Duck running in circles tilting it's neck.

[jducour]

I have never heard of routinely worming ducks. Unless there is a high risk, and you have a reason to.

 

[Maru440]

I had a cockatiel that had a neurological problem, and he was having seizures. He started really hurting himself during these seizures, and after about 2 years, I had to have him put down. It was the most compassionate thing I could have done. He started having them so many times a day he was exhausted. It was no way for him to live. That was over 20 years ago, and I still think about him all the time. He was such a little sweetie!

Oh no... D; That's so sad. I'm so sorry!! I really hope he'll calm down and we won't have too. He does look a bit tired after having the fit, but then he returns to his happy normal self. It's only been today that it's been this bad. So far he hasn't hurt himself besides exhaustion...

I have never heard of routinely worming ducks. Unless there is a high risk, and you have a reason to.

Maybe it's different for chickens? I know I've read somewhere that it's like every 6 months, but that does contradict what you and others have said about getting it tested. Should I send in all fecal tests at once? I have yet to do it yet on any of them, but I definitely need to call my local vets and see if they will at least do that. Thank you!

 

[JadeComputerGal]

@jducour - Yes, he is our only crested duck, and I'd say it's large? I'm not quite sure, I'll try to get a picture tomorrow! And no, there isn't a vet in our area that we can take him too. I'll be checking for some out of our area and see if they do though. I've also asked a local feed store and they gave me a place to call and ask, so hopefully they'll have some information. Are there any other wormers you'd recommend?? I've only treated with Wazine in the last 2 years, so I hope they haven't gotten any other worms!

@JadeComputerGal - Thank you very much!
I'm just curious, can this be the case in a non-crested duck as well? Or is this more common in crested? Also, is it commonly lethal or are ducks able to live with seizures?
Another question, sorry for so many - I don't know much about seizures either in humans or in ducks haha - but are there certain things that can cause seizures? He seems to be fine most of the day, at least for today, but the second I step out to check on him he begins to have them. I continuously peeked on him through the window throughout the day to see if he has them, and he seemed perfectly fine.

Thank you both so much for the help!

For the part that was for me, and sorry for the delay, any animal can have seizures or neurological problems. Neurological issues and spinal deformities are fairly common in crested ducks.

I might not have worded the last post well. The gene that causes the crest is lethal depending on the mix in breeders, but a crest on a duck is not at all lethal. Many crested ducks live a normal life as long as they don't have a head injury. What concerns me with yours is that it sounds like it also has the not unusual spinal deformity.

Please understand I'm not any kind of doctor. I'm just a person who worked in the human medical field for 8 years before I lost my mind and thought it was a good idea to go into the IT field. I just bring that over in addition to having had pets all my life, not any veterinary training.

To keep this very simple, seizures can have "trigger" events. There's a thing in humans termed reflex epilepsy that causes seizures when exposed to particular things. I have no idea whether that happens with ducks/waterfowl/poultry. Some seizures aren't triggered. They're the result of a neurological problem that can cause them at any time. In humans, and I have to emphasize in humans, the seizures themselves are almost never fatal. It's the effects of the seizures that can be fatal, such as a human having one and causing themselves a fatal injury from the thrashing around from the seizure, or from blocking their own airway so they can't breathe.

 

[Amiga]

I would really look forward to a video. Because sometimes my Runners get a little crazy and chatter and they tilt their heads sideways and run around in circles. And they are fine. Not to give false hope, I am just going to reserve my opinion in hopes you can get it on video.

And I have had our ducks for five years, no sign of worms, so I have not used dewormer. I do need to get a fecal test done - I usually do that in late winter before they start laying, I missed this year.

 

[jducour]

Oh no... D; That's so sad. I'm so sorry!! I really hope he'll calm down and we won't have too. He does look a bit tired after having the fit, but then he returns to his happy normal self. It's only been today that it's been this bad. So far he hasn't hurt himself besides exhaustion...

Maybe it's different for chickens? I know I've read somewhere that it's like every 6 months, but that does contradict what you and others have said about getting it tested. Should I send in all fecal tests at once? I have yet to do it yet on any of them, but I definitely need to call my local vets and see if they will at least do that. Thank you!

Yeah, it was sad. He was really hurting himself during the seizures, and he developed a terrible picking disorder too. He would pick at a spot until it bled, and when he seizured, it would open the woulds and blood would go everywhere. It was traumatic. He was a rare white cockatiel, and was probably from overbred genetics. To get those distinct colors, the gene pool is very small.

I don't know much about worming - only from the question I asked last week on the subject. Here was my post - you can go through the whole thing, and watch me learn

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1023551/rescue-pekin-sounds-like-a-guinnea-pig

 

[notIvy431]

I definately would take him to the Vet. I had a Muscovy that ran in circles all day, turned out it was a disease.

 

[tactilecontact]

I hate to drag up a 3 year old thread, but rather than start anew...

I have a year old WH who just started doing this today. About an hour after I let the flock out of their house, I noticed she was very unstable walking, stumbling to the ground. She has just come off brooding, so initially I thought she was egg bound. But when I got close, she straightened out and walked away from me. Not long after, I saw her bobbing her head repeatedly to the right; she was also by herself panting, not in the back of the garden with the rest where there's a pond and plentiful shade.

I went after her again, and she didn't even try to run. I picked her up and walked her back to our duck pond and set her in. She could only swim in right circles.

I took her out after a couple of minutes when she seemed to be tiring, and placed her in a small penned area with shade and a water pan.

She's never had any visible health issues before, and I don't have to clue anyone in to the fact that it's exceptionally hot this weekend. Could this perhaps be heat-related, or as discussed in the thread neurological?

 

[Lil Drake40]

Is she thin from brooding? Sometimes electrolytes can get unbalanced they get run down. How is she after these episodes this afternoons?Do you have any poultry vitamins. Poultry nutri drench?

 

[tactilecontact]

I do have electrolyte additive for the water. I'll give that a shot. But no, she's actually not down on weight at all. She actually tag-teamed one nest with one of our other girls. So they both had ample time throughout the nesting period to eat, drink and bathe. And the other duck is perfectly fine.

And it's not really episodic in nature. It seems continuous. Since the behavior set in, I've not seen her act normally. But she does seem rather lethargic, lost.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Is a vet feasible?