Duck vomiting white chunks!

[clbarley]

So in oregon we have gotten so much snow in the past two days. I locked a much ducks in their house. Tonight when I went out to check on them and feed we have a duck that is lame. I brought her in, have her a warm bath and she perked up. Now she is drinking but also every time she quacks or when she quacks she vomits this chunky white almost cheese curd looking stuff.....all she wants to do is none stop drink.

Any thoughts?

 

[clbarley]

I have "Albon" it is an antibiotic. I gave her a dose.

 

[clbarley]

She will drink for a whole and then she will stand up and shake her head really weird and vomit all the water back up.

 

[clbarley]

She made it through the night. Still really vomiting this white stuff.

 

[subhanalah]

I would get the duckling to a vet. ASAP. Dehydration is a very dangerous thing at this point. At least they could give her some fluids and hopefully tell you what's wrong.

 

[Amiga]

I can share some thoughts here. Praying for you both.

White chunks. my first thought was candida - yeast infection. Could it be she has a very bad case of thrush, which is a fungal infection?

Next thought - impaction. Did she get into something like paper, toilet tissue, etc., that may have blocked her digestive tract and now she's trying to get rid of it?

Next - some kind of parasite I am unfamiliar with?

Have you looked closely at those chunks, especially with a magnifying glass? Hard? Soft? Smelly? Slimy? Fibrous?

Vet is best, and sometimes they cannot be found.

If the material is fibrous, I suspect she got into something. I would try giving a tiny bit of cod liver oil and massaging, see if it loosens and goes down or consider following the Storey's Guide advice for working it up and out of the mouth. Choking is always a concern, so having help, being prepared to hold the duck carefully upside down with the neck extended would be helpful.

If it is more like cottage cheese, that sounds more like yeast infection. I am trying to think of what would be useful there. Cod liver oil may be helpful in any case. Longer term you would need an antifungal treatment and probiotics. Coconut oil is said to be anti fungal, and that may be better in this case than the cod liver oil because it both lubricates and kills yeast (this is from things I have read).

Storey's Guide, treatment for esophagus impaction:

the wad of material can often be kneaded loose by gently massaging the compaction from the outside, working it back up and out of the mouth. (Tubing the bird with warm water and then holding it upside down while massaging the compaction is often helpful (note from Amiga - do not hold them by the legs, they are easily broken)). If relief cannot be achieved by external methods, the blockage may have to be removed surgically.

To prepare for this operation, pluck the feathers directly over the impaction a few at a time until an area approximately 1 1/2 inches in diameter is exposed. After washing your hands with soap and warm water for several minutes, drench the plucked patch with peroxide, gently tighten the skin by stretching it between the thumb and index finger, and make a shallow, inch-long incision through the skin with a sterilized (boiled for 3 minutes) knife, such as an X-Acto knife with a new blade. A second incision is made through the wall of the esophagus.

Using your finger or a sterilized, blunt instrument, remove the troublesome material from the esophagus and then rinse with clean, warm water. Using a fine needle and gut suture material (gut must be used so that it will dissolve), draw the incised edges of the esophagus together with three or four single stitches that are tied off separately. The outer cut can be sewn in a similar manner, except that silk thread should be used. When finished, wash the incision with peroxide, apply an antibiotic ointment, force-feed several capsules of cod-liver oil, and provide drinking water, but no feed, for 24 hours. Thereafter, supply small quantities of easily digested greens, such as lettuce, and pellets several times daily until the stitches are removed. Apply an antibiotic ointment daily until signs of inflammation have dissipated. The outer sutures can be taken out after about a week.

end of quote

 

[clbarley]

I can share some thoughts here.  Praying for you both.

White chunks.  my first thought was candida - yeast infection.  Could it be she has a very bad case of thrush, which is a fungal infection?

Next thought - impaction.  Did she get into something like paper, toilet tissue, etc., that may have blocked her digestive tract and now she's trying to get rid of it?

Next - some kind of parasite I am unfamiliar with?

Have you looked closely at those chunks, especially with a magnifying glass?  Hard?  Soft? Smelly? Slimy? Fibrous?

Vet is best, and sometimes they cannot be found.

If the material is fibrous, I suspect she got into something.  I would try giving a tiny bit of cod liver oil and massaging, see if it loosens and goes down or consider following the Storey's Guide advice for working it up and out of the mouth.  Choking is always a concern, so having help, being prepared to hold the duck carefully upside down with the neck extended would be helpful.

If it is more like cottage cheese, that sounds more like yeast infection.  I am trying to think of what would be useful there.  Cod liver oil may be helpful in any case.  Longer term you would need an antifungal treatment and probiotics.  Coconut oil is said to be anti fungal, and that may be better in this case than the cod liver oil because it both lubricates and kills yeast (this is from things I have read).

Storey's Guide, treatment for esophagus impaction:

the wad of material can often be kneaded loose by gently massaging the compaction from the outside, working it back up and out of the mouth.  (Tubing the bird with warm water and then holding it upside down while massaging the compaction is often helpful (note from Amiga - do not hold them by the legs, they are easily broken)).  If relief cannot be achieved by external methods, the blockage may have to be removed surgically.

To prepare for this operation, pluck the feathers directly over the impaction a few at a time until an area approximately 1 1/2 inches in diameter is exposed.  After washing your hands with soap and warm water for several minutes, drench the plucked patch with peroxide, gently tighten the skin by stretching it between the thumb and index finger, and make a shallow, inch-long incision through the skin with a sterilized (boiled for 3 minutes) knife, such as an X-Acto knife with a new blade.  A second incision is made through the wall of the esophagus.

Using your finger or a sterilized, blunt instrument, remove the troublesome material from the esophagus and then rinse with clean, warm water.  Using a fine needle and gut suture material (gut must be used so that it will dissolve), draw the incised edges of the esophagus together with three or four single stitches that are tied off separately.  The outer cut can be sewn in a similar manner, except that silk thread should be used.  When finished, wash the incision with peroxide, apply an antibiotic ointment, force-feed several capsules of cod-liver oil, and provide drinking water, but no feed, for 24 hours.  Thereafter, supply small quantities of easily digested greens, such as lettuce, and pellets several times daily until the stitches are removed.  Apply an antibiotic ointment daily until signs of inflammation have dissipated.  The outer sutures can be taken out after about a week.

end of quote

I have looked and felt the white chunks. They do smell weird I can't put my finger on a comparison. They are soft and mucusy. My husband says it looks like her food....she also isn't quacking which is very unlike my ducks.

When she drinks water also comes out her nose as she is drinking.

She is awake this morning not standing up but she is alert.

We just had a massive snow storm and everything is closed in my area and we live so far out in the country they don't plow I'm not sure if I could get into the vet.

 

[Amiga]

What kind of edible oils do you have in your house?

Has she been passing anything?

 

[clbarley]

She is pooping but very little if that is what you mean by passing. She is still getting white stuff out of her.

She won't eat her food.

I have coconut oil and cold pressed olive oil.

 

[Amiga]

See if you can get her to take in a teaspoon of the coconut oil. I am thinking lubricant, anti fungal. I think it is also mildly antibacterial, so it may be the best thing to try. Olive oil is also somewhat antibacterial. As far as how to get it into her, let's try to be creative. Will she just eat it, floating on some water, or if the water is 85F, perhaps it can melt and float in the water and she can just drink it down.

Something - as you know - seems to be blocking her digestive tract. I am thinking about ways to safely soften whatever it is, help it slide out one way or the other, and maybe even start working on the root of the problem.