Duck seizures

[Cayuga13]

Hi everyone! I have a Cayuga duckling who is about 7 weeks old. He was completely fine and one night I was trying to get the other ducks in the duck house and he completely fell over and his legs shot straight out. He went limp and I thought he had passed away it was horrible. Then after about 45 seconds he hopped back up and walked around normally. Now it’s been having seizures fairly regularly. He has had 4-10 seizures per day and today he had 5. This just started maybe 5 days ago and we’ve tried to add niacin to his water and give him small supplements. We also have been giving him Vitamin b drops. I honestly don’t know what to do and it’s very heartbreaking to watch. After his seizure he holds his head to the ground and is very disorientated. He’s not really eating so we’re having to bring up the food and dilute it with water and give it to him through a syringe. There’s no avian vets available near me who don’t charge 200 dollars and we don’t have the money to pay for them just to have the doctor come in to see you. If you have any ideas on what I can do it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

[Callender Girl]

I've dealt with seizures in dogs but never in ducks. @isaac o knows more than most when it comes to duck medicine.

 

[Isaac 0]

Could you post a video of the bird and a few pictures of his feces?

There are many etiologies when it comes to seizures in birds; pinpointing the underlying cause mainly relies on diagnostic testing performed at your vet office. If a vet is not an option, the only treatment that will be able to be implemented will be very basic, and should mostly include supportive care.

The uncoordinated, spontaneous movements you're seeing suggests there is likely interference with his nervous system. Taking into consideration his age, there are several conditions that may cause similar symptoms to what you're seeing. To mention a few; nutritional disorders, either from vitamin E, vitamin B1, or Calcium can cause such problems. In addition, ingestion of heavy metals, aflatoxins, bacterial/viral infections, parasites, or trauma to the cephalic region.

Please look into some of these conditions, and consider his past history, and what condition may be more likely to occur. For example, if the duck was bullied/or hit his head that would support neurological damage. If you once saw the duck chewing a screw, that could support heavy metal poisoning.

In conjunction with a past history, performing a thorough neurological exam to test the ability of his nerve functions may also prove helpful by narrowing down what region may specifically be affected, since different etiologies can affect different areas of the nervous system. You can find a list of neurological tests here:

http://avianmedicine.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/17_nervous_system.pdf

Supportive care for a bird-like this should include ensuring their housing area is quiet, stress-free ( a stressed bird is more likely to have seizures). A feed and water dish is needed, but ensure the water dish is in a shallow dish when you're not around to discourage aspiration, or possibly drowning. Vitamins, E, and B play an important role in the nervous system, so the administration of those two particular vitamins, in addition to a poultry vitamin, containing a broad amount of vitamins would also be suggested. Soupy feed, scrambled eggs, or tuna are some great treats if the bird doesn't seem to be liking its normal feed. If weight loss is suspected to be occurring, daily weighing on a gram scale should be done to determine the severity of the weight loss. A 5-10% decrease in weight would grant supplemental tube feeding.

 

[Cayuga13]

Could you post a video of the bird and a few pictures of his feces?

There are many etiologies when it comes to seizures in birds; pinpointing the underlying cause mainly relies on diagnostic testing performed at your vet office. If a vet is not an option, the only treatment that will be able to be implemented will be very basic, and should mostly include supportive care.

The uncoordinated, spontaneous movements you're seeing suggests there is likely interference with his nervous system. Taking into consideration his age, there are several conditions that may cause similar symptoms to what you're seeing. To mention a few; nutritional disorders, either from vitamin E, vitamin B1, or Calcium can cause such problems. In addition, ingestion of heavy metals, aflatoxins, bacterial/viral infections, parasites, or trauma to the cephalic region.

Please look into some of these conditions, and consider his past history, and what condition may be more likely to occur. For example, if the duck was bullied/or hit his head that would support neurological damage. If you once saw the duck chewing a screw, that could support heavy metal poisoning.

In conjunction with a past history, performing a thorough neurological exam to test the ability of his nerve functions may also prove helpful by narrowing down what region may specifically be affected, since different etiologies can affect different areas of the nervous system. You can find a list of neurological tests here:

http://avianmedicine.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/17_nervous_system.pdf

Supportive care for a bird-like this should include ensuring their housing area is quiet, stress-free ( a stressed bird is more likely to have seizures). A feed and water dish is needed, but ensure the water dish is in a shallow dish when you're not around to discourage aspiration, or possibly drowning. Vitamins, E, and B play an important role in the nervous system, so the administration of those two particular vitamins, in addition to a poultry vitamin, containing a broad amount of vitamins would also be suggested. Soupy feed, scrambled eggs, or tuna are some great treats if the bird doesn't seem to be liking its normal feed. If weight loss is suspected to be occurring, daily weighing on a gram scale should be done to determine the severity of the weight loss. A 5-10% decrease in weight would grant supplemental tube feeding.

 

[Cayuga13]

Here’s the poop. He’s barely eating unless we force it. Would you like a video of the seizure ?

 

[Cayuga13]

Here’s the poop. He’s barely eating unless we force it. Would you like a video of the seizure ?

 

[Isaac 0]

Here’s the poop. He’s barely eating unless we force it. Would you like a video of the seizure ?

Could you post a picture, with natural lighting, not with the heat lamp? Yes, that would be helpful.

 

[Cayuga13]

It is not letting me post the video for some reason is there anywhere else I can contact you to send it? And here’s the picture of the poop

 

[SolarDuck]

Try uploading it to youtube or vimeo and post the link here.

 

[Cayuga13]

Could you post a picture, with natural lighting, not with the heat lamp? Yes, that would be helpful.