Oil Gland Blocked?

[Deleted member 94844]

Okay, something is going on with Nibbeh’s oil gland... the past few weeks I’ve been noticing that the feathers around it were yellowing, but chalked it up to him getting old and just not preening himself as well as he used to... they are also molting so everyone is a mess.

Today I saw some red and looked at it closer... is the gland supposed to be this large? I thought it was just a small stump, but this is huge and feels so hard. Nothing seems to be coming out so worried that it’s clogged or hardened inside.

Attaching a pic... help!

 

[Isaac 0]

Rub you fingers around the area, does it feel oily?

 

[Deleted member 94844]

There is some coagulated yellow oil around his feathers, but nothing was coming out of the gland and it was hard as a rock... I removed the blockage best I could with a lance and now oil is coming out on both sides... some yellow/brown goop came out as well, so may be an infection. I massaged the area with a hot compress (which seemed to loosen things up) doused with hydrogen peroxide, and gave him what little bit of Baytril I had left. Ordering more now. Plan is to keep him in the pen for a few days, do daily compresses, and see if it improves.

 

[Deleted member 94844]

By the way, there are ZERO good pics of a duck’s oil gland on the Internet... I remember this being a small nub, but with no reference pics it is difficult to discern how swollen or malformed it is. There appear to be two symmetrical slits on either side.

 

[Isaac 0]

There is some coagulated yellow oil around his feathers, but nothing was coming out of the gland and it was hard as a rock... I removed the blockage best I could with a lance and now oil is coming out on both sides... some yellow/brown goop came out as well, so may be an infection. I massaged the area with a hot compress (which seemed to loosen things up) doused with hydrogen peroxide, and gave him what little bit of Baytril I had left. Ordering more now. Plan is to keep him in the pen for a few days, do daily compresses, and see if it improves.

That is what I was going to recommend, but you should never start a bird on an antibotic if you don't have enough for a full treatment. How many ML's do you have left, what % is the Baytril?

 

[Deleted member 94844]

It should arrive Tuesday... it’s the 10% oral solution. Just a few drops left.

 

[Deleted member 94844]

I also took tweezers and pulled out the feathers on the gland, mostly so I could better see what I was doing and help keep the area clean... some oil came out of the holes which was so weird, assuming it’s really backed up around there? Aside from warm compresses is there anything else I can do to release the hardened oil? Really don’t want to cut it and risk more infection than there already is.

 

[Isaac 0]

It does look backed-up.

Do you remember how the area felt, firm, soft, hard? If the area is really clogged, it may need to be lanced and have the puss/oil squeezed out. This might be better to do after the antibotic treatment.

Or, you could try the antibiotics, and warm compress and see if the swelling recedes, but if it doesn't what I suggested first may be needed.

 

[Deleted member 94844]

Here’s a better pic with the feathers out... it looks white from the peroxide doing it’s job.

Feel so bad, the pressure must be killing him. Mad at myself for not seeing this sooner. He’s been avoiding me and now I know why, should have realized something was wrong.

 

[Deleted member 94844]

I used a really long needle and inserted it blunt end first into the openings... there was obviously a clog as there was resistance and then I pushed through. Needle goes in very deep now without issue, about an inch. I sort of gently moved it around and it released some goop and oil that came out. Didn’t seem to hurt him and no blood came out, just a little brownish discharge. Didn’t realize there were two openings to the gland. Very interesting. Wish there were better pics online.