Cailyn Riley
In the Brooder
- Aug 8, 2017
- 13
- 15
- 32
On Wednesday, my Mandarin Duck began limping, we immediately took him to the vet (he has also been eating his chest feathers.) we were sent home with the explanation he twisted his leg and he’s molting. I knew that couldn’t be right. By the same time the following day, he lost complete function of his legs. We immediately thought it may be a niacin deficiency, and initially when giving him niacin- he seemed to be doing better, he began to stand and walk- barely but a little. Almost simultaneously though, he began to loose the function of his neck. He began to bobble- my best explanation is that it was like he had Parkinson’s in only his neck and head. Because our mandarin is wild, and getting the niacin in his beak with a syringe was hard and traumatic, we decided to take him to the vet to get a vitamin B shot. While there, the kind vet also gave him an antibiotic shot for free, just Incase it was something else. Almost instantly, within the hour he declined rapidly. By the time we got home, he had no function of his neck and it would lay on the ground. When I put my hands in there to get him, he didn’t even care (usually he’d try to get away.) I put him on my chest so I could keep his head in a comfortable position and held him. I held him through 7 seizures for 1 hour. On our way to the vet to have him put down, he had, what I think, was a grand mal seizure and died.
My mandarin had strange color poop before and during. A bright green watery poop. Sometimes a little darker and watery. My wood duck now has his same poop and I’m concerned he is now going down the same road.
Did I do wrong by getting my mandarin those injections? It seemed those sent him over the edge? But they were just vitamins and antibiotic? When we got cooper our mandarin, he seemed to already be plucking feathers and he was all alone when the breeder caught him, far from the other mandarins and wood ducks. I’m thinking he may have already been sick and the other ducks shunned him away. My wood duck would only let the mandarin so close to him too, as if he knew he was sick.
I am so devastated. I loved the little guy. He was so kind, so gentle and so sweet. Any ideas on what it could be would be amazing, the vets here all say they aren’t familiar with ducks so I get the same wide range of possibilities.
My mandarin had strange color poop before and during. A bright green watery poop. Sometimes a little darker and watery. My wood duck now has his same poop and I’m concerned he is now going down the same road.
Did I do wrong by getting my mandarin those injections? It seemed those sent him over the edge? But they were just vitamins and antibiotic? When we got cooper our mandarin, he seemed to already be plucking feathers and he was all alone when the breeder caught him, far from the other mandarins and wood ducks. I’m thinking he may have already been sick and the other ducks shunned him away. My wood duck would only let the mandarin so close to him too, as if he knew he was sick.
I am so devastated. I loved the little guy. He was so kind, so gentle and so sweet. Any ideas on what it could be would be amazing, the vets here all say they aren’t familiar with ducks so I get the same wide range of possibilities.
