HELP!!!!! YOUNG MUSOVY DUCK IS ILL!!

[2Gerootheducky]

My 9 month old Muscovy duck has not been walking since yesterday. She has trouble walking, I do not know why but I suspect boutilism? She can eat, see hear and talk fine. She was also eating some grass when we set her down and still has some mobility in her legs. She has been like this since yesterday. Could it be boutilism if she has been like this for 24 hours but sitll hasn't developed any worse smpytoms? I mean she is bad but she could be worse and if she's been like this for 24 hours when maybe its not boutilism? And if it is, are there any antibiotics we can give her? Her eyes are also a bit sore. However it could be something else. She moved in with our Pekin ducl (male) recently and he is very territorial and we have noticed he often doesn't let her eat. However we them a lot of food so I don;t know. Could he have mated with her at some point making her like this? please help

 

[2Gerootheducky]

Please someone, we need to act soon! These diseases act quickly, help me please

 

[Miss Lydia]

Place her away from your drake. One female to one drake is disastrous. If her eyes are sore this could very well be what’s going on. As for botulism we have info on treating. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/flushes-for-aiding-in-toxin-removal.700526/ follow these instruction to the T. As for her eyes. Terramycin eye ointment is good to have on hand.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I would contact your local vet if possible first. If not, uploading a video would greatly help everyone here better assist you. It's often hard to tell without seeing exactly what is going on.

I would also in this order:

1. Separate her from your male and put her in a confined area that is warm, where she will not be stressed and has plenty of fresh food and water. (I use an xlarge dog crate with puppy pads that I bring inside my garage). It doesn't sound like you have any other females? If you do you could bring another female to keep her company and less stressed.

2. Give her a full exam. Check her legs for heat, check the bottom of her feet, feel her abdomen, check her vent, her throat, her nares etc. Also check her breast bone to see if she is underweight. If your male has not been letting her eat there is a chance she could be malnourished and lost too much weight. It's often hard to tell with their feathers, but by feeling to see how prominent the breast bone is you can get a decent perspective along with weighing her with an actual scale. You can just use a regular scale by weighing yourself first and then after weighing yourself while holding your hen.

3. If you have or can get from the store give her a b complex along with electrolytes. I would also put some Terramycin in her eyes. If you don't have Terramycin you can check your local feed store for Vetericyn's eye drops.

4. If she will eat it, scrambled eggs are also a great pick-me-up for weak birds.

 

[2Gerootheducky]

Place her away from your drake. One female to one drake is disastrous. If her eyes are sore this could very well be what’s going on. As for botulism we have info on treating. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/flushes-for-aiding-in-toxin-removal.700526/ follow these instruction to the T. As for her eyes. Terramycin eye ointment is good to have on hand.

Wait, Mis Lidia, so she could be egg bound? We have removed her but how can we help her if this is the case

 

[2Gerootheducky]

I would contact your local vet if possible first. If not, uploading a video would greatly help everyone here better assist you. It's often hard to tell without seeing exactly what is going on.

I would also in this order:

1. Separate her from your male and put her in a confined area that is warm, where she will not be stressed and has plenty of fresh food and water. (I use an xlarge dog crate with puppy pads that I bring inside my garage). It doesn't sound like you have any other females? If you do you could bring another female to keep her company and less stressed.

2. Give her a full exam. Check her legs for heat, check the bottom of her feet, feel her abdomen, check her vent, her throat, her nares etc. Also check her breast bone to see if she is underweight. If your male has not been letting her eat there is a chance she could be malnourished and lost too much weight. It's often hard to tell with their feathers, but by feeling to see how prominent the breast bone is you can get a decent perspective along with weighing her with an actual scale. You can just use a regular scale by weighing yourself first and then after weighing yourself while holding your hen.

3. If you have or can get from the store give her a b complex along with electrolytes. I would also put some Terramycin in her eyes. If you don't have Terramycin you can check your local feed store for Vetericyn's eye drops.

4. If she will eat it, scrambled eggs are also a great pick-me-up for weak birds.

Thank you, I'll see if she eats it, and yes she has a warm space, where she will be stress-free

 

[2Gerootheducky]

UPDATE: I have done some research and this is what I concluded: ]

From the moment of incbuation, 48 critical hours will pass. If those 48 hours pass and the duck survives, then he should be out of danger. Out female Musocvy started acting like this yesterday morning, she had trouble walking and mostly sat moving only her neck. Fast forward to approximately 30 hours later and she was virtually the same, with limited leg mobility (she can move her legs, but they've little force to move her body. Still litte, not none she can still move very little). From what I understand botolusim strickes first at the legs, then at the wings and then the neck before the respiratory system. Around 36 hours into her disease (possibly more because she may have started incubating and showing symptoms we did not notice slightly before that) she is still in the leg stage of the disease and only 12 hours (or less) should be missing. In the past two hours she has managed to somehow turn herself around, showing she still has some strength left in her legs and eats and reactios to us talking to her moving her neck and looking at us. She seems to even maybe be slightly better. What does this mean if it is botlusim? Her chances of making it past the 48 hours (if she hasn't already) would be good right?

 

[2Gerootheducky]

Another update:
It would've been 48 hours since our duck strated showing symptoms, having trouble walking. She is the same as last night, with very reduced mobility in her legs, but sitll has some. If it were botulism she should now be out of danger completely?

 

[Miss Lydia]

If egg bound she needs a dose of calcium gluconate [TSC carries it in the cattle section,] 1 ml by mouth it helps to get contractions going to move the egg. And will not hurt her even if it isn't an egg problem.
Not all birds die from botulism from what I have read. So the fact that she is still alive but not showing much improvement makes me wonder if not something else. An egg stuck can cause a nerve to be pinched and cause a bird to be unable to walk. So lets try the cal gluconate and warm soaks in the tub.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...bound-ducks-preliminary.959537/#post-14940303
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/obturator-paralysis.1438777/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/

Question: did you treat for botulism? if so what?

 

[2Gerootheducky]

If egg bound she needs a dose of calcium gluconate [TSC carries it in the cattle section,] 1 ml by mouth it helps to get contractions going to move the egg. And will not hurt her even if it isn't an egg problem.
Not all birds die from botulism from what I have read. So the fact that she is still alive but not showing much improvement makes me wonder if not something else. An egg stuck can cause a nerve to be pinched and cause a bird to be unable to walk. So lets try the cal gluconate and warm soaks in the tub.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...bound-ducks-preliminary.959537/#post-14940303
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/obturator-paralysis.1438777/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/

Question: did you treat for botulism? if so what?

Thank you Miss Lydia, since she wasn't doing so badly, we didn't give her anything yet, as it seemed like she was close to the 48 hours that need to pass. Could she be egg-bound, and if so what other symtpoms should I look for and is she at the age for it? She is approximately 8 months old