- Nov 16, 2015
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Hi guys
just wondering if anyone has dealt (by this I mean you have a certain diagnosis) with this parasite in ducks before? Most of what I google about it is relating to pigeons and other non waterfowl avian species, rather than ducks. I have had it confirmed in two ducks and lost 3 others which I suspect also had it, it was confirmed by my vet seeing the parasite in fecal slides, and also by the ducks responding to a course of metronidazole. My vet has given me some extra metronidazole but also explained the parasite needs to be confirmed my microscope So till now I have not used the extra metronidazole.
I now have a 3 week old duckling with unexplained loss of balance and incoordination and found one site that mentioned this as a symptom of infection and most others did not, but most sites talk about how it presents in pigeons and doves, who apparently present with lesions in their mouth and throat. I also read a few references to lesions in the mouth and throat in chickens. Neither of my ducks who were confirmed with the parasites had any visible lesions in their mouths, neither did the 3 who died who i am pretty confident had it (and died before veterinary care was available)
So anyway i am guessing that this parasite is going to look different in ducks and waterfowl than it might in other birds.
I now have a 3 week old duckling who is rather special. She had to have surgery at a few days old to remove a third leg which grew in the middle of her belly and was causing problems. She recovered from this without any issues, and was fine till a few days ago when her balance started to go. I gave her ivermectin as a couple of ducklings the same age had this issue and recovered fully after ivermectin. She seemed to improve and be almost back to normal till today when she has suddenly gotten worse. Her area underneath by her vent is dirty.… Not with pasty poop or or any visible poop, more that she has not preened there, and its just all grubby.
So i am wondering if anyone has had this, apparently very contagious disease in ducks and seen any balance issues? It is definitely active on my property as i had a duck at the vet 5 days ago who had a positive fecal slide for it.
The duckling has not been near the adult ducks or rest of the flock (it is one of three being raised by me indoors away from the other ducks in my flock) for about 1 and a half to 2 weeks but in its first week they were outside on ground away from where most the flock would sit and sleep but not completely outside the area the other ducks were in, so it is unlikely to have been exposed in the last 10-15 days but could have been earlier. Her mucus membranes appear a normal color, not anaemic, (as my other concern was that somehow she ate something heavy metal - I am very careful about that sort of thing but a couple of times have dropped a nail/screw outside and searched for ages and ages, including with a magnet and just could not find it -isn’t it strange how you drop something like that and you see it hit the ground but then if you do find it it’s miles away from where it landed)
Anyway i have started her on the antibiotic and will be getting her to the vet as soon as i can get an appointment (unless i see a dramatic improvement by morning to indicate the metronidazole is working), but would love to hear from anhome who has seen this in their birds and had it confirmed by a vet, what symptoms you saw in your birds, and particularly if you saw any non typical symptoms?
just wondering if anyone has dealt (by this I mean you have a certain diagnosis) with this parasite in ducks before? Most of what I google about it is relating to pigeons and other non waterfowl avian species, rather than ducks. I have had it confirmed in two ducks and lost 3 others which I suspect also had it, it was confirmed by my vet seeing the parasite in fecal slides, and also by the ducks responding to a course of metronidazole. My vet has given me some extra metronidazole but also explained the parasite needs to be confirmed my microscope So till now I have not used the extra metronidazole.
I now have a 3 week old duckling with unexplained loss of balance and incoordination and found one site that mentioned this as a symptom of infection and most others did not, but most sites talk about how it presents in pigeons and doves, who apparently present with lesions in their mouth and throat. I also read a few references to lesions in the mouth and throat in chickens. Neither of my ducks who were confirmed with the parasites had any visible lesions in their mouths, neither did the 3 who died who i am pretty confident had it (and died before veterinary care was available)
So anyway i am guessing that this parasite is going to look different in ducks and waterfowl than it might in other birds.
I now have a 3 week old duckling who is rather special. She had to have surgery at a few days old to remove a third leg which grew in the middle of her belly and was causing problems. She recovered from this without any issues, and was fine till a few days ago when her balance started to go. I gave her ivermectin as a couple of ducklings the same age had this issue and recovered fully after ivermectin. She seemed to improve and be almost back to normal till today when she has suddenly gotten worse. Her area underneath by her vent is dirty.… Not with pasty poop or or any visible poop, more that she has not preened there, and its just all grubby.
So i am wondering if anyone has had this, apparently very contagious disease in ducks and seen any balance issues? It is definitely active on my property as i had a duck at the vet 5 days ago who had a positive fecal slide for it.
The duckling has not been near the adult ducks or rest of the flock (it is one of three being raised by me indoors away from the other ducks in my flock) for about 1 and a half to 2 weeks but in its first week they were outside on ground away from where most the flock would sit and sleep but not completely outside the area the other ducks were in, so it is unlikely to have been exposed in the last 10-15 days but could have been earlier. Her mucus membranes appear a normal color, not anaemic, (as my other concern was that somehow she ate something heavy metal - I am very careful about that sort of thing but a couple of times have dropped a nail/screw outside and searched for ages and ages, including with a magnet and just could not find it -isn’t it strange how you drop something like that and you see it hit the ground but then if you do find it it’s miles away from where it landed)
Anyway i have started her on the antibiotic and will be getting her to the vet as soon as i can get an appointment (unless i see a dramatic improvement by morning to indicate the metronidazole is working), but would love to hear from anhome who has seen this in their birds and had it confirmed by a vet, what symptoms you saw in your birds, and particularly if you saw any non typical symptoms?
