Duck completely lame then recovered except balance,possible cat bite?

[everthngsaducky]

We had a goose who got watery green diarrhea and was partly lame..my wife claims she recovered and then got it again..eventually died after about a week. As I recall she also had tremors Then , one of our drakes got the watery green diarrhea and was completely lame..i noticed he had what appeared to be a bite on his bill...some small blood spots where it seemed he had been bitten..i am guessing by a feral cat that killed 2 of our chickens last fall...the cat had been seen stalking mice or something earlier..and has not ben seen lately but is my prime suspect. After the duck had what seemed the same issue (also with tremors) I wondered if the goose had been also swiped at by the cat or bitten but that this was not noticed. The vet said of the duck..if it was a cat bite there could be a whole variety of things that the duck may have been exposed to..we tried Onycin...and whether by coincidence or due to treatment..the duck went from having both feet out behind him completely lame...to having feet underneath him...to eventually standing and falling over..to walking..but he has not progressed in terms of his balance...his tail is often pointed down...he does eat but not enough...his tremors are less but still present and he can take several steps but often falls backward on his tail when standing and goes forward onto his breast when walking and generally falls all over the place when trying to move. I convinced the vet to continue with the antibiotic a bit longer and he also Rxd an anti-inflammatory...I stopped the antibiotic after a short extension as the duck seemed to hit a plateau and I eventually agreed with the vet it probably did all it was going to do...the duck does not seem any worse after being off the antibiotic for a few days...and perhaps the anti-inflammatory is helping...but the duck has hit a plateau..and he still falls all over the place when trying to walk. It occurred to me that whatever it is that he got, it caused either a temporary or permanent neurological problem. ..in my opinion..he has not regained his previous ability to walk but rather seems more as if he is relearning to walk....but the balance really isn't improving...his complete lameness to walking happened over maybe 10 days...but the balance issue does not seem to have improved since then..he stands and pushes back and falls back on his tail and then falls over...gets back up and does this again..then finally leans more forward and takes a few steps but then falls forward onto his breast.and scrambles unsuccessfully to stand again..then repeats. Its possible the goose and duck did not have the same thing but it seems coincidental they both had tremors lameness and (copper roof coloured) green diarrhea...only the duck was seen with bite marks ..but it may have been missed on the goose. Any similar stories ?..suggestions..?

 

[Helloworld]

Neurological and face bite sounds like a ground critter from grazing. Snake or scorpion?

Blood takes scorpion out but maybe a small pigmy rattler that lives under leaves and under other stuff fowl root through. Most non-venomous still have a type of poison that affects the neurological system to slow down or stun prey and a ducks size would be affected. So if it was my duck, the balancing would be my major concern since he needs it and it may take several weeks for the neurological issues to dissipate. It is all about how far do you want to wait to see it heal. If it doesn’t get balance back in a couple of months then decisions will need to be made. I would not put it with other fowl the way he is because they will push it away because its hurt and eventually kill it.

 

[everthngsaducky]

Neurological and face bite sounds like a ground critter from grazing. Snake or scorpion?

Blood takes scorpion out but maybe a small pigmy rattler that lives under leaves and under other stuff fowl root through. Most non-venomous still have a type of poison that affects the neurological system to slow down or stun prey and a ducks size would be affected. So if it was my duck, the balancing would be my major concern since he needs it and it may take several weeks for the neurological issues to dissipate. It is all about how far do you want to wait to see it heal. If it doesn’t get balance back in a couple of months then decisions will need to be made. I would not put it with other fowl the way he is because they will push it away because its hurt and eventually kill it.

 

[everthngsaducky]

Thanks for your reply...we don't have scorpions anywhere around here ..in eastern Ontario..and there are no venomous snakes here either....it is winter with snow on the ground ..the gardener snakes. rat snakes and whatever else we have are all in deep hibernation. ...quite sure it was a feral cat that bit the duck on the bill..the only question is did the cat also bite the goose ?..as no bite was seen on the goose.... I suspect the goose was also scratched or bitten by the cat..because it is quite a coincidence that they both had the diarrhea and lameness one after the other...anyway the drake has ongoing problems with balance but he is walking and hanging with the other ducks...none of the other geese or ducks have been affected...but I did see a rabbit torn apart in one of our outbuildings so I think the cat is catching and swiping at whatever it can find.
The drake is walking a bit better today..still balance problems but better...he continues on anti inflammatory every other day.

 

[everthngsaducky]

I also noticed he loses his balance when he moves his head to preen which makes me think maybe an inner ear problem.

 

[Helloworld]

Thanks for your reply...we don't have scorpions anywhere around here ..in eastern Ontario..and there are no venomous snakes here either....it is winter with snow on the ground ..the gardener snakes. rat snakes and whatever else we have are all in deep hibernation. ...quite sure it was a feral cat that bit the duck on the bill..the only question is did the cat also bite the goose ?..as no bite was seen on the goose.... I suspect the goose was also scratched or bitten by the cat..because it is quite a coincidence that they both had the diarrhea and lameness one after the other...anyway the drake has ongoing problems with balance but he is walking and hanging with the other ducks...none of the other geese or ducks have been affected...but I did see a rabbit torn apart in one of our outbuildings so I think the cat is catching and swiping at whatever it can find.
The drake is walking a bit better today..still balance problems but better...he continues on anti inflammatory every other day.

If it as a cat it may just be he did catch him by the bill and caused a neck injury thereby creating a balance issue.

Do you have oaks? Acorns can create these symptoms in ducks... poisonous and causes anemia

 

[everthngsaducky]

Thanks...no again..we do have a couple of oaks ..our ducks spend no time over there...as stated he was found with small blood spots on his bill and what appeared to be small sharp teeth marks...our vet agreed that a cat bite is nasty and full of various bacteria....we feel that he either got an infection or was transmitted some unknown disease..tho I don't know that the cat would necessarily have been infected..it may have just been a bird disease from another of his victims. So it looks like I started this thread 7+ months ago..."Buff" is doing fine..he still has balance issues...he walks runs..and hangs with the other ducks all day he even attempts to mate....not very well with balance issues...he has ongoing inner ear balance problems but due to brain plasticity he is fully functional and has learned to stay upright , I believe...by using his vision to determine the right way up...( in other words it seems he has not regained his former ability but rather has relearned how to walk and run using other faculties)unless you watched him for a long period you may not notice he was different from the other ducks...he does still at times...particularly when he comes into his pen at night..push his legs out in front and then topples over backward...then rolls over gets back up and does it again..as if his inner ear is giving him wrong information about his positioning. Anyway..as far as we know this is all due to a dirty cat bite. He is otherwise healthy and doing fine. Thanks

 

[chickens really]

Look up Duck virus Hepatitis

 

[Miss Lydia]

http://www.duckdvm.com/condition/duck-viral-hepatitis

I am sorry your duck hasn't recovered completely from the cat bite but sounds like he has compensated bless his heart and to still be compensating after 7 months is awesome. I think if you'll read this information it will help you know this isn't your ducks problem.