Duck can barely walk, any ideas?

[RachaelS]

I got these ducks about 3 months ago, they were either 1 or 2 years old in April, the guy did not know for sure. A few weeks back this duck started walking funny, now she can barely walk at all. She does eat and her eyes don’t seem sick, however, she is very skinny. Picked her up yesterday and could feel her keel bone very easily. Thank you for any thoughts and suggestions.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I got these ducks about 3 months ago, they were either 1 or 2 years old in April, the guy did not know for sure. A few weeks back this duck started walking funny, now she can barely walk at all. She does eat and her eyes don’t seem sick, however, she is very skinny. Picked her up yesterday and could feel her keel bone very easily. Thank you for any thoughts and suggestions.

Okay not sure whats going on but a few questions, could she have eaten something toxic? has she ever been wormed do you have stagnant water any where she may have gotten into? you say she is eating but skinny which makes me think possibly worms. What do you feed and do you ever give supplements especially with niacin in them? How does her legs look? any swelling or unusual heat in them? look under her feet any sign that are not normal.? does she lay if so when?

 

[Amiga]

She may have egg yolk peritonitis, in which case she needs antibiotics a.s.a.p. and a good duck vet would be ideal.

 

[casportpony]

There are a couple of wormers you could use... Safeguard liquid for goats, Safeguard Paste for horses or Valbazen. You can get both of the Safeguards at Tractor Supply, Valbazen you would have to order. Do you have a way to weigh her?

According to a wiki page, Pekings normally weigh between 8 and 11 pounds (3.6 and 5 kilograms), but your girl is thin, so it would be best to have a rough idea of how much she weighs. Not only will it allow you to give medicine more accurately, it will tell you one way or the other if your treatment is working or not. Get me a weight and I'll get you a dose.

The The Duramycin 10 dose is:
400mg dose = 1/2 tablespoon per gallon
800mg dose = 1 tablespoon per gallon

That info can be found:
http://www.durvet.com/dl/Durvet-Poultry-Brochure.pdf

If I were to use it I would use the 800mg dose.

-Kathy

 

[SavageDestiny]

I'd get some nutritional yeast and add that to her diet to boost niacin as well. Flock Raiser doesn't usually have enough niacin for ducks, and niacin deficiency can cause leg issues.

 

[SavageDestiny]

First THANK YOU all for your help, I love this site! I did research and I don’t think it is egg yolk peritonitis because this has been going on for several weeks, I think she might be dead by now. However, still giving antibiotics, just in case.

Also, I don’t think it is a niacin issues because she has lost so much weight but eats with gusto! However, thank you so much for pointing that out. I needed to know that and will increase it for everyone. What are the benefits of nutritional yeast other than gut support? I feed fermented feed already but will add if needed.

At this point I have put 1ml of Ivermectin on her neck, I have put 1 tbls per gallon of Duramycin 10 in her water, and today gave her 0.9 Safeguard.

Ongoing I will give her 0.9 Safeguard in 4 days along with the Duramycin 10 in her water. I will also find a good source of Niacian.

Everyone gets a lot of garden extras, but I will see what else I can add. These guys were not kept in a bad way, but I really think they had worms. Their water source was a mud pit. However since they have arrived here they get to free range.

The extra benefits of nutritional yeast is the niacin. It also has a lot of other B vitamins in it as well. Brewers yeast works as well, but doesn't have the nutrient concentration that nutritional yeast does. It doesn't matter overmuch for your chickens, but a lot of people have had issues with niacin deficiency in their ducks on Flock Raiser. It just doesn't have enough. So I'd definitely add some in for your ducks.

 

[RachaelS]

Not sure about being wormed, I have not wormed them, not sure about other owner. I feed Purina Flock Raiser, fermented. I checked her legs and all seems okay, nothing unusual. Feet look good. I change their water and kiddie pool every day. None of my ducks are laying right now, they were but when temps hit 100 they stopped. I did go ahead and treat her with Ivermectin since I had some topical on hand. I am thinking worms also. She eats with gusto but I really felt her today and she is really light weight, all bones. The feathers make her seem bigger. She is a Sonxony if that makes a difference.

 

[RachaelS]

No duck vets in my area, I have Duramycin-10 on hand, would that work? If yes, what do I do with it?

 

[RachaelS]

She holds her "butt" lower than all the others not sure if that helps. Even my husband commented on it.

 

[Amiga]

Sounds like a reproductive problem. I would try the Duramycin-10. Let me see if I can find a dosage recommendation.

@Miss Lydia had a table of dosages, I think.

One reference from the forums I found was half a tablespoon per gallon for seven to ten days. I am not a vet, this is just a recommendation I found here.