Duck Concussion

[DucksAndGardens]

So I searched on BYC and didn't see duck concussions addressed so I thought I would post about it since my Pekin just suffered one.


Signs
One or more signs may be exhibited:

• Depression.
• Loss of balance.
• Falling over and unable to right itself.
• Circling with or without head tilted.
• Weakness of wings and legs.
• Convulsions.
• Blown pupils or unable to focus eyes

Treatment

• Keep the duck warm and quiet to ward off shock.
• Confine the duck in a box padded with a piece of towelling and place in a quiet, secluded area with air temperature at approximately 30°C (86°F).
• If possible seek an avian vet (but my vet didn't actually do anything but tell me to keep her quiet)

So my 5 week old Pekin was coming into the house two night ago and she fell backwards off my stairs and hit her head on the concrete. She laid on the ground but couldn't get up and she flapped her legs and wiggled her wings but couldn't get upright. So I brought her in the house and put her in the pen with her flock mates. At the time I didn't know what was wrong with her and thought she might have hurt her leg when she tumbled.

The next morning she still couldn't stand up and would fall over. I thought she was suffering from a sprain or strain so I ran a hot bath for her and some epsom salts to give her a soak. Once she was floating in the tub I realized that she had a bigger issue than her legs. She would try to swim but would roll over on her side. At this point I realized that she had an equilibrium problem. So I removed her from the tub and dried her with the hair dryer since she couldn't preen herself. She would still roll on one side then end up on her back and then lay there looking pathetically at me like "help me".

I called a friend of mine who works for a vet and she had me bring Jack Jack over. Her pupils were blown and the doc said she has a concussion.

So treatment was to put her in a box with side close enough to keep her upright and as dark as possible so she would relax. Offer water and food where she could reach them but not fall in the water or knock it over. This morning is day two after the injury and she is able to kind of stand halfway and hobble on her hocks to get to the water and food but when she tries to stand up and stretch she falls over backwards and then lays there kicking her feet until I roll her back over. However she is starting to get her balance back in little increments. Vet said she should be as good as new in a week as he was unable to detect any hemorraging or severe neurological damage. I'm keeping her in her padded box until I know for sure she won't fall over backwards as I don't want her hitting her head again.

 

[Miss Lydia]

This is great information thank you so much I will save it in my bookmarks. Hope your little one has a full recovery.

 

[localife]

Wow, yes, that is great information! It had never even occurred to me that a duck could get a concussion -- thank you for posting your story and information.

 

[DucksAndGardens]

Slow improvement. She's still eating and drinking and can stand on her own now but she still gets off balance when she's walking and will fall over. She doesn't end up on her back as much unless she stands fully and tries to extend and flap her wings and then she just falls backwards and lies there looking pathetic. I'm still keeping her secure in her box although I did give her some supervised swim time so she could get her feathers cleaned up and fluffed from sitting in the box. She's not rolling as much on her side so I definitely see improvement. She's very annoyed that she can't go out with the others but I told her she can't go outside until she can stand and walk without falling. She still complains loudly that this isn't fair. Silly duck.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Slow improvement. She's still eating and drinking and can stand on her own now but she still gets off balance when she's walking and will fall over. She doesn't end up on her back as much unless she stands fully and tries to extend and flap her wings and then she just falls backwards and lies there looking pathetic. I'm still keeping her secure in her box although I did give her some supervised swim time so she could get her feathers cleaned up and fluffed from sitting in the box. She's not rolling as much on her side so I definitely see improvement. She's very annoyed that she can't go out with the others but I told her she can't go outside until she can stand and walk without falling. She still complains loudly that this isn't fair. Silly duck.

Bless her heart, sounds like she is going to be fine. Thanks for up date so happy to hear she is making progress.

 

[DucksAndGardens]

So, an update on my duck. After 4 days she wasn't really getting any better so my friend's vet stopped by and said she was running a little warm. He said sometimes even mild injuries can trigger an infection so he put her on cephlexin. 50mg twice a day. This is day three of the antibiotics and she's finally starting to be able to stand and take a few steps on her own. Prior to this she had somehow flipped upside down in her box and ended up breaking her newly emerging flight feathers which bled all over. Seriously a white duck looks like she's hemorrhaging with just a tiny bit of blood because she preened and spread the blood all over.

She's still indoors but since she's no longer falling on her back I have her in a larger pen so she can stretch and start walking more. She still gets water therapy twice a day. Improving step by step. Vet thinks she will be back running with the others in a week or two.

 

[Kaessa]

So, an update on my duck. After 4 days she wasn't really getting any better so my friend's vet stopped by and said she was running a little warm. He said sometimes even mild injuries can trigger an infection so he put her on cephlexin. 50mg twice a day. This is day three of the antibiotics and she's finally starting to be able to stand and take a few steps on her own. Prior to this she had somehow flipped upside down in her box and ended up breaking her newly emerging flight feathers which bled all over. Seriously a white duck looks like she's hemorrhaging with just a tiny bit of blood because she preened and spread the blood all over.

She's still indoors but since she's no longer falling on her back I have her in a larger pen so she can stretch and start walking more. She still gets water therapy twice a day. Improving step by step. Vet thinks she will be back running with the others in a week or two.

Good to hear!

 

[Miss Lydia]

So, an update on my duck. After 4 days she wasn't really getting any better so my friend's vet stopped by and said she was running a little warm. He said sometimes even mild injuries can trigger an infection so he put her on cephlexin. 50mg twice a day. This is day three of the antibiotics and she's finally starting to be able to stand and take a few steps on her own. Prior to this she had somehow flipped upside down in her box and ended up breaking her newly emerging flight feathers which bled all over. Seriously a white duck looks like she's hemorrhaging with just a tiny bit of blood because she preened and spread the blood all over.

She's still indoors but since she's no longer falling on her back I have her in a larger pen so she can stretch and start walking more. She still gets water therapy twice a day. Improving step by step. Vet thinks she will be back running with the others in a week or two.

That's great news, and wonderful you have a friend who knows a vet who helped out too.

 

[DucksAndGardens]

So just a side note. If you ever need to get drugs inside of a duck that is still eating, just mix the pills in with a handful of peas. They gobble them up so fast they don't even notice the pills.

 

[BreInFlannel]

How long did it end up taking before your gal was back outside with her crew? Thank you so much for this post! After reading it, I feel this must be what's going on with my girl. I think she hit her head on a rock while getting out of the pool. Found her laying on her side trying to push herself over to the others, but could not stand up on her own. She is at the vet, and x rays showed no foreign objects. They are going to hold her there for a day or two in an oxygen box and watch her. Any other suggestions? They thought maybe she ingested something she shouldn't have, but their run has no unusual plants in it, so after reading this post, it seems alot more likely to me she has a concussion.