Pekin male not walking/sick?

I have a 2 year old pekin male. Sunday I found him just laying on the ground, not wanting to get up. This is not normal for him at all. I read online to give him bananas so I did after goingto the store. He was up again when I fed him. This morning I went to check on them and he was again barely walking; toppling over to his side. He seemed dazed? I went to pick him up and he weighs nothing... I mean he was easily 10lbs before and is very light now. Nothing looks visually wrong, nothing broken, missing, bleeding... I fed him a veggy/feed mix and just left him next to his water. I have two other ducks and they seem totally fine, healthy, alert. Can someone tell me what they think? What should I do?

That's a tough situation.

Since you have the others that are fine, my first thought would be hardware disease. Did he eat something that isn't food at some time?

You could search for the instructions to perform a "charcoal flush" for him . ( never done that myself).

One other thing could also be nutritional, if his diet is lacking in the vitamins, it could cause leg problems plus neurological problems. (Niacin Supplements). Honestly , tho, due to his age , I really would think something else is going on. Supplementing vitamins will not hurt, but it may not necessarily "fix" his problem.

The third thought I had was some sort of parasite or bacterial infection. Is there any way that you could take a stool sample to a vet for analysis?

Thank you so much for the reply. They have free range of the yard, so it's possible he ate something... but I can't guess what. There hasn't been anything out of the ordinary out there and like you said, the other two are fine. I will look up about that flush. I was going to go to the store after work and get a supplement for him. I agree, can't hurt. He eats anything I give him, so he has an appetite at least.

I could possibly try to get a sample for the vet.. not sure. Is there a general medicine if it were that? Like a dewormer for dogs? I hesitate the online Google advice because I'm not sure if the different breeds of ducks/foul can handle the same medications. My vet is unfamiliar with ducks, so I may seek out another one.

Anyway, any suggestions welcome! Or if you have gone through this.

The thing about charcoal flush that I forgot to mention is that it could change the poo content, so I would start with that. I personally would think that any vet/scientist with a microscope could look at and identify any poo parasites. But I bet you'd have to phone the local ones and ask if they'd be willing. But really would think they'd be able to. @haunted55 I believe has experience in that area.

I think that observing your drake's food and water intake is a good sign. If he were no longer eating that would be a different story.

Well that's all I've got. I hope that somebody chimes in to help you more soon. Good luck.

Bump?

libellula said:

Bump?

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Maybe this will help.. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/700526/flushes-for-aiding-in-toxin-removal#post_9508213 you have to follow direction to the T.

thanks Holly, but to the question....just give them some charcoal. Get the capsules at your pharmacy or Wal-Mart and mix the contents with water and get it into them. As little water as possible. I normally just add enough to make a slurry I can get into them with a syringe. If they have gotten into poison, this will go a long way in helping them deal and get over the problem. It certainly can't hurt, charcoal is benign and always a good first course of action.

Haunted55 said:

thanks Holly, but to the question....just give them some charcoal. Get the capsules at your pharmacy or Wal-Mart and mix the contents with water and get it into them. As little water as possible. I normally just add enough to make a slurry I can get into them with a syringe. If they have gotten into poison, this will go a long way in helping them deal and get over the problem. It certainly can't hurt, charcoal is benign and always a good first course of action.

Click to expand...

Just remember to never force anything down their throats it could go into their lungs.

So as an update and hopefully more advice? I did that flush. I also bought a supplement with regular scratch feed (he likes that best) and have been giving him a steady supply of it. It seems like he has gained at least a couple pounds back and continues to eat and drink eagerly. However, he has still not walked since my first posting - at all. I put him in the coop at night and in the morning he hasn't moved an inch from where I left him. During the day I have moved him outside, next to one of the water pools in a shaded area. If I check on him hours later he is still in that spot. But! I did say update. This morning I moved him outside, gave him some food, and he started crawling? This baffles me. He will stand, then fall over; he seems very unbalanced but not really favoring one side over the other. But now he is literally crawling through the grass, pushing himself forward with his feet and sliding chest forward. Sort of like when they swim? I hope that makes sense. Has anyone seen this before? I want to believe its him getting better, but if not I don't want him in pain either. I just feel so bad.

So you have checked for physical causes: splinters, injuries?

& toxic chemical causes: The reason for the flush.

& nutritional imbalances.

That would lead me to Neurological. I am sorry to say, but at this point I think your best option is a poultry vet.