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[Rudies Roost]

Well with the big that my chicken/duck coop has turned into she could've found and eaten anything down there! I most certainly hope she hasn't, but we shall see. Just wish it would hurry up and warm up so that the ground hardens, my poor chickens keeps sinking!

Same here. As i mentioned previously, my poor Silkies are soaked as they are low to the ground. I don't think they've been dry for a month. Thought I'd share my ducks with you:

My main group of 4, 1 x White Cherry Valley (Lady GaGa) 2 x Black Swedish (Drake (Yeah...highly original I know!!), and Carmelita (duck)), and the Silver RunnerxSwedish drake (Jesse):

And my "loner" Khaki Campbell (Rihanna):

Pics from last September...hard to remember that the weather was so lovely and my daughters paddling pool was run...and stolen by the ducks!! All very naughty and mucky!!

 

[rebrascora]

Afraid I don't have much experience of ducks, so I've been hanging back from offering any advice. A bird not eating is usually of concern though. Even when they are sick and don't want to eat, they will often peck at it to pretend, so your duck not making an effort to even try, would set alarm bells off for me. Certainly being harassed by drakes will bring them down, so please do what you can to separate the boys or bring the sick girl into the house out of their way and so that you can monitor her more closely. I would imagine checking for a stuck egg would be the same with a duck as a chicken, so if you get her in the bath again and cleaned up, then lube up a gloved finger and gently insert it an inch to see if you can feel anything. Normally you will see them straining to expel it if they are egg bound. It can lead to a prolapse with all the pushing, so keep an eye out for that too. That said, you say she had a couple of bloody poops.....if she was egg bound they usually have difficulty passing faeces which is why it can become fatal quite quickly. If she is weak (as evidenced by struggling to get back into the coop) and passing bloody stools then I would suspect coccidiosis. It can't hurt to treat her with amprolium and I would bring her into the house for warmth until you can get her treated particularly if she is weak. It may be that it wasn't the bath that revived her earlier but being in the warm.

Good luck with her and keep us updated.

Regards

Barbara

PS. Love the photos of summer....definitely need more of those to keep us sane!

 

[Rudies Roost]

@rebrascora How is the poorly hen today?

 

[Gge23]

Same here. As i mentioned previously, my poor Silkies are soaked as they are low to the ground. I don't think they've been dry for a month. Thought I'd share my ducks with you:

My main group of 4, 1 x White Cherry Valley (Lady GaGa) 2 x Black Swedish (Drake (Yeah...highly original I know!!), and Carmelita (duck)), and the Silver RunnerxSwedish drake (Jesse):

And my "loner" Khaki Campbell (Rihanna):

Pics from last September...hard to remember that the weather was so lovely and my daughters paddling pool was run...and stolen by the ducks!! All very naughty and mucky!!

Oh they are just gorgeous! I absolutely love the silver runner, her colour is amazing!
I don't particularly have any names for my ducks unfortunately, I can't tell them apart at the best of times so I don't think giving them names would make it any easier! My sister has taken to calling one of the welsh harlequin girls Debbie, because she was the yellowest when she was a duckling, and so Debbie Harry kinda stuck

I love them all to pieces though, I will be sad to have to see a pair go but it will be for the best

 

[Gge23]

Afraid I don't have much experience of ducks, so I've been hanging back from offering any advice. A bird not eating is usually of concern though. Even when they are sick and don't want to eat, they will often peck at it to pretend, so your duck not making an effort to even try, would set alarm bells off for me. Certainly being harassed by drakes will bring them down, so please do what you can to separate the boys or bring the sick girl into the house out of their way and so that you can monitor her more closely. I would imagine checking for a stuck egg would be the same with a duck as a chicken, so if you get her in the bath again and cleaned up, then lube up a gloved finger and gently insert it an inch to see if you can feel anything. Normally you will see them straining to expel it if they are egg bound. It can lead to a prolapse with all the pushing, so keep an eye out for that too. That said, you say she had a couple of bloody poops.....if she was egg bound they usually have difficulty passing faeces which is why it can become fatal quite quickly. If she is weak (as evidenced by struggling to get back into the coop) and passing bloody stools then I would suspect coccidiosis. It can't hurt to treat her with amprolium and I would bring her into the house for warmth until you can get her treated particularly if she is weak. It may be that it wasn't the bath that revived her earlier but being in the warm.

Good luck with her and keep us updated.

Regards

Barbara 

PS. Love the photos of summer....definitely need more of those to keep us sane!

Good evening Barbara

Your input is greatly appreciated! Even if it is chicken related, I'm pretty sure it is fully relatable to ducks as well.
I have some Harkers left over from the last time I treated them for cocciodosis, will this be good enough? She was drinking when I had her in the bath, but she was also breathing heavily, almost panting with her bill open to breathe. I'm not too sure if she had any breakfast this morning, but she was acting completely different in the afternoon compared to when I let her out first thing.
As I say, I will see how she is in the morning, and if I think the drakes are too much then I will try to separate them. I must admit, when I put her back after bathing her the first thing the drakes did were grab her by the neck and try to mount her :/ insatiable beasts!

