- Jul 23, 2018
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This is an update to both my earlier posts. It is now morning and my 2yr old Muscovy is not acting herself and we know she does not have any crop impaction. I’m leaving the original information here but it seems that whatever is going on it’s communicable and I’m so afraid we’ll lose both of them.
After spending the night reading all the things this could potentially be. I’m not sure if my 4lb, 8mo female Muscovy has a crop obstruction (we’ve only had her 3 weeks and she’s prone to eating odd things) or if she has an illness, or if she has gapeworm. We’d noticed a change in her voice a couple of weeks ago and assumed she’d irritated her voice box swallowing something she shouldn’t have and she’d seemed otherwise fine. We also noticed that she ate really fast but thought it was a learned behavior when living in the wild with other ducks who were picking on her. She’s been laying an egg a day since she arrived (21 so far). We came home this afternoon to find her lethargic, unable to stand/walk, mouth breathing, occasionally coughing, no interest in eating. I’ve placed a small bowl of water by her that she’s sipped on several times throughout the night but not sure how much is actually getting down and as the night’s worn on the less interest she has in even that. I’m a bit overwhelmed, not to mention scared for her and also our 2yr old Muscovy if it’s something contagious. In the morning with the help of my husband I plan to do as I’ve read and place a QTip down her throat to check for gapeworm. There’s an .08% Ivermectin solution available quickly via Amazon but not sure how many drops to give her:
a) initially if it is gapeworm to avoid the dead ones clogging her trachea
b) and then after the initial period to finish the job
c) as a periodic dewormer
Until today her poops had been explosive, very loose and brownish in color. She would go for long periods of time, up to 2 hours and then let loose, unlike our other girl who leaves deposits often. Since we’ve brought her inside for the night we’ve noticed her poop is MUCH smaller and white. The last one she left was a bit larger than the first two and seemed to have a grainy texture so not sure if it’s a blockage breaking up and working it’s way through or an egg that was stuck and making it’s way out or something entirely different. She’s very weak and can barely hold her head up. I’ve massaged her crop in hopes of breaking up and helping move on anything that may be stuck. I also dropped a few drops of olive oil in her mouth to help assist with any possible block. I’m at a loss as to what to do or how to help her.
Unfortunately in our area Muscovies are considered nuisance animals and finding a vet highly unlikely as well as cost prohibitive.
After spending the night reading all the things this could potentially be. I’m not sure if my 4lb, 8mo female Muscovy has a crop obstruction (we’ve only had her 3 weeks and she’s prone to eating odd things) or if she has an illness, or if she has gapeworm. We’d noticed a change in her voice a couple of weeks ago and assumed she’d irritated her voice box swallowing something she shouldn’t have and she’d seemed otherwise fine. We also noticed that she ate really fast but thought it was a learned behavior when living in the wild with other ducks who were picking on her. She’s been laying an egg a day since she arrived (21 so far). We came home this afternoon to find her lethargic, unable to stand/walk, mouth breathing, occasionally coughing, no interest in eating. I’ve placed a small bowl of water by her that she’s sipped on several times throughout the night but not sure how much is actually getting down and as the night’s worn on the less interest she has in even that. I’m a bit overwhelmed, not to mention scared for her and also our 2yr old Muscovy if it’s something contagious. In the morning with the help of my husband I plan to do as I’ve read and place a QTip down her throat to check for gapeworm. There’s an .08% Ivermectin solution available quickly via Amazon but not sure how many drops to give her:
a) initially if it is gapeworm to avoid the dead ones clogging her trachea
b) and then after the initial period to finish the job
c) as a periodic dewormer
Until today her poops had been explosive, very loose and brownish in color. She would go for long periods of time, up to 2 hours and then let loose, unlike our other girl who leaves deposits often. Since we’ve brought her inside for the night we’ve noticed her poop is MUCH smaller and white. The last one she left was a bit larger than the first two and seemed to have a grainy texture so not sure if it’s a blockage breaking up and working it’s way through or an egg that was stuck and making it’s way out or something entirely different. She’s very weak and can barely hold her head up. I’ve massaged her crop in hopes of breaking up and helping move on anything that may be stuck. I also dropped a few drops of olive oil in her mouth to help assist with any possible block. I’m at a loss as to what to do or how to help her.
Unfortunately in our area Muscovies are considered nuisance animals and finding a vet highly unlikely as well as cost prohibitive.
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