes closed. The others all seem fine. She will only eat or drink if I hold her up to food or water. I don't think it's injury as her legs look fine and her other symptoms don't say injury to me.

They're all fed a game bird starter with brewers yeast, mixed greens, peas. Access to water at all times.
Any ideas??
I'm sure she is only getting worse, and I'm doing my best to help her. Going down and holding her up to eat and drink every now and then. Is there anything else I can do?

 

[nchls school]

I'd put her on a broad-spectrum antibiotic.

 

[NovaChooks]

I'd put her on a broad-spectrum antibiotic.

What would that look like?

 

[nchls school]

What would that look like?

In a google search box type, "Broad spectrum antibiotics for poultry".

 

[Isaac 0]

Instead of possibly wasting time treating her with all sorts of different kinds of antibiotics/ etc, which may or may not work, and allow whatever is affecting her to progress, your best bet would have her taken into your nearest vet that does birds, so testing can be done. A gram stain, for example, would allow you to choose an antibiotic best suited for whatever bacteria is(if is) effecting her.

 

[nchls school]

Many people, especially now, can not afford to go to a vet or with a very uncertain future, have to make each dollar go as far as possible. With so many out of work, the loss of insurance, deaths or illness in their families, I no longer suggest a vet visit. For the most part, those that can afford the high cost of veterinarian care don't post here for help.

 

[Isaac 0]

Many people, especially now, can not afford to go to a vet or with a very uncertain future, have to make each dollar go as far as possible. With so many out of work, the loss of insurance, deaths or illness in their families, I no longer suggest a vet visit. For the most part, those that can afford the high cost of veterinarian care don't post here for help.

A simple Gram stain runs around ten/twenty bucks, and is a very valuable diagnostic test, often used a precursor before starting antibiotics, so one, if you know if there is actually an imbalance of bacteria, and two, to be able to tell which bacteria class is most prominent, so a correct antibiotic can be used tailored to that bacteria, or if an antibiotic needs to be used in the first place.

We have no idea if the problem is bacteria related, but, my point is, there are several readily affordable diagnostic tests that can greatly aid in the diagnosis of her problem.

I don’t take joy in asking if a vet is an option, but a vet, most of the time is the best route one could take, and I easily recount numerous times where people could take their bird to a vet, but they didn’t think the symptoms were severe enough for a vet visit to be warranted.

I am not an advocate for indiscriminately using antibiotics.

 

[Miss Lydia]

@NovaChooks can you take your duck to the vet. If not maybe someone knowledgeable in antibiotics can help you figure out which would be best to try. I keep some antibiotics on hand for my animals. Not long ago @DuckyDonna had a Runner female not feeling well she gave her Baytril and she is doing well now. Hopefully she can give you advise on that usage if a vet isn’t feasible. Always best to have a vet examine but we all understand that can’t always happen for various reasons.

 

[NovaChooks]

@NovaChooks can you take your duck to the vet. If not maybe someone knowledgeable in antibiotics can help you figure out which would be best to try. I keep some antibiotics on hand for my animals. Not long ago @DuckyDonna had a Runner female not feeling well she gave her Baytril and she is doing well now. Hopefully she can give you advise on that usage if a vet isn’t feasible. Always best to have a vet examine but we all understand that can’t always happen for various reasons.

I'm asking a friend now about where to take her or if it's feasible to. I want to save her but I can't justify spending a ton of money on her.

 

[Isaac 0]

If you can't take her to a vet, you need to bring her inside, likely to her dismay, so if you want to set the other ducklings near her in a separate pen so they can see each other, but can't touch that might be good.

If you don't have a food scale, get one, and start weighing her daily each morning, this will give you an idea of her state of health.

Make sure her pen area, is warm, and stressful free. You can add a poultry vitamin or an electrolyte like Gatorade to her water, or carefully drip a few drops along with her bill.

Could you post a few pictures of her poop?

I should add, if you want to treat her with an all-spectrum antibiotic, that's fine, I personally avoid antibiotics unless I know there is, or going to be an infection, we get drug resistance bacteria by people immediately treating birds with antibiotics without any proof that they do have a bacterial related infection.

Since she's a duckling, I would stay away from potent antibiotics like Enrofloxacin, as they can affect the bone structure in growing birds.

Amoxicillin might be a better alternative and can be purchased in a fish form.

Could you post a video of her?

When did she start acting like this?