URGENT~ SOFT SHELLED EGGS AND A LETHARGIC DUCK!!!

[PetDuck]

Hopefully she will pack on the pounds. Right now isn't the best time for her to stop eating because for some reason it seams like its getting colder faster here then it has in the past couple of years and somethings telling me that she could use the extra fat. She is eating on her own a little bit so that is really refreshing compared to the drab and sad ducky she has been lately.

 

[casportpony]

Please tell me that she's inside where it's warm. A sick bird needs to be where it's warm and not drafty. I try to keep it around eighty degrees for mine.

 

[PetDuck]

She is not inside but she is in her cage with a tarp around it to keep it dry and warm. She also has hay in her cage for insulation.

 

[casportpony]

She is not inside but she is in her cage with a tarp around it to keep it dry and warm. She also has hay in her cage for insulation.

She really does need to be inside where it's warm. If you can't bring her inside, can you at least give her a heat lamp? Also, don't you think it would be easier to give her her pills if she were inside? FYI, tomorrow your area is supposed to be colder.

Didn't the vets you talked to tell you she should be kept warm?

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

http://www.avianweb.com/sickbirdcare.html
Optimal Set-up for a Sick Bird:

• First of all, the cage needs to be kept meticulously clean -- this is especially important when it houses a sick bird that cannot deal with germs as well as a healthy one might.
  
• UNLESS your pet is running a fever, WARMTH IS CRITICAL! Provided your pet is NOT running a fever, its environment should be kept at about 90 degrees. In cases where a pet bird does have fever, you don't want to increase the ambient (room) temperature further as it would raise your pet's temperature even more - and that alone could be lethal. A chilled bird will be fluffed up. An overheated bird will raise its wings away from its body and potentially pant.
  
  A hospital cage would be great, as it would keep the temperature at the level you want. But most people don't have that available and an acrylic bird carrier or fish tank available at pet stores can potentially be substituted. If you use one of those, you have to monitor the temperature quite carefully. This being said, putting a sick bird into a new environment may be stressful. Maybe placing the cage into a small room that can easily be heated (small bathroom, for example) might do. Drape a heavy cover on one of the sides, but make sure that the bird doesn't "sit in the dark" -- except at night. Potential heat sources can be a heating pad underneath the cage, hot bottles or heat lamps. Of course, the heat lamps shouldn't be used at night, as your pet needs to rest. Maybe a combination of heating pad at night and a heat lamp during the day might be an option. Do whatever works best for you.

 

[acorn265]

wow petduck - you and Quackers have been through a lot! I am praying for you guys. I was reading through all the posts and I got really scared!

. I am SO glad she is ok!

Keep her warm and give thanks!

 

[mara1]

Any updates?

 

[PetDuck]

Hey again!!!

Great news! I set Quackers on top of her cage to feed her ad the wet food mash was up there with her and I went to get her some water and I turned around and she was gobbling up the mash!!! She ate about 5 to 6 syringes worth if food straight out of the bowl.

Tonight is supost to get down below freezing outside. I put extra hay in her nest and a heat lamp and covered her cage in a tarp and staked it down because it is really windy and extremely cold.

Hopefully she will keep eating like this and we won't have to force feed her. She hates it and it is really messy. Then maybe we could just stick to her anti-biotics and anti-unflammatory and she will get better and eat on her own!

It was really nice to see her fellin better like that. She has been acting like she is a baby again. Suddenly she has started acting like she really needs me again. Like she follows me and when she gets distracted and I walk off and she looks up and sees me too far away, she comes running and quacking after me. The last time she did stuff like that is when she was just a little baby.

Hopefully this a good sign. Praying

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hey again!!!

Great news! I set Quackers on top of her cage to feed her ad the wet food mash was up there with her and I went to get her some water and I turned around and she was gobbling up the mash!!! She ate about 5 to 6 syringes worth if food straight out of the bowl.

Tonight is supost to get down below freezing outside. I put extra hay in her nest and a heat lamp and covered her cage in a tarp and staked it down because it is really windy and extremely cold.

Hopefully she will keep eating like this and we won't have to force feed her. She hates it and it is really messy. Then maybe we could just stick to her anti-biotics and anti-unflammatory and she will get better and eat on her own!

It was really nice to see her fellin better like that. She has been acting like she is a baby again. Suddenly she has started acting like she really needs me again. Like she follows me and when she gets distracted and I walk off and she looks up and sees me too far away, she comes running and quacking after me. The last time she did stuff like that is when she was just a little baby.

Hopefully this a good sign. Praying

Sure does sound encouraging I'm so happy for you. Keep up the good work. How much longer will she be on meds? Praying for Quackers to have full recovery too.

 

[veronicasmom]

THAT IS GREAT NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!