A change in your duck’s behavior or appearance should make you concerned for the health of the bird. A change, whether big or small, is a sign that there is something going on with the bird.
If your bird is coughing, and you need to figure out what to give the bird to stop coughing, then read on.
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What can I give my duck for a cough?
If your duck is coughing once or twice a day then you have nothing to worry about, ducks occasionally cough to get debris and dirt out of their nose.
You only need to start to worry if the bird’s coughing becomes too frequent and if the bird not only coughs but also coughs and shows other signs of being in distress or being sick.
If the bird coughs and shows signs of distress or sickness then this is what to give the bird:
Water:
Ducks need water when they feed, the duck feed that we give these animals is quite dry and can cause birds to cough.
If this is the case with your bird then you would need to feed the bird its feed along with water to help the feed go down easier and to keep the bird from coughing
If you’re feeding your bird a finely milled mash that releases a powder as the duck eats then the bird may start coughing after it eats.
You may want to switch from mash feed to pellet feed because the powdery mash may be causing the bird to cough
Antifungal treatment:
This treatment can be given to ducks who have Aspergillosis. Aspergillosis is a condition, a fungal infection, that develops when the spores of the aspergillus fumigatus are inhaled by ducks and cause them to cough.
Other signs of this fungal infection in ducks include isolation, lethargy, loss of appetite, bobbing of the tail, sneezing, and coughing.
The antifungal treatment that your bird would need is intense and lengthy, this ailment may take up to six months to treat.
Antibiotics:
If the bird has a bacterial infection like avian cholera, colibacillosis, or any other bacterial infection which causes coughing then the bird will need antibiotics to fight this infection off.
There are a variety of bacterial infections that can cause a duck to cough, for this reason, it is recommended that you take your bird to be examined and diagnosed by a vet before you administer antibiotics to your bird.
The vet will also be able to recommend the correct antibiotics for your bird’s condition as well as recommend the correct dosage of medication for your bird.
No medication:
If your bird has a viral infection, like infectious bronchitis, then the best thing you can do for your bird is to give the bird supportive treatment as this viral disease has no specific treatment.
If the bird develops a secondary viral infection then you can give the bird antibiotics to treat the secondary bacterial infection.
The best thing you can do for your bird is to give them an isolated, warm, and dry place to recover and to give them immune boosters to help their immune system fight off the infection
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other duck related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Duckling Is Coughing After Eating, Baby Duck Not Eating Or Drinking, Duckling Is Sneezing, How To Calm A Duck, Why Do Ducks Leave A Pond?