My duck isn't walking :( Please help

[psladky]

Our duck will not walk

He (I think) is 2 months old. Moved out into an enclosed pond area 3 weeks ago. Has 3 other duck buddies all the same age that are fine. No visible swelling, wounds or deformities. Eating and drinking. Seems equally weak bilateral. Will just move with wings. Was swimming last night but not as well. Eating poultry and game fowl mix, that is all our feed mill carries, no other feed places in two hours. I'm hoping it is just a nutritional thing. We've noticed over the last week that the duck just sits on the bank while the other 3 swim, was finally able to grab him before he hit the water today.

We got him from L&M farm store at the same time as the other 3 chicks (another crested and 2 magpies). These our are first ducks. I didn't realize at the time that crested ducks were actually due to a deformity of the skull, so I know no breeding for them.

Thank you so much for your help.

 

[GitaBooks]

I'm sorry to hear about your duck.

It could be nutritional. Give it some brewers yeast to give it much needed niacin. Make sure it is getting vitamins.
It could be paralysis. Paralysis can be caused by genetics, disease, or injury.

Here are reasons for paralysis in chickens:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq

It is kind of sad how many breeds of animals are really deformities that suffer during their lives. Our dog was a partial dwarf and he died far younger than he should have. He had really bad arthritis because of his deformed legs.

Hopefully your duck will get better soon. Best of luck!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Nutritional dif are easy fixed by adding what they need so use the advise GitaBooks gave Brewers yeast or plain niacin tab. 100 -150 mgs to 1 gallon of water or sprinkle 1 tab of brewers yeast over 1 cup of feed. Keep him safe till he is up and walking again. It is not that uncommon for ducks to have this lameness if fed feed for poultry with doesn't have the amount of niacin that water fowl need. some just need more . Be sure it's nutritional or Brewers yeast and not baking yeast. They need this amount of niacin till at least 10 week old

let us know how he is doing.

 

[psladky]

Thank you so much for replying. I was reading too about niacin deficiency. I don't notice that he has bowed legs at all but am more then willing to try the brewers yeast to see if it helps. We got him on May 2nd, so h/e is right around 8 weeks. Do you think that I can still turn this around for him if I can find Brewers yeast in town tomorrow? I feel so bad for him. I wish I would have known too about the genetic defects, I don't understand why they continue to breed them, but I am hoping that it is the vitamin deficiency and not genetics, poor thing Honestly thank you again so much for responding, I've been looking all day trying to find something to help him. I do have the High Level Vitamin B Complex injectable, do you know if I could/should give that orally?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thank you so much for replying. I was reading too about niacin deficiency. I don't notice that he has bowed legs at all but am more then willing to try the brewers yeast to see if it helps. We got him on May 2nd, so h/e is right around 8 weeks. Do you think that I can still turn this around for him if I can find Brewers yeast in town tomorrow? I feel so bad for him. I wish I would have known too about the genetic defects, I don't understand why they continue to breed them, but I am hoping that it is the vitamin deficiency and not genetics, poor thing

Honestly thank you again so much for responding, I've been looking all day trying to find something to help him. I do have the High Level Vitamin B Complex injectable, do you know if I could/should give that orally?

You could try the liquid till you get the Brewers yeast or niacin pills It wouldn't hurt to start him off on a higher dose then drop back. If this just started then I doubt it's his being crested usually that starts right after hatch. So lets just hope it's the niacin dif and with getting this into him he'll turn around quick. You checked him over good for injuries right?

You didn't say but ducks just like other poultry need secure housing for night time, If we don't make it available to them they are literally sitting ducks for any predator that we have and believe me they will soon find them. They may not want to go in but it's our responsibility to teach them that going in at dusk is for their own good.

 

[psladky]

You could try the liquid till you get the Brewers yeast or niacin pills It wouldn't hurt to start him off on a higher dose then drop back. If this just started then I doubt it's his being crested usually that starts right after hatch. So lets just hope it's the niacin dif and with getting this into him he'll turn around quick. You checked him over good for injuries right?

