Rescue Duck- still having neck problems.

[Accidentalzookeeper]

I posted about these two ducklings a friend brought to my house after she found them at a lake. While she was there someone left them and drove away. They seemed malnourished (weak, bent legs) and so I started them on B vitamins in addition to their chick food and nutritional yeast and greens. Then about a week after we got them, one of them developed a wry neck. Since then I started giving even more fresh herbs and greens (mostly parsley, cilantro, dandelion greens, oregano and they also get kale), switched their chick starter to Mazuri waterfowl starter, and added Vitamin E 2x daily, half a selenium crushed on their food, along with the B vitamins (on their food or on treats and in their water).

It's been one week now and no improvement in the neck. The poor thing looks like quasimodo and keeps it bent all the time now except when s/he stands and stretches out and flaps its wings. It also still seems to be a little bit weak in the legs and lays down a lot still. They are outside all day in a pen with plenty of space to wander around and a bin they could swim in, but they don't, and they go on the lawn for running around time every day as well. They get a bath inside most days, and they sleep in a brooder box at night.

I just started adding oats to the food in case it is growing too quickly? The other one is doing fine- it was smaller to begin with, and remains smaller, and it had severe pigeon toes, which have corrected somewhat, so that it can walk pretty comfortably now, though the legs are not perfect. They both seem happy but I feel bad for this one with the neck. When they are old enough I want them to go live with our other ducks and I don't want it to get picked on for being weak, is that a thing with ducks? Anything else we can do for the neck? My husband was wondering about making it a neck brace but not sure if that is a good idea or not.

 

[Quatie]

I am so sorry about your ducks. I don't know if this is going to be a permanent thing at this point or not. One thing for the ducks legs, is you can put it in a deep bath and make it swim. I rescued a duckling that was malnourished and forcing her to swim helped her get her strength back in her legs. I would start with multiple short sessions. You will just need to be careful because of the neck issue. I feel like you may also want to give the vitamins in a more direct method, in case the healthier one is eating them all. Hopefully someone with a bit more experience will respond.

 

[Accidentalzookeeper]

I am so sorry about your ducks. I don't know if this is going to be a permanent thing at this point or not. One thing for the ducks legs, is you can put it in a deep bath and make it swim. I rescued a duckling that was malnourished and forcing her to swim helped her get her strength back in her legs. I would start with multiple short sessions. You will just need to be careful because of the neck issue. I feel like you may also want to give the vitamins in a more direct method, in case the healthier one is eating them all. Hopefully someone with a bit more experience will respond.

Thank you! I am wondering if it maybe has scoliosis or some other deformity and perhaps it is not wry neck. Our other ducks grew without any issues and I'm a newer duck owner and don't know all the things that can go wrong with them, but I saw a few things about this on the forums just now. One of its shoulders is higher than the other. It definitely gets the vitamins. I usually give it all the treats first or out of my hand so I know it is eating them. It really loves to eat . I will continue the swimming. It seems to do fine in the water, thankfully!

 

[Quatie]

Thank you! I am wondering if it maybe has scoliosis or some other deformity and perhaps it is not wry neck. Our other ducks grew without any issues and I'm a newer duck owner and don't know all the things that can go wrong with them, but I saw a few things about this on the forums just now. One of its shoulders is higher than the other. It definitely gets the vitamins. I usually give it all the treats first or out of my hand so I know it is eating them. It really loves to eat . I will continue the swimming. It seems to do fine in the water, thankfully!

It looks like a pekin duck. They are a heavy breed and grow faster than other breeds, so they are more susceptible to leg and wing issues. That is likely what is going on with the legs. They also need more naicin than other breeds duck, again because they are a large breed.

That's great that it enjoys swimming. The swimming is a good exercise that is less strenuous on them. I do find you have to push them to see improvement. Otherwise they take the lazy man's path.

 

[Isaac 0]

That type of curvature in the neck can occur due to several things, ranging from nutritional deficiencies (most often vitamin B1, and E). It can also be related to neurological damage, genetics, malposition inside the egg which causes greater muscle pull to one side of the neck, along with a few more.

Generally, it's always a good idea to cover all bases and start supplementing with vitamins, specifically B vitamins, and vitamin E, which it sounds like you're already doing. If you're not seeing improvement with the vitamins that may not be the problem, but it would still be a good idea to continue the supplementation. Since you received her later on, the bones in her neck may already be too set to be correct at this point.

In addition to vitamin supplementation, ensure the duck is getting in deep water daily, as well as getting plenty of feed, and water. As the duck ages, this will become more important. When the bird is out of water, ensuring it's on soft grounds to reduce sores from developing on her hock joints would be a good idea. If needed, you can make-shift padding onto her hocks to prevent sores.

If her neck is pliable, you could try massaging it daily, as well as teasing it back into place, in hopes it will start looking like a normal neck. Neck braces can be done, but only if the neck is maneuverable. Moving the neck too much out of place, can cause edema, pain, and possibly bone damage. If it is pliable, you could try something like this :

Ultimately, no one here can tell you if the neck will get better, or not. I have had birds similar to yours and given her age, I'm less opportunistic about recovery, but it's worth continuing and trying the things mentioned above, and see if there is improvement overtime.