Urgent...

[BettyNicol]

Hi guys...
My one year old duck, Betty was eggs bound and I didn’t recognize the symptoms. She was limping for a few weeks and I thought it was getting better but then yesterday she started falling on her breast. I took her to the vet and they X-rayed her and found she was bound. They cleared it, gave fluids and calcium. They also said she was quite underweight - which I did not know. all of this makes me feel awful - how did i not know these things! I’ve read a ton and thought I knew a bit. But obviously have a lot to learn. They told me to separate her from the flock - so she’s in a baby pool in a bedroom. She ate last night - meal worms - while sedated, but today is not eating at all and keeps opening her mouth. And her tail feathers are going up and down a little. I have a call into the vet.

They had said she has a lot of follicles. When might she produce another egg? They said she might be at risk for this happening again. Is the tail movement a sign it’s happening? Are there foods i might be able to entice her to eat? Should I give her the opportunity to hang out with her siblings if I’m watching? Should I let her swim?

Any info / help really appreciated.

 

[3bird]

Welcome to BYC, and don't ever hesitate to ask questions. We all knew nothing once, and we're all still learning every day. @Isaac 0 is going to be one of your best resources here, but I think getting back in touch with the vet is the right thing. Also, posting videos of any of the signs you describe can help quite a bit. We have a girl who went through her fair share of egg laying problems, though she was never egg pound. The tail movement was indicative of her discomfort. Have you tried offering peas in water with maybe some finely minced greens and mealworm crumbled on top? On the question of keeping her separate, we find it is always a hard call. Ducks (as you know) are flock creatures, and being alone is stressful, but sometimes it's really important to keep them separate. We always do our best to keep a duck that needs to be separate in an area where she can see the flock and they can see her (we have an area of our run that we can block off as a nursery area. Having said that, if you're dealing with sedation, I think having her close where you can observe intake and output (has she pooped?) is the right call. Good luck and please keep us posted!

 

[NatJ]

Are there foods i might be able to entice her to eat?

Make sure her usual food is available at all times, in case she is hungry at a time you didn't expect.

You could try adding water to some of her usual food. Chickens often like their food better when it is wet, so a duck might also.

 

[KaleIAm]

I have had a lot of reproductive issues with my ducks. At one point I didn't know much about about duck reproductive issues either. One of my ducks was chronically egg bound and would often gently bob her tail when she was having problems.

My understanding is that a duck who has reproductive issues is more likely to have recurring reproductive issues, and that has been my experience.

If your vet told you to separate I would follow their recommended advice. I try to keep my ducks together as much as possible. The stress from being separated alone can cause a significant decrease in appetite in my ducks.

To get my ducks to eat I often put their food in water, or spoil them with handfuls of their favorite treats. I give them chopped grape tomatoes, mealworms, and greens like lettuce and kale. My ducks love floating salads. But, sometimes when they are stressed or sick they won't even eat their favorites.

I think you should ask your vet about the swimming and sibling time. I understand what you are going through. *hugs*

 

[FlatRockDucks]

The green peas is a good suggestion. When one of our runner duck hens came back from the vet she was not eating her usual food well at all. Peas in her water bowl got her attention, we also give them soldier fly larvae. Isolation is not going to work so well, but some rest is needed. We let ours stay in the duck coop/house during the day and took her inside in the evening before all of the rest went to bed. That way the flock visited her frequently but could not get to her and after a couple of hours she settled down inside the duck house and got her rest. She was no longer preoccupied with breakout attempts and hysterical quacking. Good luck

 

[Here come the ducks]

Hi guys...
My one year old duck, Betty was eggs bound and I didn’t recognize the symptoms. She was limping for a few weeks and I thought it was getting better but then yesterday she started falling on her breast. I took her to the vet and they X-rayed her and found she was bound. They cleared it, gave fluids and calcium. They also said she was quite underweight - which I did not know. all of this makes me feel awful - how did i not know these things! I’ve read a ton and thought I knew a bit. But obviously have a lot to learn. They told me to separate her from the flock - so she’s in a baby pool in a bedroom. She ate last night - meal worms - while sedated, but today is not eating at all and keeps opening her mouth. And her tail feathers are going up and down a little. I have a call into the vet.

They had said she has a lot of follicles. When might she produce another egg? They said she might be at risk for this happening again. Is the tail movement a sign it’s happening? Are there foods i might be able to entice her to eat? Should I give her the opportunity to hang out with her siblings if I’m watching? Should I let her swim?

Any info / help really appreciated.

watch the opening of the mouth.. my babies did that when they were in respiratory distress or pain. Call your vet, or take her to ER perhaps

 

[Here come the ducks]

watch the opening of the mouth.. my babies did that when they were in respiratory distress or pain. Call your vet, or take her to ER perhaps

also, don't be so hard on yourself. You obviously care a great deal for your duck. We are all learning .. trust me. She is lucky to have someone who cares so much.

 

[3xhhheather]

A mirror is a great way for your babe to not feel so alone. When one of my girls had to stay quarantined inside for about a month I popped one into the pen and she would sit there and chirp at herself instead of calling out.

 

[BettyNicol]

Thanks so much everyone. We thought she was fat a month or so ago when we saw what we thought was fat hanging down on her chest, but it turns out that was her keel bone without much muscle on either side. And so now, after talking with the vet and thinking about it I realize she may have stopped eating much a month or so ago. The vet agrees. So I have no idea why. She lives with another Cayuga female and a Welch harlequin female and a Welch harlequin drake. There are 2 Cayuga drakes but they live separately because they’re very sexually aggressive. The Drake that lives with the 3 females is very polite.
No one is bullying her or keeping her from food (which they have access to 24/7). So I have no idea why she’s not eating. So confused. The vet set if i can’t get weight on her need to do blood tests and other things. Spent $415 yesterday. I dont’ know how much I can spend or how much it will cost. But I am responsible for her and love her. So I want to do whatever is necessary. Is there special food for sick ducks to get them to eat? i just gave her peas, kale and lettuce in water. And strawberries and blueberries, but she’s too shy when I’m in there, so I went out. Hopefully some will be gone when I go back and check on her.
Also - it’s crappy timing because I’m in Colorado and it just started snowing and will be bad for several days. I did let her go out earlier - with my supervision and she enjoyed being with everyone and she swam in the stock tank. I watched to make sure everyone was nice. She seemed normal out there, except she’s still limping, but no falling. The vet said she had a very hard time fishing the egg out. But I read in the Ultimate Pet Duck Guidebook that the vet is supposed to give oxytocin. I wonder if my vet is not a good duck vet.
She doesn’t want her with the other ducks because we wouldn’t be able to tell if she’d laid another egg or not. But I could divide the chicken yard tomorrow night and let her sleep with them. I think I will do that - and put the heater on.
Does anyone know. How long it takes to produce an egg after being bound?
Thanks for everything!

 

[3xhhheather]

Do you have more than one food bowl? Just throwing in an anecdote - while the drake might be polite, there may be things going on when you're not around. It only took me catching one or two incidents for me to pick up on why one of my girls wasn't bathing or eating with the others right away. It was like an unwritten rule between them.

Things to help put on weight would be sunflower seeds, corn, mealworms, scrambled eggs, and flaxseed. I would talk to your vet first, but maybe a higher protein feed would help for a bit?