Duck Stopped Walking!

[potatopouf]

Hello,
My neighbor's duck has not been doing well. A couple of days ago, he started to limp and we thought maybe he hurt his foot. Then he mostly stopped walking and uses his wings to help him balance when he does walk. He also is farther below the surface when he swims in the water than usual, and his feathers aren't drying. He is still eating/drinking but not as much. Does anyone know what the problem is?

 

[Aunt Angus]

The feather issue could be wet feather. I will have to look up how you treat that because I don't remember.

The leg issue could be lots of things: niacin deficiency, bumblefoot, deep bruising, sprain, other things I can't think of off the top of my brain. From the pics, his feathers don't look that bad to me, but it's hard to see on a black duck sometimes.

So, a few questions to see if we can narrow it down:
What is your neighbor feeding him?
Has your neighbor examined his leg to see if it can be manipulated or if it has swelling/is hot to the touch?
Has your neighbor looked at his feet?

My ducks are clumsy, and sometimes I'll find them unable to walk because of an injury. If I don't see an immediate wound, I usually just put them in a crate with some food and water in their coop/run with their flockmates. The idea is to limit their movement and give the leg time to recover. I have had ducks go from "Oh my gosh - she can't walk at all!" to fine in a few hours.

 

[potatopouf]

The feather issue could be wet feather. I will have to look up how you treat that because I don't remember.

The leg issue could be lots of things: niacin deficiency, bumblefoot, deep bruising, sprain, other things I can't think of off the top of my brain. From the pics, his feathers don't look that bad to me, but it's hard to see on a black duck sometimes.

So, a few questions to see if we can narrow it down:
What is your neighbor feeding him?
Has your neighbor examined his leg to see if it can be manipulated or if it has swelling/is hot to the touch?
Has your neighbor looked at his feet?

My ducks are clumsy, and sometimes I'll find them unable to walk because of an injury. If I don't see an immediate wound, I usually just put them in a crate with some food and water in their coop/run with their flockmates. The idea is to limit their movement and give the leg time to recover. I have had ducks go from "Oh my gosh - she can't walk at all!" to fine in a few hours.

Ya, the pictures make it hard to see, but his feathers are very wet. I think it is wet feather, but that came after the balance issue. We did look at his feet and he doesn't have bumblefoot and it there is no swelling. The vet gave him antibiotics and steroids. Initially, his only symptom was that he was barely able to walk and used his wings to balance when he got up. Now his worst symptom seems to be the wet feather and his tail feather area (his little bum) is drooping.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Ya, the pictures make it hard to see, but his feathers are very wet. I think it is wet feather, but that came after the balance issue. We did look at his feet and he doesn't have bumblefoot and it there is no swelling. The vet gave him antibiotics and steroids. Initially, his only symptom was that he was barely able to walk and used his wings to balance when he got up. Now his worst symptom seems to be the wet feather and his tail feather area (his little bum) is drooping.

I was wondering if his preen gland was infected, but antibiotics will take care of that, if it is.

What did the vet say about the wer feather? Based on what I found on BYC, you'd give him a bath with a little dish soap to clean him thoroughly and then dry him off thoroughly. Then don't let him swim for a few days. Then let him swim, but dry him off afterwards. Keep that up for a few days. He *should* preen himself each time. I think the idea is to reset his waterproofing.

 

[potatopouf]

Ya, I think that might be the problem. We just gave him a bath and we'll see how he does. Thank you for your advice!! I really appreciate it!

 

[Aunt Angus]

Keep us updated! He sure is a cutie.