August 30th I spoke with a friend of mine who raises calls, she had one lone duckling left out of 3 who had a sinus infection. The other 2 ducklings didn't make it. The first duckling of hers that was ill she had gotten from a dog/cat rescue place and had even taken the duckling to the vet, but by the time she even got him it was 2 late and he had pneumonia, despite her efforts he couldn't be saved. ANother died the day before I received winston. She asked me if I'd take the lone duckling because she had her hands full and no other ducklings his size to put him with. At this time neither of us knew he was sick too. I went to pick him up that evening and noticed the left side of his face was pretty swollen, she had some leftover baytril from the other duckling she had treated and gave it to me the next day. We guess he hatched about the middle of july. When he got here I weighed him and he weighed in at 5.7 oz. To me that seemed very small for a duckling over a month old at the time. I mixed up some warm vetrx in a bowl of water for him and supplied him with a 40 watt bulb to help aid in the healing process. From what I had read on here and other places once the sinus infection gets into the air sac its a lost cause, I wasn't willing to accept that and clearly winston wasn't ready to give up the fight. And so it began.... I woke up in the morning and gave him fresh vetrx treated warm water in a clean bowl with fresh chick starter, I'd stuff him in my fleece robe to keep warm while I gave him his meds, he loved that robe! I cleaned out his quarentine pen daily to make sure everything was dry and sanitized for him. At night he would nestle up under my chin as he struggled to breathe, I would gently run my finger down his back to help him relax. By 9-1 the swelling hadn't gone down much and he was still really congested but had gained over an oz already so I knew we were on the right road. Each day he would gain more strength and more of a healthy appetite, with that comes alot of poo too. I would make a shallow bath in the tub for him with warm water so he could flush his sinuses on a daily basis and after that he got a nice warm blowdry and dabs of vetrx on his back and under each wing. Apparently it paid off because this past tuesday the swelling was almost gone and by wednesday evening was gone completely. By thursday this week he was done with his meds and the congestion was gone as well as the swelling and he weighed in at over 10 oz! He is now 100% recovered and such a happy boy! Here are some before and after pics of his miraculous recovery.
This is the day after I brought him home, as u can see his cheek is very swollen at that point and he could hardly breathe.
Here he is a day later after a nice warm bath and blowdry, he crawled right into his favorite place... My robe
Here he is yesterday in a penned area in the back yard enjoying the 90 degree temps under the elm tree.
As u can sort of see in the last pic the swelling is gone, he is breathing normally and sooooo happy to be outside! The moral of this story is don't always believe what you read about these sinus infections, try your hardest if time allows and it might just pay off for both you and the duck!
This is the day after I brought him home, as u can see his cheek is very swollen at that point and he could hardly breathe.
Here he is a day later after a nice warm bath and blowdry, he crawled right into his favorite place... My robe
Here he is yesterday in a penned area in the back yard enjoying the 90 degree temps under the elm tree.
As u can sort of see in the last pic the swelling is gone, he is breathing normally and sooooo happy to be outside! The moral of this story is don't always believe what you read about these sinus infections, try your hardest if time allows and it might just pay off for both you and the duck!