Duck cant stand. Happened suddenly.

[BeccaV]

@Miss Lydia
Hi everyone. I need help for a sick duck. I read the sticky thread about niacin deficiency and I'm up in the air about whether that applies in this case

Background:
I have a runner hen who can't use her legs and it happened overnight.
She's approx 1 and 1/2 half to two years old. I've had her for around six months.
When we got her she didn't have many feathers on the tips of her wings. I assumed was moulting but they never really did grow back.
A week ago she finally came off of some eggs she'd been sitting on for 28 days. None of them hatched.
She lost a lot of weight during that time, also more wing feathers.
I came home day before yesterday and she wouldn't get out of the pond to eat with the others. Yesterday morning she was out but falling forward frequently.
I brought her in for a warm soak and checked her feet. No bumble or injury there that i could detect. I put her in her own enclosure and this morning I saw that she had finally eaten some of her food. I had put poultry cell on the pellets.
Its noon here and she's not improved. She cant stand and is dragging herself when she wants to move.
When i washed her off this morning I did notice a bump/knot under the feathers on the top of her tail towards the back. It's about the size of my pinky fingernail. Other than that no visible ailments. She is very alert and seems to have all of her other faculties.
What to do? ☹

 

[KaleIAm]

Hi, I'm sorry to hear about your duck. Do you think the bump/knot could be her preen gland?

I don't have any experience with niacin deficiency. I do have experience with my duck having a fracture and obturator paralysis. In both cases my duck became suddenly unable to use her leg. We went to the vet for diagnosis and treatment.

 

[Duckbreeder2020]

This has happened before, when she was sitting on the eggs her legs got weak from now moving regularly like she should. The weight list proves it. Get warm water in a tub, put the duck in it and have her swim in it for a little bit, around 10 min everyday. Make sure she stays hydrated and well fed. Keep us updated on your duck.

 

[Miss Lydia]

@BeccaV I think the preen gland is what you say with the bump.
They can get run down so fast especially when they don't have much body weight any way being Runners. I'd def make sure she is eating and drinking.

You might even want to consider tube feeding her just in case.
I had a sick Runner recently and only thing I could think that could be wrong was infection of some kind I brought her inside and started Baytril for antibiotic and to tube feed her . Finally after 7 days she was able to go back outside. And is doing great now. Tube feeding helps them from losing any more weight and using baby bird food your giving them the right amount of vitamins they need while healing. I will get you the info. And listen It isn't hard to do honest. This was the first time I had ever tube fed one of my birds and her an I both made it through.

 

[Isaac 0]

Sudden lameness in waterfowl is most likely to be caused by either trauma to the legs, obturator paralysis, or possible toxicosis. Since you felt both legs, and there doesn't appear to be any sign of injury, and from what you've mentioned, lameness is her only symptom, no present signs of paralysis of the neck, or wings, etc, which would be common with toxicosis. It would seem that the most likely scenario is an egg is pressing up along her obturator nerve and is causing paralysis.

Whether if that's the case, we don't know, and we won't be able to know unless a radiograph is done. It won't hurt to give her some sort of calcium supplement to encourage the egg out. You could give her some tums, or 1ml of calcium gluconate 23% orally, and see if that helps. In addition, keep her in a soft padded area with plenty of traction to avoid further splaying of the legs, and continually her electrotypes or sugar water often to keep her hydrated.

I agree with Miss Lyida, that it may be a good idea to get a baseline weight on her, so if she continues to act sick, you can see if she's losing enough eight that she should be tube fed. 5 to 10% decrease would grant that.

 

[BeccaV]

@Miss Lydia
Thank you! That would be very much appreciated

 

[Isaac 0]

Here is some info on Tube feeding :

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/tube-feeding-ducks-updated-5-7-2020.1211994/
https://lafeber.com/vet/tube-feeding-birds/
https://www.teediddlydee.com/how-to-tube-feed-sick-ducks/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/posts/22897426/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ng-guide-pictures-under-construction.1064392/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/tube-feeding-ducks-updated-5-7-2020.1211994/

Here is a video of a vet tube-feeding. I do the same method with mine :

Here is info on Obutatur paraylisis :

http://www.majesticwaterfowl.org/mm...lysis is more common,or who lay abnormal eggs.

 

[BeccaV]

@issac Ok gotcha. So I should start worrying about tube feeding if she has a 5 to 10% decrease in her current weight? Or the weight that I believe she was at before this started? She is eating some food.

 

[Isaac 0]

@issac Ok gotcha. So I should start worrying about tube feeding if she has a 5 to 10% decrease in her current weight? Or the weight that I believe she was at before this started? She is eating some food.

I wouldn't worry about tube feeding unless she continues to act as she is now, loses interest in feed/water, and starts losing weight.

As of now, I would focus on keeping her well hydrated and administering some sort of calcium supplement. Obturator paralysis can come on very suddenly, and cause the duck to lose control of both legs. Luckily the problem tends to resolve itself in a day or two.

 

[BeccaV]

Thank you so very much! I will keep you updated.