Unwell duck... What's going on?

[Jlw0903]

Update: she's seem to have a little more energy but isn't eating her regular duck food. Will still eat treats. Poops are "bigger" but still mostly water with green in it. Still more quiet.

Continung to give her what ever she will eat.
Continung to give nutridrench in water.
Considering activated charcoal just in case?
Contemplating tube feeding.
Waiting for the generic baytril to come but that won't be until Wednesday....
What else can I do?
I don't think I could bear to loose another animal so soon after loosing my dog (he was 13 so had a good life) and I've very fond of Darla... And all my ducks. I hate that I didn't catch her condition sooner... It's been at least a week since I first noticed her weight was low but she seemed other wise okay....

 

[Jlw0903]

Here’s one of the YouTube videos I found helpful when I first learned how to tube Feed

What kind of tubing is that? He didn't say what type of lubricant he used either..

 

[Goosebaby]

What kind of tubing is that? He didn't say what type of lubricant he used either..

This is what I use

https://www.amazon.com/HealthAndYog...837507&sprefix=colon+tube,aps,222&sr=8-8&th=1

As for lubricant you can use just water or even some of the feed mixture itself, just make sure to get the whole tube wet just before sending it down the hatch.

 

[Goosebaby]

Update: she's seem to have a little more energy but isn't eating her regular duck food. Will still eat treats. Poops are "bigger" but still mostly water with green in it. Still more quiet.

Continung to give her what ever she will eat.
Continung to give nutridrench in water.
Considering activated charcoal just in case?
Contemplating tube feeding.
Waiting for the generic baytril to come but that won't be until Wednesday....
What else can I do?
I don't think I could bear to loose another animal so soon after loosing my dog (he was 13 so had a good life) and I've very fond of Darla... And all my ducks. I hate that I didn't catch her condition sooner... It's been at least a week since I first noticed her weight was low but she seemed other wise okay....

I’m so sorry for you dog, I lost mine to old age recently too and it’s definitely not easy dealing with an illness so close to loss.

For now you’re doing all you can which is just fine, just keep doing what you’re doing keeping her comfortable and feeding her whatever she is willing to eat.

Something else you might try is offering her some banana, it’s fattening and can strengthen the heart. It can take a few tries getting them to want to eat it, they dint really like the texture, but once I’ve managed to get most of my geese and ducks to try it they’re instantly addicted.

 

[Jenbirdee]

This is what I use

https://www.amazon.com/HealthAndYoga-TM-Rubber-Colon-Tube/dp/B008RKFZ6Y/ref=sr_1_8?crid=1J5B5JJE5N2N2&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.kmrrdfgU8QDUqgCKfawMFKCgDQP01u0wGxuagUJI8WvNVNpJvUM3R1WMY-H9yEeqKikpYZYZrMYPTB2Vw_t3hTSVSN0yQg8lEAGZNrMd61HZtjpyYJSrTXjIchxYp8_rd9mK6EgHl-WUxMMgUBQlJiXnoafCf4VBeuVa_dCWu08_3ilZfyZQXCW8Kcry8rhDggChmJ3jr15nBgK5jAdM20YkF0w3xs0tCzDMxK1C0yyPzJ2akNmkZgsx0edrE8YVN2YxjF4gJt1x4WvJgZEia3tllVSAmVUo2nuH_yPpZio.nyEl4zG2JkWFNKPqAquwvgvK3oDqqKLgUS4W63RFmFI&dib_tag=se&keywords=Colon+tube&qid=1769837507&sprefix=colon+tube,aps,222&sr=8-8&th=1

As for lubricant you can use just water or even some of the feed mixture itself, just make sure to get the whole tube wet just before sending it down the hatch.

@Goosebaby what syringe do you use with that? I always have trouble with the connection point from syringe to tube being a a choke point for the feed unless I make it so watery they’re barely getting any nutrition.

 

[Goosebaby]

@Goosebaby what syringe do you use with that? I always have trouble with the connection point from syringe to tube being a a choke point for the feed unless I make it so watery they’re barely getting any nutrition.

60ml catheter tip syringe, a 30ml will work too and will probably be less cumbersome when feeding a duck rather than a goose.

My vet glued the tube to the syringe but I found that harder to clean that way and had the same issues with getting plugged up. Removing the tube to clear blockages is kinda a necessity.

Overall the mixture should be kinda soupy, they are getting less nutrition than they would eating normally, when they’re eating on their own the feed expands in their crop so they’re getting a lot more calories than when they’re being fed watered down already expanded feed through the tube, but there’s really no way to get around that physics issue, it’s got to be wet and runny enough that it doesn’t clog and it has to be warm so it doesn’t shock their already stressed health situation but if it’s still warm it probably hasn’t fully expanded yet, meaning it’s still expanding while it’s in the tube and still getting gummy and potentially clogging the tube, but if it’s left to fully expand then it’s even more diluted, and also cold by then.

Inevitably because of this one has to feed a sick bird more often at a higher protein concentration. A bird that has an acceptable condition that’s just recently stopped eating can be fed once or twice a day, a thin bird can be fed 3 or 4 times a day. An emaciated bird should be fed every two hours 6 to 8 times a day.

Tube feeding usually doesn’t give them as much nutrition as they would be getting eating on their own, but what it does when done enough with a recovery formula or a 30% protein feed is stabilize them, they won’t put weight on quickly on it but they’ll get enough to keep them alive and start recovering.