Duck possibly attacked or sick

[arrowti]

Need a little help here. I was outside when I heard loud quacking and went running. I could see four ducks but not the fifth until I found her lying in the bushes, not moving. I walked right up to her and she kept closing her eyes and I knew something was wrong. There was a mark on her chest-feathers where they appeared 'torn', but there's no injury. She's also having trouble balancing and is walking oddly, and holding her neck stiffly.

I put her in the pool just to check for any blood (black feathers, hard to find), and no blood came off. When I put her down she began quacking loudly, staggering in circles and flapping wildly as if she was being attacked. It almost looked like she could 'see' something attacking her and was trying to get away. The other ducks were alarmed and moved away. They're scared to go by the pool, as that's where I found her...

I brought her over to the house and she stood there for quite awhile just looking in all directions constantly. She would move a little, keep looking. She walked up to the water but didn't drink, and walked up to the food but didn't eat. She's shaking pretty hard but finally went and lay under the bush (hiding) and is still there.

It's mid day. I just heard an owl calling close by in the woods. It's a barred owl, which we have a lot of, but I've never seen one during the day here. Due to her lack of actual injury (just soreness) I'm thinking it may have been going for the chicks that were actually right near her, and hit her instead. I did a head count and all chicks, chickens, and ducks are accounted for.

What can I do for her? She's looking a little better, in that she moves away from me when I try to touch her rather than just standing there barely noticing me.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Wonder if what your seeing is shock? Keep her in a quiet place out of the way of foot traffic. And just watch Her. Going through the trauma of an attack can be awful for one if that’s what it is. How old and what breed?

 

[arrowti]

She's 4 years old, pekin-cayuga cross (same group that hatched as my drake Opie from the limping thread). I'm hoping she isn't sick.

She's currently standing in the tote, just looking back and forth, not really moving. Uninterested in the water. She moves away when I touch her but I can gently pet her feathers. No sign of poop as of yet. Quacks a little. Her eyes are wide and alert. Trembling but not panting (bill closed when breathing) and no injury to her legs.

 

[Miss Lydia]

She pretty, hopefully if this is shock keeping her calm and quiet will help her to get over it. Maybe put some vitamins or electrolytes in her water and just wait.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

When putting anything down Ducks throat you have to know where to put it.

Instruction video:

Most important: Move it along the upper bill and count your fingers afterwards. And offer the duck a drink!

 

[arrowti]

I am attempting to locate the crate.

She's standing, alert, hissing at me, and puffing up her tail when I approach (normal behavior from my ducks, they're not friendly) - but she's still shaking.

 

[arrowti]

I have managed to find a tote to put her in... I'm starting to wonder if she is having neurological problems... could it be a result of neck injury or am I wrong about a predator attack altogether?

I went out and she had waddled to another bush, and was currently standing there, looking in all directions with her head extended directly up. She was having a very hard time walking, tripping over everything, and panicking. Eventually she got out and twisted her head around to dig her bill under the ground, but in an odd way that looked completely abnormal. She then laid down. I went went to get some shoes on (I had only gone to look at her) and found her with her neck outstretched, flat on the ground, a droplet of water coming out of the corner of her eyes. She was shaking badly, almost as if she had a seizure. I gently coaxed her up and she raised her head. I dunked her bill in the water and she made the nose-popping sound as if to clean her nares but did not follow up with any drinking.

During the previous incident there was a bird flying overhead, I'm not sure if it's related.

I found the tote and covered it with flakes and a small dish of water. I put her in and she immediately did the head-twisting thing, biting at 'something' under the flakes. When she shook her head it sounded as if it's full of water.

Could she have a sinus infection? There's no discharge from her nose, and her eyes look clear. Other than those few drops earlier there's been nothing coming from her eyes either.

Her behavior is worrying. The other ducks are looking fine. But so was she, this morning...

She's currently in the tote, just standing there, without access to the 'sky'.

 

[casportpony]

Can you post a video of her? To post video upload to youtube or vimeo then copy/paste the link here. Please do also post a picture of her poop when she does poop.

 

[arrowti]

I apologize for the blurriness. My phone does not take good videos, but you can at least see her head movements/positioning. I haven't managed to catch a video of her doing the weird twisting, although I haven't seen her do it since putting her in the tote. It seems to be the result of stress.

This was her outside before putting her in the tote.

 

[arrowti]

It's always possible she could have ingested something bad. I was assuming a predator due to the ducks quacking and the fearful way the chickens were acting, but we had a rainstorm recently with a lot of runoff that goes directly across our yard.

I have a bag of charcoal 'bricks' but not activated charcoal. How would you typically give it to a duck? Sprinkled over their food? It wouldn't hurt.