Duck seizures?

[wordgirl]

When I was putting the ducks in for the night, one of my two hens (Jane, an 11-month-old Ancona) had a very unexpected episode. I'm not sure what happened - maybe a seizure? It scared me - I thought she was maybe dying, but it happened more than four hours ago and I checked on her just a little bit ago and she is still alive, calmed down, but hanging out in the back of their little house, sitting (not normal for her - she moves around a lot while I'm in there).

So their house is a 3x4 pen inside a larger shed, and every night they have to make two jumps to get into their house. The first one is in through the door of the shed - almost a foot jump, and the girls often have some trouble with it. Sometimes I have to give them a little boost. The second jump is into their pen (in front of their door I have a 8-inch-tall plastic storage bin with wire mesh over it to catch water spills from their bucket). She was into the shed, the last of the four ducks (not really uncommon - the hens are always last, because they're shorter than the drakes), and was trying to jump into the inner pen. I started filling up their bucket while she was trying, and one of my drakes was either trying to get to her or playing in the water I was pouring - it was fast and I'm not exactly sure which. Then I was getting ready to just lift her up and put her in the pen because she wasn't making it in, when she suddenly pulled her head back and started convulsing, almost as though she was trying to flip herself over onto her back, over, and over, and paddling. She was falling over, too, I think. She did it for probably 30 seconds or so, maybe longer. I thought maybe I had somehow managed to accidentally break her neck (or that she had done so somehow), but I don't think she would have moved like that with a broken neck. Then she stopped, and I was afraid she was dying, but when I lifted her and put her in the pen, she walked in, although she seemed as though she was having trouble with her balance, at least when climbing up the mound of bedding (there is a slope right now in part of the pen). After a minute or so, I put her outside again to see if she would walk straight. Outside, she didn't seem to have much balance issues, although she held her neck in a little (but that could have been due to the drizzle falling). I put her back in the pen, and again she acted a little off-balance, and went to the back corner. We were on our way out the door so I had to leave her, but I checked on her when I got home (fearing I'd find the flock one duck short), but she was in there, alert and alive, but sitting in the back (the other three were up and chattering at me).

Has anybody experienced anything like this before? Do you know what happened? Thanks!

 

[Amiga]

It sounds like a seizure, possibly a pinched nerve. Can you separate her into a clean, safe "sick bay" for a day and a night?

If the drake has been too rough with her, he could have hurt her back. She also could be fighting a virus or infection, and be weak. I feel that giving vitamin-electrolyte-probiotic helps their systems, and bath time in a lukewarm tub can help, and give me time to look them over closely.

Can you get a ramp and rearrange things so they don't have to do so much hopping? Legs are a weak spot for ducks, generally speaking. I would be concerned longer term about lameness.

 

[wordgirl]

Hi Amiga,

Thank you for the help! I checked on her later that night and she was still hanging out in the back, sitting, but the next morning she was up with the others and I let her out with them as she seemed eager to do so, and had laid her egg despite all the drama the night before! She's been fine since then when I've seen her - the first day we noticed she seemed to limp a little, but I don't know whether it was related.

I'm thinking it may still have been a seizure, but I'm really not sure. I'm so thankful she seems okay, though! I was afraid that I was going to lose her, and I only have four ducks.

Thank you!