Battle with Botulism and Niacin Deficiency

[GeeseMama]

Miss Lady Luck the duck came to us barely able to move, severely under weight, dirty, smelly, and scared. I was severely bummed when I notice the tell tale diarrhea, limp neck, and eye issues that accompany Botulism but according to her previous owner she had been like that for four or five days so I knew she had a fighting spirit. After fighting Botulism for over a month she started to come around but it was apparent that there was another underlying issue when she was still unable to walk. After almost four total months of treatments with Brewer's yeast with Niacin, colloidal silver, baths three times a day, constant cage cleaning, keeping her inside to keep her warm, building her a custom small pen when it was time to move outside, keeping her water and food close to her all of the time to encourage her to eat more, and some plain old TLC ; I am happy to announce that Miss Lady Luck has made a full recovery and just has a slight limp. It was a long road that most people wouldn't travwrsd but totally worth it. She is a happy healthy girl and has integrated well into the flock.

 

[Isaac 0]

Glad to hear she is better.... You are aware that the toxin that causes Botulism ( Clostridium botulinum), is one of the most lethal/deadly toxins known to man? Most birds die within a day or two after ingestion. The odd are that she was fighting it for over a month, In my opinion, would be little to none. I would be more inclined to think she had a few underlying problems likely caused by improper management practices of her original owners.

Again, I am glad to hear she is doing better. In the picture, her left hock looks swollen, how long as it been like that?

 

[GeeseMama]

In some cases if the duck is able to make it through the first couple of days of infection then they usually make a decent recovery. It may take a while, usually a month or so but some do recover. She did indeed have other issues such as the niacin deficiency. The swelling is a result of this because of the severity. Also I did say that with everything it has taking over three months not one.

 

[Miss Lydia]

What a sweet story of a fighting spirit and recovery!