Duck swallowing non stop and making weird squeaking noise.

[Goosebaby]

Very interesting, @Goosebaby
I have Cayugas from Metzer as well. They’ve been healthy overall except for one hen that developed a touch of Angel Wing on one side (same diet/exercise as my other birds but she wouldn’t tolerate bandages). This hen has also prolapsed twice, the second time from a stuck egg. We since got a pool and our water tested - which showed our water leaches calcium from the environment, so I only feed Layer and free choice flaked seashells. Haven’t had the eggbound issue anymore, but she went through a very hard molt this year (before her 2yr birthday) and hasn’t picked up laying again. Her eggs haven’t incubated properly, either, they seem to be early or late quitters compared to my other successful hens, so I only eat her eggs usually.
I found this thread because my Buffs (not Metzer, got them locally) occasionally have the loss of quack/trying to swallow. I have a young hen that was hatched by a turkey and usually hangs with the turkeys, eating and doing what they do. So I’m not sure if she just doesn’t drink or swim as much as my other ducks and gorges at feed time. I’ve checked throats and massaged crops to rule out hardware disease or her picking up something hard like an acorn. My Buff drake has recently taken an interest in her and leads her to the nest and sleeps in the doorway to protect her, etc and last night he was doing that same thing. I can deworm if gapeworm is suspected (I have geese and turkeys as well, no other kinds of birds). None of them are listless or underweight and they free range all day long. I also give scratch with the pellets so wonder if the gorging is really the issue and once it moves farther down they’re ok.

It sounds like maybe a chronic reproductive issue, the angel wing could point to a metabolic issue or just an unrelated fluke but the laying issue is definitely concerning. There could be an issue causing her not to lay but it also may be a good thing that her body is taking the time to rest.

Since losing Moon and not constantly focusing on her symptoms and treating them individually I’ve had more time to think about what was wrong with her in a broader scope and I found a comment about Golden 300 layer ducks that was a lightbulb moment. Someone said that their’s tended to have much shorter lifespans due to the excessive laying and named a lot of Moonbeam’s symptoms so I’m now positive the root of her problem was a reproductive issue all along. she was a borderline chronic layer, she laid far more than my other hens and it wasn’t uncommon for her to lay thin shelled eggs, I’d give her extra calcium and she had constant access to free choice oyster and egg shells but that issue never completely resolved. It would always reappear. I figured it was a symptom of whatever the issue with her poor feathers was but now I think that was the other way around, the root of the issues, her body was sacrificing everything to keep laying.

 

[chickachicka12345]

Can you get a good look inside of her beak for any obstructions?

@Miss Lydia @shawluvsbirds @ruthhope

choke?