You didn't say but ducks just like other poultry need secure housing for night time, If we don't make it available to them they are literally sitting ducks for any predator that we have and believe me they will soon find them. They may not want to go in but it's our responsibility to teach them that going in at dusk is for their own good.

He is still hanging in there today. We do have a enclosed area for the ducks outside. We had to close them in at night for a few weeks and now they will go in on their own, plus their food/water is in there I tried giving him 0.3ml of the liquid vitamin B based on his weight, did not go so hot, most just dribbled out. So I mixed 1ml of the vitamin B in a gallon of water along with probiotics and electrolytes. The vet on Chicken corner thought maybe botulism, but he is still holding his head up good this morning and drinking well. The ponds are man made with no fish or other animals accessing the pond, but it does not have an aerator (we just moved here in December), so I think that will be next on our list.

Just some background: I was gone with the kids for a week and got back on Sunday 6/21/15, my husband stayed home. I went out to the ducks and only saw 3 on the pond. I asked my husband where the 4th one was and he said that it liked to sit on the bank in the grass. I thought okay, maybe it's a male thing to watch the rest (this is our first time raising ducks). So I was getting more concerned and tried to grab him on Thurs/Friday and he slipped into the pond. On Saturday I finally got him and was able to look closely at him. I haven't been able to find out how long the disease process is with botulism when looking online, so I don't know if it can have a long period of decline or if it is a fast disease, if anyone knows or has a link.

I looked again and can not find any wounds, swelling, hot spot, or deformities, he isn't squawking when I touch anywhere either. I haven't seen him stool at all though. I have him laying on spread out/empty feed bag now to see if I can see his stool. Fingers crossed that he will come around. Thank you again everyone for your help and any ideas that you may have.

 

[Jessica89]

So he was literally walking fine one minute and then not the next? How bizarre! Poor little thing I am hoping and praying it is a nutritional deficiency and not something more sinister. Poor little baby.. I had tears watching the video. I really hope he recovers.. please keep us updated.

I would start with supplements that have been recommended to you, wait and if there is no improvement take him to the vets for some scans as it might be a growth or tumour pressing on the peripheral nerves causing a loss of feeling in the lower legs.

Here is a good link for you to read:

http://poultrykeeper.com/skeletal-and-muscular-disorders/lameness

Good luck x

p.s make sure his food is unmedicated!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Here is the link for treating for a toxin. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/700526/flushes-for-aiding-in-toxin-removal#post_9508213 If you decdie to use one go right by the directions.

It could be the water but seems your others would be showing symptoms if it was. But it sure won't hurt to get an aerator for the pond.

 

[psladky]

Here is the link for treating for a toxin. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/700526/flushes-for-aiding-in-toxin-removal#post_9508213 If you decdie to use one go right by the directions.

It could be the water but seems your others would be showing symptoms if it was. But it sure won't hurt to get an aerator for the pond.

I was looking over the flushes and I seem to remember reading somewhere about Epsom salt flushes helping if it is botulism. How to do you do a flush exactly? We live in a pretty remote in northern MN near Canada, luckily we need to go to Duluth tomorrow so I can have access to a farm store to pick up anything we need, or else I am waiting on mail order if our feed mill doesn't have it.

 

[psladky]

So he was literally walking fine one minute and then not the next? How bizarre! Poor little thing I am hoping and praying it is a nutritional deficiency and not something more sinister. Poor little baby.. I had tears watching the video. I really hope he recovers.. please keep us updated.

I would start with supplements that have been recommended to you, wait and if there is no improvement take him to the vets for some scans as it might be a growth or tumour pressing on the peripheral nerves causing a loss of feeling in the lower legs.

Here is a good link for you to read:

http://poultrykeeper.com/skeletal-and-muscular-disorders/lameness

Good luck x

p.s make sure his food is unmedicated!

I don't know for sure how fast his symptoms came on, I was gone for that week and when I came back he really only wanted to be on the bank. So I'm guessing maybe it started that week because he was moving/swimming fine before I left. I will have to call the vet here and see if they are willing to xray him. Still waiting to see if he stools. He is drinking well and head up and alert. Hoping against hope that he pulls through and it is a vitamin issue. Thank you for the link.