floppy drake

[sparkes]

Hi all I'm new to the forum so be gentle, I was wanting some advice we have some ducks and one drake all are khaki Campbell on Tuesday we went to the pen and our drake was laid as though he was dead, we went in and thank goodness he was still alive my dad placed him on his feet and he just fell over and was supporting himself with his wing my dad held him and fed him and gave him some water my dad decided to take him out and into the house he's bright and perky he was even cleaning himself, does anyone have any advice or know what could be wrong?

 

[Kevin565]

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How old is he?

Could he have gotten into something Toxic?

 

[Amiga]

Bright and perky but cannot stand, or all better?

Welcome to the Duck Forum.

Some possibilities:

Viral illness
Bacterial infection
Injury
Poisoning

Regardless of the nature of the problem, a little warmth, vitamins with electrolytes and probiotics, fresh water, clean bedding, and TLC are always a help.

If you can get him into lukewarm water deep enough to float in, you can observe whether he can move his legs at all, whether he has any balance.

If it is poisoning, it could be something like botulism. If that is the case, you want to carefully flush his system with an Epsom salts or molasses flush. Don't overdo it. There is a sticky with instructions for a flush. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/256233/ducks-sticky-topics-index look toward the bottom of the list.


Is there anything yucky in the pen he could have gotten into?

Also, some ducks are more sensitive than others to toxins. Check the feed. What is the feed you give them? Lots of corn? With the drought, there have been high levels of aflatoxins in some crops. That stuff is deadly.

If it's viral, just keeping him warm enough with good food and water and vitamins etc. may be all you can do to help his immune system fight it off.

Has he had any trouble with bumblefoot?

Could something have fallen on him, or could he have fallen?

What other animals are in the area? Any chance a predator tried to nab him? Look for puncture wounds around the neck and under the wings.

And please keep us posted. I must go run errands, but I will subscribe to this thread.

Praying.

 

[Oregon Blues]

Give him some niacin. Niacin deficiency takes them off their legs.

Probably it is a dislocated tendon, in which case, he might not heal. But ducks can be little weenies about being hurt, so check the bottom of his feet to make sure it isn't bumblefoot or some sort of sore or infection.

It might be botulism, but that normally affects the neck before anything else. It's not impossible, though. he can get through that with a lot of care and support.

Rest him, make sure he eats and drinks, and hope for the best. If he isn't up and well in 4-5 days, you will probably have to put him to sleep.

 

[sparkes]

Thanks will pass this info to my dad he was in a stable with other ducks & chickens the stable has a mesh frame across the top door to prevent any predators getting in, none of the others are ill and he was fine in the morning when we went back in the evening we found him lying down my dad checked for signs of injury but none was present my dad also mentioned his crop was empty?

 

[Amiga]

He may have had some kind of infection for a while. Ducks hide illness. There are reasons to try antibiotics and reasons to not try them. But I would consider it if I ruled out other possibilities.

Is his lower abdomen distended at all?

 

[sparkes]

Hi all thanks for your help, just a quick update my dad took our drake home and cared for him gave him some antibiotics and kept putting him in his pond for short periods, he is now back to full health and was put pack in the pen with the others yesterday, we were.thinking he may have had some kind of virus.

 

[Amiga]

Hey, thanks for the update!