Duck Ear/Head Problems? Need Help!!

[lovinchicks]

please post again with an update. I hope it all works for you

 

[Macro]

Definitely. I hope he ends up getting better, even if we don't find out what it is. But at this point it's looking pretty doubtful.

Anyway, once I have more time I'll post some more pictures and any video I have in case someone else has the same problem. At least they'll know what I already tried.

 

[Macro]

Riemerella anatipestifer


Has anyone heard of this? Somehow I ended up on a page describing the symptoms of it and it sounds eerily similar to my ducky's symptoms. Particularly the twisted neck, head and neck convulsions, and the green poop that showed up this after noon. Oddly enough the treatment is the same antibiotic I was given for his "ear infection". Hopefully this is good news.

 

[Macro]

So.. I just did another round of antibiotics and polyvisol. Also bleached EVERYTHING. Even though I gave ducky both yesterday he's worse today. I don't believe he's able to eat or drink on his own anymore. So... questions:

1) Can I give him a dewormer with the Enrofloxacin I'm giving him right now?

2) Does anyone else have any suggestions on how to minimize the seizures? Or at least minimize his discomfort.

3) What is the best way to force feed/water him? His torticollis has become so severe he can't put his head straight or down anymore. So he can't even get to food or water on his own.

 

[Macro]

So at this point it's hard to tell if he's getting better or not. Fecal test SHOULD be in tomorrow morning. However, I've pretty much lost any hope of it being worms.

Something I forgot to mention yesterday... I found two feathers in his box. The tips of both (meaning the part that attaches to his body) had dried blood on them. I figured that they were ripped out when he was seizing. BUT, today I looked him over again. I noticed that he has a spot on his tail area (you can see it when you look at him from the top) that is maybe the size of a nickel or dime that is covered in dried blood. It's deep under the feathers and the feathers pull out extremely easily in that area. When I try and get a good look under there, ducky reacts as if it is tender. So I'm wondering... could this be a sign that he's been bitten by something? Either a bat or a spider, or something else. He is in that unfortunate stage where he has about half his feathers SO I'd suspect it would be extremely easy for something to bite him.

We do have bats and black widows in this area. Also, his poop is still partially green. I'm guessing that's the urate part. Here are some pictures. My dad suggested trying to gently remove the feathers that come out easily and washing the area to get a better look. I don't know if that would make things better or worse. Suggestions?







****EDIT****

Another possibility? http://www.cfsph.iastate.edu/Factsheets/pdfs/chlamydiosis_avian.pdf

 

[lovinchicks]

I'd call the vet and see what they have to say since you have already been in to see them. Might help them narrow down a cause for this.

 

[Macro]

Called the vet again today and my tests still aren't back. Was told that it might take longer because it's a duck. What. The worms are the same regardless of who's poop they're in.

Feeling pretty good though! Ducky does look like he has improved a lot today. He's actually standing and drinking on his own and is able to scratch his belly with out going into horrible fits anymore. So that seems promising. Whether it was the antibiotics or the vitamins, or if he is just getting better on his own, I'm not entirely sure. For sure he has some kind of neurological problem. Both the vet and I believe the neurological problem is a symptom though, and not the actual underlying condition. The onset was just so quick and at 6 weeks of age, it makes me wonder why I didn't see any neurological symptoms earlier. I've heard of many people with crested ducks say that their neurological symptoms were present since hatching. Now the fact that he is exhibiting these symptoms instead of non-neurological ones could be because he's a crested. OR perhaps he does have neurological problems and they were exacerbated by whatever he has. I think either of those are possible. I've been researching a lot of bacterial infections and there are many with similar symptoms especially neurological ones that fit what is happening to him. What lead me to the bacteria infections (either Pasteurella anatipestifer or Avian Chlamydiosis) was the green poop. A symptom that appeared last.

The poop part isn't actually green. It's the urates. Everyone has always had white urates, and brown poop (they get pellets for now). And here I was getting green urates all of a sudden. XD I don't really think my camera does the poop justice unfortunately. But they were a sage green color and have since turned white again!!

I've had some very nice people suggest I add some Brewer's Yeast to their diet, and I think I shall this weekend. Hopefully he continues to get better!

 

[Macro]

P.S. He's started quacking today! Even the other two haven't quacked yet.

