Indian runner hoarse voice/losing voice

[sunflower21]

Hi everybody,

I'm turning to you in the hope for some advice/help.

At the beginning of January, I noticed that my 7-year-old runner duck Imma couldn't quack as loud as she used to but sounded
hoars. A week later she started what I would say is sneezing - so I gave her VetRx.
I was worried because I lost an 8,5-years duck in December due to a breathing issue. This duck all of a sudden gasped for air.
I brought her immediately to the vet - x-ray showed that the lung was in bad condition - either a tumor, maybe aspergillus, or other lung condition (vet couldn't say).
Separated her from the flock and ran her 2 days on Enrofloxacin but she hardly could get a breath :-( - so the vet hat to put her to sleep.

Imma's x-ray is fine so the vet's best guess was an upper respiratory infection. So I ran her 14 days on 5mg/kg Enrofloxacin orally.
But the condition didn't improve - the hoarseness got worse.
The vet recommended I should apply a one-time dose of 1-2 drops of Ivermectin (1%) and her skin - to rule out air sack mites.
That was 14 days ago but no improvement.
The vet thinks I shouldn't be too worried - yes voice could indicate something serious but since her breathing is fine... well
I am very worried :-(. When she tries to scream her beak opens but it is barely audible squeak - quieter tones are kind of high pitched.

Other than the hoarseness she is more or less fine- lost a bit of weight loss (beginning of the year about 1,7 kg and now 1,6 kg)
and the first one to lay down in the barn. The rest of the flock is fine as far as I can tell.
I am really worried and desperate and would really appreciate any hint or input.

 

[Isaac 0]

Do you have a video of her trying to talk?

Considering the suddenness, and lack of other symptoms, it's possible she suffered from tracheal/syrinx damage, which can result after inhaling sharp, or large foreign material into the airway. I have noted the frequency of this problem more common in older hens; the last hen I had lost her voice for a few weeks and was unable to quack, but eventually gained her voice back.

If you're not seeing dyspnea, she is eating/drinking well, I would say continue to monitor her, and hopefully, she'll regain her voice.

 

[sunflower21]

Hi Issac,

thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my post.
Your post really helped me calm down a bit!
I'll get a video of her condition asap.

How did you realize they had swallowed/inhaled a sharp or a big object - were you able to feel it? And did you give them any meds or supplements etc to support the healing?

​

 

[Isaac 0]

thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my post.

@sunflower21 , You're welcome - I did not physically feel the object, so that's my hypothesis of what she had, but the diagnosis will still never be certain. Inhalation of sharp/rough material is fairly common. Here is some information on the topic:

http://www.majesticwaterfowl.org/mmissue105.htm

 

[sunflower21]

@Isaac 0 wow the link is really interesting - thanks again. The site mentions giving a small and short time dose of metacam to reduce a potential swelling. As it turns out it I have some left from the cat. I guess I could give her some of it. The label says Metacam 0.5mg for cats - but a quick search revealed there is a stronger version but not a specific version for ducks. But the right dose is another thing..

I used my cell for the video/audio - so pls bear with me. There is a short static noise in the middle so using headphones might not be the best idea. Plus Imma is very camera shy..... very. In the video, she sounds more like a raven. Unfortunately, I couldn't capture the moments where she opens her beak and just quite scratches come out.

A Short MP3-File of her (5 sec)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dIFlmrYLPHHMn1BPcA9ejG0RFz4VdgV3/view?usp=sharing

Youtube Video ( 54 sec)

[/MEDIA]