Sluggish Duck URGENT NOT MOVING

[Amykins]

Yes i can hold her, i have been giving her soaks. What do u think i should do?

You will need rubber gloves, a large syringe, KY jelly (you probably don't have that lying around but it really is the best for this job), and some topical antibacterial ointment like bacitracin. You'll find all these things at any supermarket.

For starters, getting an egg out is a two-person job. You need someone to hold her while another does the procedure. This is why I recommended going to the vet, a vet will sedate the bird to help relax her muscles and to save her from the trauma and pain of the procedure. I really wish you'd go to the vet, but if you do not get that egg out she WILL die! Another warm water soak beforehand will make it easier, preferably with salt water. Salt will help extract any fluids and reduce swelling around the cloaca.

What you want to do is, have someone hold her on her back with her butt facing you while you gently push her tail down and away from you, and locate the cloaca. Use the syringe to inject about 50 ml of the lubricant into the cloaca, and make sure it all goes in! Then rub some topical ointment on the cloaca and wait. She should pass the egg within a day or so. I want you to use a syringe and not a turkey baster because it has a narrower opening and allows you more control.

MAJOR CAVEAT: It could very well be the egg is just too big or misshapen for her to pass at all, and if that is the case she WILL need surgery! I'm kind of breaking major laws telling you to do all this, 'cuz I work in the veterinary field and I'm forbidden to give out medical advice...but being egg bound is serious and since you're in the middle of nowhere without access to professional help I gotta do something or else she won't make it. Please keep us updated, ok?

 

[casportpony]

Of course a vet is probably the best choice, but if that can't be done, this duck could really benefit from some calcium gluconate (100mg/kg) at 0.2 ml per pound orally and several hours in a room filled with steam and/or a warm soak in a tub. If you can't get the calcium gluconate, get any for of calcium and try to give about 45 mg per pound orally. Will probably work best if you crush it, mix with water and give it orally.

If she cannot poop the egg needs to come out ASAP, but if she can poop, you're okay for now.

Pictures:








Sold at Tractor Supply in the cattle section.


-Kathy

 

[BirdNerd101]

I will pick that up and give it to her tonight. What stumps me is that she is acting 100% normal. She is pooping too.

 

[casportpony]

I will pick that up and give it to her tonight. What stumps me is that she is acting 100% normal. She is pooping too.

They can live for *months* with a stuck egg so long as they can poop, and sometimes they will act very sick for a couple of days and then start acting normal, but they will eventually die if they don't pass the egg. When you feel inside her vent, can you find the opening to her uterus and actually touch the egg?

-Kathy

 

[BirdNerd101]

I can touch the egg. Can i give tums for calcium? They are peppermint

 

[casportpony]

I can touch the egg. Can i give tums for calcium? They are peppermint

Tums would be fine. Any chance you could exposed the shell with one finger and somehow get some water based lube on the shell? Can you spin the egg at all?

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Can you give the calcium, fill your bathroom with steam and leave her in there for several hours?

-Kathy

 

[BirdNerd101]

I cant spin the egg much at all, and i will start to give her the tums. Peppermint are fine? And i cant put her in my bathroom, but it is 20C today so she is warm.

 

[Amykins]

With all due respect, it really is best to try and let her pass the egg herself before doing anything invasive. Please try the KY jelly injection before trying to physically remove it. If it breaks, she could become septic. And being eggbound is still a very serious ailment, no matter what anyone tells you. Having a calcified mass stuck up there and unable to pass it will irritate her innards, and irritation leads to inflammation. Inflammation can easily turn into an infection. It's incredibly stressful and painful for the bird, and although calcium can help prevent egg binding, it won't do much to help once the bird has already become bound.

Please don't wait on that injection. If she doesn't pass the egg within 24 hours, then you will have to start thinking about physically removing it, but it's risky if you don't know what you're doing. At this point I'm honest to god begging you to please do what I told you before, I honestly thought you had already done so since you went quiet last night. Please, please please, PLEASE perform the injection!

 

[casportpony]

Sorry if I confused anyone, I did not mean to try to remove the egg, I just meant that one could try getting the egg to move. IMHO, squirting 50 ml of anything into the cloaca sounds like a really bad idea to me. Ask yourself, where is that 50 ml gonna go?

Here:


Or here:


Either way, too much fluid could cause a rupture and then she'll be dead for sure.

One of my pet peeves is the 48 hour egg binding misinformation where people say in 48 hours they'll be dead... it just isn't true unless the bird cannot poop.

-Kathy