12 year old Duck HELP

[Funniducki1]

Hello all!

We have a senior duck, she is almost 12 years old. She is a Runner/Cayuga mix and has always had amazing health. Normally she is strong, stubborn and energetic every day. In fact, I cannot remember a time when she was sick in the past twelve years.

Well, sometime last week I noticed her eyes had sunken in and her body posture was different. She was huddled. Her feathers were ruffled a bit. As we know, ducks hide sickness very well, so we felt like it was all of a sudden she had all of these symptoms.

Anyway, we decided to treat her with garlic tea and an herb mixture that consists of high plant nutrients. We use a syringe to get it down her throat. Well about 2-3 days after we noticed her being sick, one day I went out to feed the ducks and she was unable to walk. Like her legs would not work for her. As of right now though she is still eating, drinking and playing in the water with her head. Good signs

It is winter here, about 25-30 degrees here everyday. We moved her to a warmer shelter with her faithful drake to stay away from the wind and cold.

Does anyone have any idea of what we could do for her? Any suggestions? Does anyone know what this is called, have you heard of something like this before?

Any suggestions or help is much appreciated! Thank you very much I still believe this girl has a long life to live if we can help her with her legs.

 

[tdgill]

best wishes to your duck oxox

 

[jdywntr]

In young ducks it could be a number of things. If she is the only duck exhibiting these symptoms, it could be old age. 6-8 yrs is good in ducks though some live 15+.

I would say that if you really want to find out for sure, see if you can find a vet that treats waterfowl in your area.

You can try vitamins/electrolytes/niacin, what would be recommended for young birds. And it would be worth a try. Keep her warm and close to food/water.

Hope she recovers quickly.

 

[Funniducki1]

Thank you for the replies.

I am starting to begin to wonder if it is a niacin deficiency. I have had this in young, growing ducks that are getting enough in their diet. Their legs get weak and they can't walk. I don't think it's frostbite either~her feet have no frostbite symptoms.

Any other suggestions/ideas? I really don't think this happened because she is old...there has to be a bigger issue going on. It's not an infection most likely, because the garlic would of taken of care of that (being a strong natural antibiotic)..

Wondering.......

 

[jdywntr]

Its worth a shot. From what I have read niacin is only needed for young ducklings 10 weeks and under not on a natural or waterfowl diet. A supplement isn't needed in adults.

 

[Amiga]

If ducks are like many other animals, as they age it becomes more difficult for them to absorb the nutrients they need.

I would consider giving her a "superfood" diet, going with high-nutrient foods to supplement the standard diet. What is she fed? If she's not been laying for a while, I would not be giving her laying ration or oyster shell, as too much calcium strains the kidneys.

So in addition to a balanced nonlayer ration, I would add regular vitamins/electrolytes/probiotics to her water, give kale and other greens (except spinach) smoothie snacks with added supplements (you might need to do a little more research on this, I would).

Is it possible she got into something toxic? Activated charcoal (a food grade supplement) absorbs toxins in the gut and has no side effects that I know of. I would start adding that to her water right away.

 

[Funniducki1]

She is currently on a pelleted Nutrena Country Feeds All Flock 18%; which cracked corn mixed in for winter energy.

I haven't thought of the activated charcoal idea, thank you, I have lots of that.

I will continue to give her the superfood herbal supplement but also mixed in nutritional yeast/brewers yeast which is high in all B vitamins, just in case it's something like that. Thanks for the natural remedies suggestions. I also have some probiotics I can mixed into the mixture. Maybe She should have a warm bath today to take the weight off of her old legs..


Anyone else every experienced this before? Or more ideas? She doesn't seem to be going down hill or improving. Just staying pretty much the same.

 

[starbird]

This happened to one of our ducks in the late summer. She could not walk and moved around the yard with her wings. Otherwise she acted in her normal fashion. On the third day she was back to her normal self. I hope your duck gets better.

 

[Funniducki1]

Hmm, still trying natural remedies treatments and nothing has changed so far. Today I let her swim and then made sure she rested in dog kennel all day. I thought perhaps it would help her legs to rest. It's not like she is paralyzed, she can move her legs, especially in water. It's like her legs cannot support her weight. Maybe there is nerve or neurological damage. I don't know, and I don't understand it. Like I stated before, we are in the dead of winter, but it hasn't been too bad here. And average amount of snow and today stuff was melting.

She is eating, drinking, and moving around using her wings for support. She rests on her shanks sitting semi-up.

Anyone?? Has this happened to you and what is going on here?

Please please..

 

[Amiga]

I would love to help, but mine are only three years old. I cannot say if her problem is age related or not, really.

Could you get a fecal test for parasites?