**Need More HELP: Duck with Ear Infection

[Bleenie]

UPDATE:
Okay so today he isn't so squinty BUT the ear looks to be draining and smells quite icky. It also looks like there is more of the hard puss building up in there(could it be yeast?? our lab gets painful yeast infections in his ears).... I am not sure what else to do for him, he's being a good boy & drinking all of his antibiotic water and still eating good(but refuses treats). He's drank 2 quarts of medicated water since yesterday. I haven't been to the feed store to check for poultry ear drops, but do you guys think they will help clear it up faster?



Okay, this is a FIRST for me!

Bommie(Bombay), my Self Blue Drakelet, has developed a serioue ear infection. At first I thought he just had a gunky eye because he was squinty on that side for a couple days but today while i was cleaning the coop he came in and i saw a white spot on the side of his head... it looked like a chicken earlobe & was maybe 1/4" wide. I scooped him up and sure enough it was icky puss stuff and was hurting him pretty bad. I got a lot off out there then came inside and cleaned it more with a Q-tip and peroxide.

He's on a towel in the kitchen with some food & water with Tertacycline.
What else can I do for him??

I have never had a duck with an ear infection so i am clueless... should i put a little Neosporin(no pain) inside his ear? it's pretty bad looking still.

 

[katharinad]

I think you are doing fine with the tetracycline. You can wash the year with warm chamomile tea since it it antiseptic, plus it calms the inflammation and reduces swelling. Warm vinegar/water can also be used. You can also use rubbing alcohol mixed with water, but that may sting a little bit. It will reduce the swelling too, but dry out the skin a little bit. Ear infections are very painful. I would not use neosporin, since it contains a petroleum jelly type substance. It will clog up the ear and make it worse. You want drainage.

 

[duckyfromoz]

Be very careful what you put "in " the ear itself. While some things may be ok to wash the puss away with - they are not good in the ear canal itself. There are ear drops available for use with ear infection in poultry. Out here we have a product that is 0.3 % w/v Gentamicin Sulfate as a topical - Not sure what you may have avaialable.

http://www.troylab.com.au/products.php?tid=1&iid=26&pid=140

This is another product prescribed by a vet for a friend of mine who had a chicken with an ear infection. While most of the preparations are made for dogs and cats- the drops do work for poultry.

 

[Bleenie]

Update on post #1

 

[duckyfromoz]

Ear drops are topical...Very basically they work from the outside in...Antibiotics in the water work from the inside out. ( Another difference being that injested antiboitics need longer to work their way around the digestive system and bloodstream - the drops will be exactly where they are needed when applied. ) - If you are able to find some eardrops- it could help to speed up the process.. But It really depends on the cause and bacteria causing the infection.

 

[Attack Chicken]

When one of my chickens had an ear infection the vet game me some blue ear cleaning stuff that was for dogs/cats.

 

[katharinad]

It takes time. I would say you need to wait 5 days to really see it going away. That is also for how long the duck should be on drinkable antibiotic. I would give it for a whole week and extend it another one if it is still infected. BTW the blue dog cleaning stuff has really just some soap and vinegar in it. That is what a vet told me and he simply mixes his own and tells his customers to do the same. Mix your own vinegar water and it will work just fine. You can take some of the antibiotic drinking water and mix it with vinegar and rinse the ear. That gets a small dose of antibiotic into the infection and the vinegar dissolves the puss and lets it discharge. Vinegar also kills yeast bacteria.

 

[Quacking]

Quote:
Actually thats not really correct. Different types of antibiotics work in different ways. There are those that are injested either as a powder or in suspension fluid and have to go enter the bloodstream to be effective. Topical applications work by being absorbed into the skin. They are prescribed for different reasons and work in different ways. Its like saying next time you get a throat infection, rub the powdered contents of the capsule over your neck and it will make you better.

Bleenie, sorry to hear about your boy, but its better to go with the proper prescribed directions for medications. Ear drops are made for ears, soap is for washing off dirt and vinegar is for on chips and salad dressings. The ears are very delicate and I would be very hesitant to put anything into an animals ears that wasnt prescribed by or at least sold by a vet. Trying to clean the ear by the wrong method could actually move the infection deeper into the ear canal.

 

[Amiga]

I would not rule out something fungal, and antibiotic won't work for that. Can you get someone (vet? wildlife/duck rehabilitator?) to recommend something antifungal? There are various products, including herbal remedies (which some people use with success, and some discount - it's your call).

 

[Bleenie]

I'm going to call my Vet today(he's not open weekends) and see what he thinks would be best for him, maybe there's something I can get from the feed store or something I can just go in and pick up from him or take a sample of the icky gunk in for him to look at and go from there. Bommie was walking around more last night and this morning, the antibiotics are obviously affecting his tummy though but that's usually a sign that they're starting to get in there and go to work. Thank god we have Linoleum flooring in the kitchen

. I so badly wanna let him have a bath but i think it'll just make his ear hurt worse, i know when iget water in an achey ear it makes it a million times more painful.

thanks for all the help guys. if i get ahold of the vet today i will let you all know what he said.