Odd behaviour in mulard

[Frank Phinster]

Hello Everybody,
it's been a while since I've been active here, but now I have an issue and need some advice.

My mulard has been acting strange lately.

A few days ago she began to go into "spasms". I documented one of these episodes with the camera of my smartphone. I already caught her and gave her a quick examination to make sure that it wasn't egg binding. Since I couldn't feel anything besides her hip bones and pygostyl I am certain that this is not the issue.



It begins with her standing quite upright. Then the tension seems to leave her body and she props herself up with her bill.


now she starts to also use her wings for support of her weight.



The head goes up again while she starts so sit down.



The head goes down again as if she tried to stay on her feet.



She finally sits down, seemingly in distress.

The next moment she behaves completely normal and relaxed again. The only permanent change I could make out is that while walking her behind points rather downwards than slightly upwards. Otherwise she behaves normally, she eats, drinks, forages and engages in social interaction. The moment I am after her to check her she walks completely normal again with her tail pointing slightly upwards.


Has anybody any idea what this could be? I suspect that it might have something to do with her perpetual limp. She has had trouble walking as long as I got her (and assumedly before), be it either from and old injury or her weight.

I'm grateful for any advice

 

[drumstick diva]

You may want to post on the "emergencies, diseases, injuries, cures " thread - in full detail. Still photos don't really show what she does. If you could do a short video it would be more obvious..

Has she been getting into anything that could harm her, like weed killer or rodent bait, or even fertilized grass etc. Ducks sometimes have a niacin deficiency. I hope she will be alright.

 

[Orca5094]

I agree that a video would be more helpful for us to visualize what is happening if you're able to post one. Could be weakness from her ongoing leg issues (I have a duck with a similar problem), seizures, or her trying desperately to hide an illness of some sort. Are you familiar with how to feel a duck's keel to assess body condition (really you're feeling how much "meat" or muscle there is on either side of the keel bone that goes down the middle of their chests)? If not, you could do a google search and find a site that can show you how. If she is super skinny she is likely ill and trying to hide it as long as possible, these falling episodes could be her failing to be able to hide it for much longer.

Anyway, can you try to post a video of the behavior for us? I think that will help alot so we can try to pinpoint the problem. Otherwise, I do suggest a vet visit if at all possible.

 

[Frank Phinster]

Thank you very much for your replies.

I will try to make a video. Since I only have a smartphone at my disposition the quality will leave much to desire, but better than nothing I suppose.

When I picked her up yesterday she was heavy as always and I couldn't feel her keel. To be completely sure I will catch her again tonight after I've hearded her into the shed because she's very uncooperative.

I don't think that she has ingested anything harmful, at least nothing along the line of fertilizer, weed killer or poison has been applied in the backyard for months.

 

[Orca5094]

Ok, any video will be great! Doesn't have to be HD or anything for us to see the behavior.

Also, if you can feel the keel of at least one other of your ducks at the same time to compare body conditions, that will also be helpful. It takes a bit of experience to gauge a bird's health by feeling their keel, but it does help alot to have several to compare with just to get a feel for what is normal/good. Also, some birds are just thinner than others by nature, so if you feel their keels on a regular basis, you can kind of keep track of their condition that way as well.

 

[Frank Phinster]

Didn't get a good performance from her so far because she behaved pretty normal for most of the afternoon, I'll keep you updated.

I have a little experience at keel feeling, before my pekin duck died of old age she became noticeably thinner and suddenly I could feel her keel where I couldn't before. Whenever I check a duck I find suspicious I also check for the keel to make sure that it hasn't lost weight.

 

[Frank Phinster]

Finally, a video of one of her seisures, taken this morning. The quality is not the greatest,but I hope it suffices.

 

[Ravynscroft]

Not sure what is going on with her, but she looks healthy otherwise... my 2 thoughts are either neurological (head injury or tumor pressing nerves) or something with her ears/inner ear... ear infections or ear mites can cause issues with the inner ear and result in loss of balance... it looks like she just becomes disoriented and has no balance...
I hope you can figure it out and wish you luck...

 

[Orca5094]

Wow, ok. Thanks for the video! It looks neurological to me as well. Is there any way you can take her to an avian vet? And are you absolutely positive she is eating? Ducks do fake eating when they are sick, they will pick at food and appear to be eating, but not actually swallowing anything. At any rate, I would be pretty worried if one of my ducks was behaving this way, so I would definitely suggest a vet's help here.

 

[Frank Phinster]

Thanks for your contributions, I hadn't thought about neurological issues or problems concerning her inner ear yet.
I'm pretty sure she's eating. She also still goes foraging and gets around quite well.

Getting her to an avian vet will be a problem though because there's no expert in my proximity where I could bring her without a car, and the one in walking distance has a thing for esoteric believes, waves a pendulum in front of your pet to see whether it will tolerate the medication. But I guess she's better than nothing.