Duck can stand but can't walk

[Jillg]

When I went to put my birds away I noticed one of my ducks sitting on the ground and she didn't run away as I approached her. She struggled to get up and tried to walk, but kept falling forward. I brought her up to my smaller coop and I have her in a dog crate. Any ideas of what could cause this? I have always fed them chicken feed. I switched to a feed that our local menenites make, but it's been several weeks since we switched.

 

[Orca5094]

Has she been laying? Could she be egg bound? If you feel down near her vent and gently push in, can you feel an egg in there? If she hasn't laid for you in the last day or so, I'd get her into a warm bath and let her soak for awhile. If she's egg bound that will often help them relax the muscles and be able to release the egg.

If it's not that, does she feel thin when you feel her keel? Has she been eating for you? I know it might be hard to tell if you have her in with other birds, but now that she's separated keep an eye on how much she is eating/drinking for you. She could be sick with something and have gotten too weak to walk.

Have you checked her legs really well for any signs of injuries (swelling, etc) or can you find any injuries or blood hidden anywhere on her body under her feathers?

A vet is always the best thing to do in these situations so you can figure out exactly what's wrong and get her the proper help. My suggestions are just a preliminary check of things to try and look at right now before getting her to a vet. It's usually something serious when they can no longer walk and they need quick help. Very important that she is eating, so give her some of her favorite treats and see what she does.

 

[Amiga]

All of what Orca wrote, and I would also start giving an extra 50 mg of calcium daily, at least for a while - standard layer feed does not, based on my experience with my Runners have quite the calcium needed by ducks that do some extra foraging. My current guess is that they are eating things that throw off the balance of phosphorus to calcium, or something similar. So I bump up the calcium even when feeding layer, as several of my ducks do not eat enough free choice crushed oyster shell to make up the difference.

Low calcium can cause laying and cardiovascular problems.