Can ducks get Mareks?

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lilshadow

lilshadow

Songster
12 Years
Jan 8, 2008
893
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161
Milaca, MN
My friend went out and checked on her ducks one night, and the next morning one of the ducks could not walk, he wasn't walking, his head was moving uncontrollably, it looked like it was actually dizzy, it can't stand nothing. It's feet are turning black. I have read articals about mareks but see no symptoms. Now the duck has stopped drinking, and eating. She is getting ready to cull the duck, but we are just wondering what could have possibly caused this. None of the other ducks are sick like this.
 
How sad, I had the same thing happen with 2 ducks that i sold to a lady, here is the thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=28229
It sounds like botulism and if it is the duck will die quickly.
Justt ell her check the yard for old scraps etc so the others dont get into it if that is what it is!
Im sorry to hear this, im sure you will get more advice.
 
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According to the Merck Veterinary Manual; chickens, quail and turkeys are the only avian species affected by Marek's Disease.

Could the duck have eaten a metal object? Tremors is one of the signs of heavy metal poisoning, but with the feet turning black I am just throwing out ideas.
 
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That is what we thought, but the nieghbor said that ducks don't get frost bite. I had told her that it looked like his feet were frostbite. It was very very cold that night.
 
Funny, anything can get frostbite. Duck usually don't , but they can. I'm not sure how to check and make sure it is that, but was it cold that night?? Also, they will not go black right away, they usually go pale and as the tissue dies it turns black, they would have actually froze days ago. It is also very painfully when it thaw out which would explain the actions of the duck.
 
If the feet are black, it is frostbite.
The tremors can be nutritional deficiency or just plain old pain. It sounds liek the duck's feet froze and as they started thawing, the pain was so incredible that the duck stopped eating and walking.
sad.png

It sounds like the kindest thing for that poor duck would be to put it down.
 
Thank you so much for everyone's input. I do believe that we have it figured out. The morning she found him his feet were really pale, now they are turning black. His back toe is getting ready to fall of. This leads us to believe that he has frostbite, because the tissue is dying. They are going to put him down in the morning, because he is suffering.
 

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