Worried about my ducks health. Please help

[duckitup]

@Kathy @amiga his dailuygain is going down the last couple days. 9.8 g and 5 g this morning. He is so feisty now it is difficult to even do his eye drops. Should I be considering crop feeding or is it okay that the gain is slowing? I honestly don't know if I could hold him properly for crop feeding. Here is a pic of his poo. Does this look normal? I honestly don't know what their poo looks like now that they are on the pond full time now.

 

[duckitup]

trying the pic again.....

 

[ricebabyca]

To me that doesn't look normal, tough what he's eating might be part of the reason. It looks better than the first pictures, but the shape of the fecal matter and the color of the urates worry me. Here is a close-up:

 

[seminolewind]

@Kathy @amiga his dailuygain is going down the last couple days. 9.8 g and 5 g this morning. He is so feisty now it is difficult to even do his eye drops. Should I be considering crop feeding or is it okay that the gain is slowing? I honestly don't know if I could hold him properly for crop feeding. Here is a pic of his poo. Does this look normal? I honestly don't know what their poo looks like now that they are on the pond full time now.

What is his last weight?

 

[Amiga]

An FYI - I am traveling, not easily in touch the next couple of days. Bthe food looks unchewed, like there is no grit inthe system. Does the duck get grit either given in a bowl or from foraging in the dirt?

 

[duckitup]

ricebabyca- he is eating mostly minnows now. He has been "pecking" a little at his pellet duck food which looks exactly like the arrow you pointed out. The left hand circle is a wood shaving in his poo. He went right outside his bedding area. What has you concerned about the top part that you have circled? Does that look bad?

 

[duckitup]

His weight this am was 1374 g or 3.03 lbs. He only gained 5 grams from the day before.
Tues he was 1311 g at the vets office.
Wed 1333 grams,
Thurs 1360,
Fri 1369,
Today 1374.

 

[duckitup]

Normally he would get grit from his environment but since he has been inside I have been sprinkling grit on his pellets and also have a dish of them nest to his food. He may not be getting enough since he isn't eating the pelleted food much. I I haven't seen him peck at the dish of grit at all. I let him out side under supervision every day and he forages around a bit. Maybe he isn't getting enough. Any suggestions on how to get grit into a bird that isn't eating properly?

 

[duckitup]

I was finally able to get a poop sample in and he has come back positive for Capillaria. Over the weekend he stopped eating as much again and I began syringe feeding on Sunday. Both Sunday and today his weight was down instead of increasing like he had been. I took the fecal sample to a vet that doesn't work with ducks (just because they are only 5 miles from me where as my duck vet would be an hour round trip drive) and then called my duck vet with the results. Waiting to hear back with how she wants to proceed. Does any one out there have experience with Capillaria in ducks? I found a lot of threads on chickens but none on ducks yet. Thanks

 

[Debs Flock]

A very knowledgeable friend of mine treats with Safeguard or Panacur (fenbendazole) liquid or paste. Dosing is 0.23 ml per pound orally for 5 days. Please confirm dosing with your vet, though.