What is wrong with my Muscovy?

[LuLiJo]

I'm worried that my 1yo Muscovy hen has ascites. She hasn't laid in about a week (unless she's hiding them somewhere in they yard), and her belly is drooping. The feathers close to the ground are hanging oddly, too. I caught her two days ago, and her belly felt soft, so I didn't think that she was egg bound, but I didn't exactly know what to look for. Vent looks totally fine, and there's no poop stuck to her, etc. That's always the first place I look. She seems mostly like herself, maybe a little bit slow. It's been very hot for many days now.

We have two ducklings right now as well, one that this gal hatched, and one that I bought six days later (because if she's taking care of one duckling, she might as well take care of two). They were born in mid May. The genetic daughter also looks a little droopy on her belly, so that made me wonder if maybe it wasn't ascites, but they have something that's causing a bloat of some kind. The adopted duckling looks normal. Drake looks ok too.

Questions:

Could there be something else causing a droopy belly? What? How to treat?

If it's ascites, can I cure that? Most of what I've read makes it sound very dire. Some people drain for comfort, but that's all. How long will she live? She's only one, and it makes me really sad. Our flock is very much a small, urban backyard thing. These are pets. Could she ever lay again?

Thanks!

 

[Amiga]

Something else I would be concerned about is being egg bound. She may have eggs stuck in her belly and that can be fatal.

A good duck vet is best, but if not possible, then getting her to lay is vital.

Time - like an hour - floating in a lukewarm tub of water daily may help. She may also be calcium deficient, so I would start giving her 100 mg of calcium a few times a day at first. You can get calcium gluconate or you can dissolve calcium citrate pills in warm water.

Crushed oyster shell will not get into her system fast enough at this point.

Gently feel around her vent and belly and see if you can feel eggs or other kind of mass.

Sometimes ducks get tumors.