Duck keeps falling

[owleyes22]

Hi all,

My duck, Bubby is now six years old going on seven. He's a white pekin duck.

If you click here you can see that Bubby had been attacked by a fox a few years ago.

The fox bites had left a nasty mark in both of Bubby's legs, but with a lot of treatment and care he was back to walking and running etc.

He seemed okay for a while although we did notice that his waddle had increased a little and he was struggling with putting weight on his legs. We figured this was normal after the attack so we continued to take care of him and make sure there wasn't anything in the backyard for him to trip over.

Recently, he has been having a lot of trouble especially with winter coming up. Sometimes he falls flat on the floor and just gives up and other times he sits with his leg out (maybe more comfortable?)

He's been having a bit of trouble so I'd like to know if there's anything I can do to help him.

Thanks

 

[Amiga]

He may be having some inflammation, or there could be an infection in the joints. It may or may not have to do with his injuries. I have seen stories of some conditions that seem to arise out of nowhere.

If you can get some vet help, you might be able to get appropriate medications. If not, I feel you will need to make some best guesses, and try some anti-inflammatories that are safe for waterfowl.

Epsom salt compresses can help inflammation - make sure he doesn't drink the solution as it is a laxative.

One story I hears of a mature drake having troubles was he actually was having some reproductive system issues. But you are in autumn, now, right? So that doesn't sound likely. It would happen more like springtime if that were the case.

Really good nutrition may help, so poultry vitamins with probiotics may be an idea.

Please verify this but I think turmeric in small amounts may be okay for ducks to eat, and that is anti-inflammatory. And oregano in small amounts is okay, I have read, and it has antimicrobial properties.

 

[owleyes22]

Thank you for your reply!

Yes, we are in autumn and we have been feeding him chicken feed with the vitamins that would boost egg production for chickens (but we figured it would be nutritious for Bubby to eat).

With the oregano, is this to feed to him?

If so, I may just give him a small handful every day and see how he goes.

Thanks

 

[Amiga]

You know, if it's for layers, there may be too much calcium in that feed for him. From what I have read and been told, including by some veterinarians, some male birds, including ducks, seem sensitive to the levels of calcium for laying females.

So, I would get a grower-maintenance feed for him right away, see if that helps after a couple of weeks.

 

[owleyes22]

Oh wow, I didn't know that.

Here I thought he was getting heaps of nutrition.

Thank you very much for the info!

I'll be looking into finding some more suitable feed for him.