My duck is sick. I need help on trying to help him

[tarab0004]

A week ago we noticed our drake was walking with his head tucked in. Just assumed maybe he was being bullied by the other drakes. On Friday night we noticed something his one eye was foamy Saturday morning we went to let him out of his cage and found him on his back. He has no balance. Is barely eating or drinking ...I think mainly because he can't balance himself long enuf ... He will take some food,bread and will drink but only with our assistance while he is in his pool . He has diareah and has lost all of his oils He wants to move. When we put him on his feet he tries to take a few steps and falls and within after a few steps and ends up on his back. He does not seem in distress seems very calm None of my other drakes appear to be sick If we is not penned the other drakes try to peck at him. Anyone have any suggestions? We tried Epsom salt in the baby pool. We tried olive oil with bread....it does not appear to be helping tho.

 

[gal5150]

Did he drink any of the water with Epsom salt in it? If so, and the diarrhea started after the bath, you probably have your culprit at least for that....it's a laxative

Is he sneezing, breathing ok or labored? Foamy eye makes me think of respiratory infection, possibly sinus infection or blocked nares. Can you see through the nares?

When healthy, is he housed with all drakes? Any missing neck feathers? I ask bc if the other drakes are mounting him and grabbing him by the back of the neck, as sins cavities run under the eyes and neck and "over mating" can cause sinus/eye issues.

Balance could be neurological....or, if he has a respiratory illness or infection in sinus, etc and it's gone on long (their so good at hiding the beginning of an illness) and he is currently malnurished/dehydrated and generally unwell...could do it too.

 

[tarab0004]

He did drink the water with the Epsom salt but he had the diareah prior. It was white and stringy at first but now it is green and watery. He can't stand up by himself or take more than a few steps without falling over. His feet keep moving when he is on his back. He keeps shaking his head like he is dizzy and trying to get his bearings. No visual signs of being over mated. Neck feathers seem ok. He cannot get dry. He is still soaked from being In his pool early this afternoon. No sinus or resp symptoms. Hisbbreathing has been calm and steady. No discharge from the nose His feathers keeps falling/ breaking off. I am lost as to what to try or look for next

 

[Ravynscroft]

Head shaking, dizzy and balance issues are very commonly related to sinus infections... discharge does not happen with all sinus infections... pressure from the infection could very easily be messing with his inner ear...

If vet is not possible, I would look into an antibiotic for him quickly... check your local feed store for sulfadimethox, oxytetracycline or Tylan...

 

[gal5150]

This is sounding more and more like something neurological and/or systemic. You may want to google Botulism, West Nile Virus in ducks. Those are two that come to mind....

 

[Ravynscroft]

If it's botulism, he'll need a different treatment... activated charcoal first.. let me tag @Amiga and @Miss Lydia I think they might have some helpful advice and links...

 

[gal5150]

And if he's still soaked, regardless of age, dry him off and add some heat for him if ambient temps aren't very warm.

Like @RavynFallen, sinus infection can mess with inner ear, and that frothy eye would be a consistent with sinus issues.

The feathers falling/breaking off and lack of oil could be from a week of poor nutrition and hydration. If it were me, I'd try to cover all my bases....

After you've googled those, post if either seem suspect to you so members on here can guide you as to how to start treatment

 

[Amiga]

A good duck vet would be best. I agree that the Epsom salt likely caused the diarrhea. But something else could be going on.

A charcoal slurry would help if this is toxicity - he could have hardware disease, or could have eaten something toxic, including botulism toxin.

Please look here, under Flushes for Toxin Removal and also the link to Heavy Metal Poisoning - https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/256233/ducks-sticky-topics-index

Remember the charcoal is the food grade, powdered, activated charcoal. Not briquettes, those contain poison.

Feather condition problems can be from a long term chronic illness. After the charcoal slurry, or before if you don't have the charcoal right away, I would get the drake onto poultry vitamins with electrolytes in water. Twice a week. And as much fresh water as you can help him drink. I would not force it on him yet, though in his condition, he may really need to have water and food syringe-fed. In fact, I reckon a good duck vet might give him intramuscular fluids. Continue to keep him in a safe place with fresh bedding and nutritious food. Try soaking some food in water so it's like wet oatmeal - that might help him. If he has any favorite treats, like peas, see if he'll eat those. Or sweet corn. Not exclusively sweet corn, but if you can get him to eat, he needs the calories, and sweet corn has some water in it. Not dried corn. Fresh or thawed frozen sweet corn.

 

[Amiga]

@tarab0004

 

[tarab0004]

Thank u everyone But unfortunately our boy passed away through the night. We were going to try antibiotics and vitamins this morning but it was too late For future reference are there any supplements that we should use on a daily/weekly/monthly basis as a preventative measure?