 

[lovinchicks]

Yeah for quacking

Well it sounds a bit better at least and not worse. That's great. I just had 2 chickens that were bad, and I gave them,( and still giving) vitamins. Amazing at how fast they improved. It's frustrating figuring out what is wrong with the birds because so many symptoms are the same.

 

[Macro]

It really is kind of crazy how hard it is to diagnose birds. Hahaha.

So this is the last time I'll update this post most likely, unless ducky ends up going back the other way. Fecal test came back today (FINALLY) negative. Which means no worms. But which also means, we still have no idea what it was.

Recap: It has been a week since ducky first started showing symptoms (last Monday). Symptoms were: head tilt, retracting head when lowering it, off balance. Clear eyes, clear nose and mouth. No external wounds except some broken blood feathers on the tail that I noticed Thursday. Clear breath sounds. Ducky is approx. 6 weeks old, and a crested mix. Feathers are about half way in. Ducky lives with 2 other ducks that have no symptoms. (All duckies are from the same place, same age, 2 are crested, 1 is not. Obtained all at around 3 weeks old.) Quarantined ducky inside the house. Symptoms progressed to actual head/neck convusions. Note: The rest of his body does not convulse. The reason I'm assuming these are convulsions are because they're involuntary and when I move in front of his vision during convulsions, he does not focus on me like he normally does. Visited the vet last Wednesday. Green urates begin to appear. Ducky basically refuses to stand at this point and cannot eat and drink on his own. Vet informed me it could be viral, bacterial, parasitical, or a vitamin deficiency. Basically she didn't know. She told me we could do blood work but we could only test 1 thing a week because of the amount of blood (or lack of blood) ducky has. I decided no blood test. She took a fecal, and sent me home with antibiotics (Baytril). I began dosing ducky that night with the Baytril and also 3-4 drops of polyvisol. Force fed with soupy mash and water with syringe. Continued with the Baytril every 12 hours and the polyvisol every 24 hours. Didn't see any difference until about 36 hours when ducky began standing and drinking on his own. Ducky continues to improve slightly every day from what I can tell. He has a good appetite and can for the most part clean himself with out going in to horrible convulsions like before. Urates have turned back white. Ended up putting him outside in a cage next to the other ducks so he isn't so lonely and can get some fresh air. Finally got fecal test back. It isn't worms. So that leaves viral, bacterial, or vitamin deficiency.

He still has a tilted neck, although sometimes he goes a few minutes with his head straight. When pointing his head downward he sometimes will still retract it a bit like before (seems involuntary). Still having some balance issues and seems to want to walk in circles backward for some reason. I will continue the Baytril until it's finished and continue with the vitamins daily. I'm hoping he improves in a week or two so that we can put him back with the other ducks. I'm a little worried he sustained brain damage. The other two still show no signs of infection.

Also checked out his tail again a couple days ago and found where the blood feathers broke off. I ended up pulling out the stem part, much to his dismay (he was not a happy ducky) and then poured on the hydrogen peroxide. Makes me wonder if the infection was caused by or was let in because of the broken feathers. There was blood in the area when I checked it.

Nikolai. Sleeping (almost) like a normal duck.​

As a side note, for anyone living in the Antelope Valley area. Palm Plaza Pet Hospital is the place I went to. They're super friendly and have a nice clean facility. The vet there owns poultry and they do a lot of wild life rescue, including some pretty exotic animals. This is originally why I chose this hospital. Not sure if I'll go back though. They took a fecal test on Wednesday and was told it would take 24 hours to do. Called Thursday and they said results would be in Friday. Called Friday, said it was probably taking longer because it was a duck (because it makes that much difference when you're looking for worms in poop

). Called Saturday and was informed that someone would call the lab and see why it was taking so long. No call back. Called Sunday and a different lady told me she would call the lab and see why it was taking so long. She called me back and said that someone wrote the wrong date on the sample and that's why it hadn't been processed yet but that I would get results on Monday. Called Monday and was told the doctor would call me back at 12:00 with the results. Waited until 2:30 and then called back and the receptionist told me that she forgot to call me back but that my test was negative.

So that's my story! If anyone ever ends up with a duck with the same symptoms and figures out what it is, let me know!