 

[rebrascora]

Just a little update on my pekin....any suggestions for a name for her....it seems she should have a moniker after all she has been through! She is a lavender pekin if that makes a difference for suggestions. She has been less active today and possibly a bit more congested, which worries me. Of course poor weather has meant that she has been stuck in the house on her own and I think she is a little depressed which is not helping. She doesn't want me to handle her because it makes her breathing difficult. The wound seems to have scabbed over really well. It is dry with no seepage but she is still just picking at food rather than going at it like a dog at broth which would make me feel happier. Thanks for the food suggestions, which I have tried but she is being quite picky, although sometimes she turns her beak up and then goes back later when I'm not watching and has some more. She has had almost another whole small scrambled egg today and a little bit of bread...probably not even half a slice, some with a bit of gravy mixed into it and some with a little yoghurt, but she's not happy about that and I opened a tin of sardines and gave her a tiny bit of them which she eventually went back and ate. She has done 3 extremely watery poops today, which I don't understand because she will not drink and I dare not force her with her breathing the way it is, even with a dropper. I guess I have to accept that she must know what she does and doesn't need. I think tomorrow might be a critical day as it's 3 days after she aspirated and probably the point at which infection will take off if it's going to. I'm still pretty confident that the surgery itself went well, so will be gutted if a lung infection does for her.

Please keep your fingers crossed for her guys.

 

[rebrascora]

Yes, I would start her on the Harkers.

 

[Gge23]

Just a little update on my pekin....any suggestions for a name for her....it seems she should have a moniker after all she has been through! She is a lavender pekin if that makes a difference for suggestions. She has been less active today and possibly a bit more congested, which worries me. Of course poor weather has meant that she has been stuck in the house on her own and I think she is a little depressed which is not helping. She doesn't want me to handle her because it makes her breathing difficult. The wound seems to have scabbed over really well. It is dry with no seepage but she is still just picking at food rather than going at it like a dog at broth which would make me feel happier. Thanks for the food suggestions, which I have tried but she is being quite picky, although sometimes she turns her beak up and then goes back later when I'm not watching and has some more. She has had almost another whole small scrambled egg today and a little bit of bread...probably not even half a slice, some with a bit of gravy mixed into it and some with a little yoghurt, but she's not happy about that and I opened a tin of sardines and gave her a tiny bit of them which she eventually went back and ate. She has done 3 extremely watery poops today, which I don't understand because she will not drink and I dare not force her with her breathing the way it is, even with a dropper. I guess I have to accept that she must know what she does and doesn't need. I think tomorrow might be a critical day as it's 3 days after she aspirated and probably the point at which infection will take off if it's going to. I'm still pretty confident that the surgery itself went well, so will be gutted if a lung infection does for her.

Please keep your fingers crossed for her guys.   

My fingers are crossed for you both! It sounds like you have both been through a lot!
Perhaps sticking with the purple/lavender theme, you could call her Violet? Quite a pretty name for a hen ^_^
I will try and separate her and start her on the Harkers then, and hopefully the drakes wont hassle the other girls more.

 

[Rudies Roost]

Just a little update on my pekin....any suggestions for a name for her....it seems she should have a moniker after all she has been through! She is a lavender pekin if that makes a difference for suggestions. She has been less active today and possibly a bit more congested, which worries me. Of course poor weather has meant that she has been stuck in the house on her own and I think she is a little depressed which is not helping. She doesn't want me to handle her because it makes her breathing difficult. The wound seems to have scabbed over really well. It is dry with no seepage but she is still just picking at food rather than going at it like a dog at broth which would make me feel happier. Thanks for the food suggestions, which I have tried but she is being quite picky, although sometimes she turns her beak up and then goes back later when I'm not watching and has some more. She has had almost another whole small scrambled egg today and a little bit of bread...probably not even half a slice, some with a bit of gravy mixed into it and some with a little yoghurt, but she's not happy about that and I opened a tin of sardines and gave her a tiny bit of them which she eventually went back and ate. She has done 3 extremely watery poops today, which I don't understand because she will not drink and I dare not force her with her breathing the way it is, even with a dropper. I guess I have to accept that she must know what she does and doesn't need. I think tomorrow might be a critical day as it's 3
days after she aspirated and probably the point at which infection will take off if it's going to. I'm still pretty confident that the surgery itself went well, so will be gutted if a lung infection does for her.

Please keep your fingers crossed for her guys.   

Fingers and toes crossed....Just remembered that tuna has worked well with my poorlies (after you mentioned the sardines!). Will try to think of a name...my neighbours Lavender Pekins are named after Downton Abbey characters but I don't watch it!

@Gge23

Might be the best thing to relieve yourself and the ducks of some drakes....they do seem to have a voracious sexual appetite! Some Harkers can only help incase of Cocci....try get some food in her if you can...my ducks love warm porridge (made with water not milk). Good luck xx

 

[DancingWthDucks]

Hehehe.....look what arrived in the post today:

I've set 6 Welsh Harlequin eggs, 5 of which are already on day 9.

@Yorkshire Coop, how do you add water to the water wells? Do you just have to open it, and remove the egg trays to add water every couple of days?