Worried about my ducks health. Please help

[duckitup]

I think I jumped the gun a little but I've made a vet appointment for him tomorrow at 9am. I'm just too scared to let it go and see if all of the other things work. Maybe after I have had ducks for a long time I will feel more competent in treating at home. Hoping the vet appt isn't too expensive and doesn't just tell me to do all of the things that everyone on here has said. That would be just my luck. I'll update after the appt. Thanks everyone.

Amiga thanks for letting me know what your thing with ponds was. Though I wouldn't go as far as to say we have no predators here I do feel relatively safe in our area. We are in the middle of farm land. Corn on all sides. We have never seen even a deer come into our pond. We are practically all fenced in as well. Small animals could get through but not big ones. I think our biggest predator problem could be with hawks in the fall after the corn has been cut down and they start searching the fields for mice. We are thinking about stringing up fishing line in the trees that would run over the pond about 20 ft up from one side to the other which we have heard disorients hawks because of it's reflectiveness in the sunlight. We are too rural for raccoons and not enough wildlife around to support coyotes or wolves. Foxes maybe and that is a concern. I'd be devastated if we lost one. knock on wood that never happens.

 

[casportpony]

Good idea Kathy, thank you.

You're welcome. My kitchen scale is one of the best investments I have made.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

I think I jumped the gun a little but I've made a vet appointment for him tomorrow at 9am. I'm just too scared to let it go and see if all of the other things work. Maybe after I have had ducks for a long time I will feel more competent in treating at home. Hoping the vet appt isn't too expensive and doesn't just tell me to do all of the things that everyone on here has said. That would be just my luck. I'll update after the appt. Thanks everyone.

Amiga thanks for letting me know what your thing with ponds was. Though I wouldn't go as far as to say we have no predators here I do feel relatively safe in our area. We are in the middle of farm land. Corn on all sides. We have never seen even a deer come into our pond. We are practically all fenced in as well. Small animals could get through but not big ones. I think our biggest predator problem could be with hawks in the fall after the corn has been cut down and they start searching the fields for mice. We are thinking about stringing up fishing line in the trees that would run over the pond about 20 ft up from one side to the other which we have heard disorients hawks because of it's reflectiveness in the sunlight. We are too rural for raccoons and not enough wildlife around to support coyotes or wolves. Foxes maybe and that is a concern. I'd be devastated if we lost one. knock on wood that never happens.

Your vet will weigh him, lol, but he'll also be able to listen to his lungs, examine the eyes and throat. All vets are different, but mine would do a fecal float to check for worm eggs and swab the throat to check for bacteria. If it is a bacterial infection, the vet will have much better antibitics than you could get at a feed store. I don't think you're jumping the gun at all and I'm glad that you can take him tomorrow!

-Kathy

 

[Amiga]

When I started out, and still when needed, I go to a vet and consider the fees the tuition for my education. Doesn't mean they don't take a bite, but I learn all that I can, watch exactly how the technicians and vets handle the ducks, what instruments they use, what data they gather, the whole thing. I ask as many questions as they can stand.

 

[casportpony]

If they send you home with medication, be sure to have them show you how to give it before you leave.

-Kathy

 

[duckitup]

Thanks everyone. An intermediary update.....I just got off the phone with a friend of ours who is a wildlife rehabilitation sanctuary senior animal care taker. We called him for advice in the mean time before the appointment tomorrow. It was a long conversation but the gist of it was.....Though not positive of course, he thinks it could be West Nile. In the last two weeks they have had 3 birds come in with it and all of his symptoms could be caused by it. It is curable with supportive care and antibiotics as long as we caught it early enough. Hopefully we did if that is in deed what it is. Fingers crossed. The good news is that, he said it really does not sound like avian influenza to him. All though, he said that can be over come with supportive care as well which is news to me. I hate jumping to the worst case scenario but sometimes I just can't help it. If our boy has west nile I pray he is strong enough to get through it. It also makes me worried for our dogs and us as well. Who knows, maybe it will turn out to be something completely different. If so, here's to hoping it is something minor.

 

[Amiga]

Important update, thanks. We live in the Land of Lyme, here, and I must say every day I learn more about how to strengthen all of our immune systems, and that's an undercurrent to my life.

I love immune systems.

So, keep yourselves all as healthy as you can. I am convinced that love strengthens us and helps prevent disease. All of us, not just humans.

 

[duckitup]

@Amiga we are in Lyme heaven as well. What kinds of things do you use to boost immune systems in ducks? And people for that matter. I'm always interested in that kind of thing.

Vet update-

Good news- Heart and lungs sound great. He is feisty and tried to bite everyone so he still has energy. He is not dehydrated.

Bad news-

She said the eye infection is deep in his eye and gave us drops for it. She couldn't promise that he would regain vision and couldn't tell me how it happened other than it's common and it could have been an injury, but she didn't see any scratches on his cornea. Fingers crossed his sight comes back. Other than that he was emaciated. I'm so ashamed that I didn't know that. I've read Storys guide and Hobby Farm Ducks and I don't recall either one of them explaining what an emaciated duck looks like. I knew he hadn't been coming up out of the water with the rest of them for a week or so when I feed them but I figured it was a puberty thing and the other drake was more dominant so he just hung back till everyone was done and then ate by himself. He always ate meal worms and still does when I throw them to him in the water. So anyways, to help him gain weight I have to syringe feed him. First attempt failed. I'll try again in a little while. She gave me Emeraid Omnivore, a Critical care nutrition for debilitated omnivores to give him for the first few days and then to mash his regular food for the syringe. If any one has tips or tricks on syringe feeding I would greatly appreciate it. She said that hopefully he will come around with the feedings, gain weight and get back to normal, however since we don't know why he stopped eating in the first place there were no guarantees that he would recover. She said she could do a blood test but that ducks have a really hard time with blood tests and if they are already compromised the process has the potential to make them die. So I said no to a blood test. She also said they could do xrays but I passed on that as well. He is eating and he is pooping so I don't think an xray could tell us much that we could do anything about. We have a follow up appt in a week.

Does anyone have any suggestions for super delicious treats that he couldn't turn down? He eats meal worms like crazy but won't touch much of anything else. I've tried peas, hard boiled egg, corn, romaine and bok choy (which he did eat a little of), wetting his food with electrolytes, chopped up tomatoes and his regular duck grower food. He turns his nose to everything.

FYI in case any one else doesn't know how to tell if your duck is emaciated. If the Keel bone (runs down the front of the chest) is prominent then they are emaciated. The more prominent, the more emaciated. She said in a healthy duck you can feel the keel but it shouldn't make a "V' next to the muscle. So really the only way to tell is to pick them up and feel them. Not a big deal with some breeds but my Runners certainly don't like to be picked up.

Also you can tell if a duck is dehydrated by looking under the wing, I'd say a little less than half span away from the body up at the top. There is a "vein" if it looks like a regular vein (blueish and buldgey it's okay, but if it has white stripes through it and it's flattened it means they are dehydrated.

 

[casportpony]

Did the vet mention de-worming? If not, you might want to call and ask about that. Also ask about tube feeding instead of syringe feeding, it's much easier and way safer. If you can get the tube and syringe, I can teach you how.

Check out this post by @needlessjunk :
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1011195/fecal-testing/60#post_15672418

And watch these:

Crop feeding videos

These are using a crop needle, not a plastic tube.




This one uses a tube like I use​

 

[casportpony]

If you can, please post a picture of his poop.

-Kathy