Duck constantly turning in left circles

[Kayducks]

She is going in for tests tomorrow. The vet told me over the phone that it probably is neurological issues. She said the cause could be meningitis, sepsis, or she swallowed something toxic. We live in New Orleans; the vet said she sees chickens and ducks with lead poisoning all of the time. We'll find out tomorrow if her condition is treatable or if we have to have her put down.

Thank you so much for the help everyone.

I'll keep this thread updated in case it is of help to anyone else.

 

[Ducksandchickens]

Yes pleas keep us updated!

 

[Duckstail]

Kinda scary to hear about the lead poisoning. Unfortunately they used a lot of lead in everything not too long ago.



Maybe she's a fan of NASCAR!!!





I KID

 

[Ducksandchickens]

Kinda scary to hear about the lead poisoning. Unfortunately they used a lot of lead in everything not too long ago.



Maybe she's a fan of NASCAR!!!





I KID

Lol

 

[Kayducks]

I finally got the test results back and she has lead poisoning. Her levels are about three times the amount of lead that birds typically ingest. The condition is pretty treatable. They just give her a medicine and it absorbs the remaining lead from her body. Feeding a high fiber diet is key in helping them push out any big chunks from their organs. If the big chunks don't come out, then the duck will have to have surgery. The medicinal term for absorbing the lead is called chelation. We pretty much have to comb through our yard every day to pick out anything that looks like metal or paint chips. Unfortunately, all of the metal pieces we find look like small pieces of tree bark.

SO, it's been a lot of work and very expensive. ​

 

[Kayducks]

Oh, I should add. She has made a wild upswing in the past several days. She stopped circling, is eating on her own, and preening and bathing as usual. It's almost crazy how she has recovered. We really were waiting to find her dead in her coop for about five solid days. She's also on pain pills now though, so I'm not sure if she's just numb to her problems now.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Has treatment already started.. Hoping for the best for her.

 

[Kayducks]

Has treatment already started.. Hoping for the best for her.

She has not started treatment yet. I really appreciate the concern.

The vet we use is very pregnant and is going on maternity leave within the next couple of weeks. She's the only vet at the clinic we use for all of our pets who can look at ducks. She has recommended us to an avian specialist in the next town over (Metaire) who can do treatments with us. She didn't want to start treatments and then abandon us.

I will continue to update this thread as she gets her treatments done to let y'all know how it goes.

 

[ronott1]

She has not started treatment yet. I really appreciate the concern.

The vet we use is very pregnant and is going on maternity leave within the next couple of weeks. She's the only vet at the clinic we use for all of our pets who can look at ducks. She has recommended us to an avian specialist in the next town over (Metaire) who can do treatments with us. She didn't want to start treatments and then abandon us.

I will continue to update this thread as she gets her treatments done to let y'all know how it goes.

In my signature file there is a link to an egg study here at the University. One of the things they are checking for is lead from free range chickens

 

[CayugaJana]

She has not started treatment yet. I really appreciate the concern.

The vet we use is very pregnant and is going on maternity leave within the next couple of weeks. She's the only vet at the clinic we use for all of our pets who can look at ducks. She has recommended us to an avian specialist in the next town over (Metaire) who can do treatments with us. She didn't want to start treatments and then abandon us.

I will continue to update this thread as she gets her treatments done to let y'all know how it goes.

The lead will eventually leave the system if she doesn’t keep ingesting it correct? The chelation just speeds the process up.