Worcester_Cat
In the Brooder
- Oct 26, 2025
- 12
- 21
- 26
It has been a VERY long 5 weeks (or more) saving my duck from dying.
I wanted to thank you all and summarise my experience to show other new owners how complicated things can be.
1. My duck was slow and not keeping up with the others. I immediately treated her for niacin deficiency and soon got her on Poultry Cell. Took her to the vet, who gave her antibiotics and painkillers. They checked her for egg retention and none present.
2. Took her back to the vets a week later and she had lost half her bodyweight. They put her on painkillers and antibiotics again. She was dehydrated.
3. I started hand-feeding her peas and live mealworms (I found out it is illegal to give dried mealworms to pet birds in the UK).
3. Took her to an exotics vet in UK (in the Cotswolds) who suggested a 4D scan. I couldn't afford it but I asked about trying to get food in her and he suggested Omnivore Emeraid.
4. I tried feeding her this through syringe but it was leaking into her trachea so I had to take the plunge and gavage aka tube feed her.
5. The Emerald was a ratio of 3:2 and fed in stages (there are very comprehensive instructions online, so do read them), but it was too thick to go through a 12FR and just about fitted a 14FR pipe size. The 16FR would have been too big for my runner duck so I watered it down a little and had my strong hubby press the plunger on the syringe. I started feeding her three times a day before moving quickly to two because it was all I could manage with commitments.
6. I started adding her meds (and Poutlry Cell) to the tube feeding which meant she was less raspy. I made sure there was shell available in case the egg formation was a problem (I had seen soft shells lying around but goodness only knows whose they were).
7. She showed very minor signs of getting better but the vets decided to have her on more antibiotics and painkillers. She also suggested an x-ray because she could now feel lumps in her tummy.
8. The lumps turned out to be large stones, and the specialist in the Cotswolds looked at them and said they would likely need removing and that the highest one would probably not move down her gut. This would mean a 4-D scan and technical surgery, which weren't options. This was a low point for me as I thought that was it.
9. I kept on with the feeding but reduced the tube to a 12FR as my duck's throat became irritated. My local vets just kept supporting me as best they could. I had noticed that Flora would not sit down at all.
10. She started to get more annoyed with me catching her and tube feeding her which was a brilliant sign. The vet re-x-rayed, and the stone that the other vet thought would not move had moved to be with the others.
11. I reduced the Emeraid to one max feed a day which I chose to do at night. This was because rats had started visiting at night as the bad weather set in. I could not leave food down after hours.
12. My duck continued to pick up and gained her previous body weight back. She started eating the pellets but I noticed they were hard for her to swallow so I have been making sure she has a chick crumb as well. This has been good temporarily for the size and the protein increase. I notice there is layers crumb I can buy if she continues to find swallowing hard.
13. I am now reducing her Emeraid gradually and there are a couple of days left.
14. She is still not waterproofed because she stopped grooming for about 3/4 weeks because she was so poorly. But she has gone into a moult, and her waterproofing is coming back.
15. I weighed her Saturday night and she is now 100g more than her original weight.
16. During this time, I also had to treat all the ducks for the early onset of bumblefoot and someone suggested the spray and the cream (on the main 'how to treat bumblefoot' thread) and now that has cleared up for them all too!
This post really is to say thank you for all the help you have given me (and the Towcester farm vets who probably think I am mad). I have improved my ducks' health so much by following everyone's advice. I have saved my duck from death, learned about tube feeding, egg binding, niacin deficiency, bumblefoot and many other things. I really don't know what was wrong but if you keep hope then things can get better. I love my ducks so much and they bring me great joy so it has all been worth it. Thank you.
Now, I can take a breath and focus on keeping the rats at bay and avoiding bird flu!
I wanted to thank you all and summarise my experience to show other new owners how complicated things can be.
1. My duck was slow and not keeping up with the others. I immediately treated her for niacin deficiency and soon got her on Poultry Cell. Took her to the vet, who gave her antibiotics and painkillers. They checked her for egg retention and none present.
2. Took her back to the vets a week later and she had lost half her bodyweight. They put her on painkillers and antibiotics again. She was dehydrated.
3. I started hand-feeding her peas and live mealworms (I found out it is illegal to give dried mealworms to pet birds in the UK).
3. Took her to an exotics vet in UK (in the Cotswolds) who suggested a 4D scan. I couldn't afford it but I asked about trying to get food in her and he suggested Omnivore Emeraid.
4. I tried feeding her this through syringe but it was leaking into her trachea so I had to take the plunge and gavage aka tube feed her.
5. The Emerald was a ratio of 3:2 and fed in stages (there are very comprehensive instructions online, so do read them), but it was too thick to go through a 12FR and just about fitted a 14FR pipe size. The 16FR would have been too big for my runner duck so I watered it down a little and had my strong hubby press the plunger on the syringe. I started feeding her three times a day before moving quickly to two because it was all I could manage with commitments.
6. I started adding her meds (and Poutlry Cell) to the tube feeding which meant she was less raspy. I made sure there was shell available in case the egg formation was a problem (I had seen soft shells lying around but goodness only knows whose they were).
7. She showed very minor signs of getting better but the vets decided to have her on more antibiotics and painkillers. She also suggested an x-ray because she could now feel lumps in her tummy.
8. The lumps turned out to be large stones, and the specialist in the Cotswolds looked at them and said they would likely need removing and that the highest one would probably not move down her gut. This would mean a 4-D scan and technical surgery, which weren't options. This was a low point for me as I thought that was it.
9. I kept on with the feeding but reduced the tube to a 12FR as my duck's throat became irritated. My local vets just kept supporting me as best they could. I had noticed that Flora would not sit down at all.
10. She started to get more annoyed with me catching her and tube feeding her which was a brilliant sign. The vet re-x-rayed, and the stone that the other vet thought would not move had moved to be with the others.
11. I reduced the Emeraid to one max feed a day which I chose to do at night. This was because rats had started visiting at night as the bad weather set in. I could not leave food down after hours.
12. My duck continued to pick up and gained her previous body weight back. She started eating the pellets but I noticed they were hard for her to swallow so I have been making sure she has a chick crumb as well. This has been good temporarily for the size and the protein increase. I notice there is layers crumb I can buy if she continues to find swallowing hard.
13. I am now reducing her Emeraid gradually and there are a couple of days left.
14. She is still not waterproofed because she stopped grooming for about 3/4 weeks because she was so poorly. But she has gone into a moult, and her waterproofing is coming back.
15. I weighed her Saturday night and she is now 100g more than her original weight.
16. During this time, I also had to treat all the ducks for the early onset of bumblefoot and someone suggested the spray and the cream (on the main 'how to treat bumblefoot' thread) and now that has cleared up for them all too!
This post really is to say thank you for all the help you have given me (and the Towcester farm vets who probably think I am mad). I have improved my ducks' health so much by following everyone's advice. I have saved my duck from death, learned about tube feeding, egg binding, niacin deficiency, bumblefoot and many other things. I really don't know what was wrong but if you keep hope then things can get better. I love my ducks so much and they bring me great joy so it has all been worth it. Thank you.
Now, I can take a breath and focus on keeping the rats at bay and avoiding bird flu!
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