Sluggish, Possibly Bloated Duck Question

[3bird]

Was that video taken before she laid that weird egg ?

The egg was from yesterday morning. The video was from last night. We don't know if it was her egg or not.

 

[chickens really]

The egg was from yesterday morning. The video was from last night. We don't know if it was her egg or not.

Glad she feels better. Definitely a strange turn of events.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Awesome to hear @3bird . Please keep us updated!!

 

[casportpony]

Yes. My specific question was about what to look for when I do a physical exam in a few minutes here. As I mentioned we might have trouble getting into the vet quickly given that it's the weekend, and we make significant snow coming. Thanks!

When you do the exam, do a thorough exam. And what I mean by that is pretend you are a vet that has never seen this duck before, so check the entire body for abnormalities like lumps, swellings, bruising, and even though external parasites aren't the issue here, check for them too. During the exam, pay close attention to her feet, legs, hips, belly, and vent.

If they have a stuck egg it's usually up in the pelvic girdle which can make it hard to feel, especially in ducks, so what I like to do is very put on a latex glove, lube up with a *water soluble* lube, and check internally for a soft or hard shelled egg. No need to go rooting around for it because they will be in the center about 1" in and slightly up. This picture shows where an egg is:

 

[onaharley]

Sorry you are going through this. I'm going to the vet today for egg issues as well. My Miss Hope is a rescue duck and was not fed properly as a duckling. She has a hunchback and a fat bottom. I'm not sure we have the same thing going on but I can keep you posted on what my vet has to say today.

Can start taking her weight to see if she continuously gaining weight?

 

[3bird]

When you do the exam, do a thorough exam. And what I mean by that is pretend you are a vet that has never seen this duck before, so check the entire body for abnormalities like lumps, swellings, bruising, and even though external parasites aren't the issue here, check for them too. During the exam, pay close attention to her feet, legs, hips, belly, and vent.

If they have a stuck egg it's usually up in the pelvic girdle which can make it hard to feel, especially in ducks, so what I like to do is very put on a latex glove, lube up with a *water soluble* lube, and check internally for a soft or hard shelled egg. No need to go rooting around for it because they will be in the center about 1" in and slightly up. This picture shows where an egg is:
View attachment 1688214

Thanks, as always! This is exactly the type of information for which I was looking.

 

[casportpony]

Thanks, as always! This is exactly the type of information for which I was looking.

You're welcome! Oh, I forgot to mention that when you do an exam to check for little pimple like bumps. I mention them because that's usually cancer which is one of the things that can cause ascites (fluid in belly). Another thing to note is the gizzard feels a lot like an egg, but it's located on the left and down lower than where an egg would be, so don't panic if you feel that.

 

[3bird]

All the ducks swam, enthusiastically ate their soup and basically acted completely normal this morning. Martha appears back to "normal." All poops looked normal when cleaning out, although no eggs today. Pretty much everyone turned up their bill at mealworms this morning, which was a little strange. Here's a video from morning soup (Martha is the one farthest away and who jumps first):

A couple questions (sorry, we're still noobs!): If we are dealing with Ascites Syndrome, does it/can it wax and wane, or is it the type of thing that once fluid is present, it needs to be drained? If we are dealing with some kind of weird egg issue, wouldn't we expect to find an egg of some sort if she is now back to normal? In other words, wouldn't she have likely needed to pass whatever was causing her the problem in order to be back to normal this am? That's the way it was with Mouse, but that's our only real experience.

 

[3bird]

You're welcome! Oh, I forgot to mention that when you do an exam to check for little pimple like bumps. I mention them because that's usually cancer which is one of the things that can cause ascites (fluid in belly). Another thing to note is the gizzard feels a lot like an egg, but it's located on the left and down lower than where an egg would be, so don't panic if you feel that.

Thanks again. We so appreciate any opportunity to learn!

Internal or external pimple-like bumps?

 

[Miss Lydia]

@casportpony