Seizures & runny nose - please help

[DuckMomma6]

One of my ducks (about 3.5 months old) started having seizures 3 days ago. She had 4 that I know of in which each was worse than the prior. Since then nobody has witnessed any seizure activity... But she has been lethargic and less active than usual. She will still forage with the others and swim some but keeps to herself a lot and sits or stands still.. She walks slowly. She is eating and drinking ok but has watery stool. And tonight I noticed that she has clear fluid running from her nostrils... I have done research but I have no idea what is going on. I am a first time duck momma.. I am hesitate to take her to the vet bc the vets around me don't really know much about ducks... Any thoughts or advice???

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

Bump.
To start, I'd isolate her, give her water dish deep enough to dunk her bill and add some vits and ACV to the water could be respiratory infection. Sorry but I don't know about seizures But someone will be on soon who does.

 

[yinepu]

Seizures in birds can be caused by several things:

heavy metal poisoning or poisonous plants / substances / pesticides
dehydration, low blood sugar, vitamin deficiency (A, D), calcium deficiency, hypocalcaemia, hyperglycemia
trauma, brain injury, stress
infectious diseases, aspergillosis / aflatoxins
brain tumors
heat stroke (hyperthermia)

 

[DuckMomma6]

Thank y'all for the help!
We feed our ducks 18% all flock pellets and always put vitamins/minerals in their water in which I started giving the max dose due to all of this... What is ACV?

 

[yinepu]

Thank y'all for the help!
We feed our ducks 18% all flock pellets and always put vitamins/minerals in their water in which I started giving the max dose due to all of this... What is ACV?

ACV = Apple Cider Vinegar

the unpasteurized ones with the "mother" are said to be the best (Bragg's and Heinz both sell a type it with the mother.. just check the labels)

 

[DuckMomma6]

My duck passed away today while I was at work I am really sad and at a loss... I don't want this to happen to any of our other ducks... None of our others are showing any negative signs at all... What can I do to prevent this kind of thing???

 

[iheartnh]

I'm sorry for your loss. I hope someone has ideas regarding the cause.

 

[yinepu]

My duck passed away today while I was at work

I am really sad and at a loss... I don't want this to happen to any of our other ducks... None of our others are showing any negative signs at all... What can I do to prevent this kind of thing???

sorry for your loss...

make sure you have everything checked off on the list of causes.. no toxic materials / plants around.. check their feed for a list of vitamins and make sure it covers everything they need.. make sure they have access to enough clean cold (as cold as you can keep it) water

and watch the others for any signs of disease. You may not be able to protect them against every trauma.. but you can minimize any risks..

Best of luck with your other birds.. lets hope this is a one time thing


IF you have the stomach for it you CAN do a necropsy.. you won't be able to tell everything without some lab work.. but checking internal organs may help you see if any damage was done to any of them to help pinpoint a cause...

 

[veronicasmom]

Several years ago we lost two ducks to Deadly Nightshade poisoning. The first one had to be euthanized after getting slowly weaker and weaker. I believe she ate some of the leaves when they were less toxic. A month or two later I came out to find another one having what appeared to be a seizure. I rushed her to the vet and she ended up being euthanized too. I had a necropsy done and plant matter was found in her. It was later determined that the plant had bloomed and berries had formed, which are very toxic. She probably ate one or ate the flowers. Those were the only toxic weeds found in their area. THe necropsy was very helpful in figuring out what happened.
I am sorry for your loss, it is so upsetting, believe me, I know. May she rest in peace.

 

[DuckMomma6]

Thank you all for your posts. It is nice to know y'all understand. I cleaned everything really good and will be making sure the others have cold water (it usually is cold but I didn't know that was a necessity). They live in our side yard and there aren't any plants other than a couple sunflowers... I could barely handle finding her so my husband buried her for me. He did try to look at her & see what he thought but all he said is it did look like she went peacefully (he has always raised chickens & he compared her to them). I will probably be alert to every little thing with the others for awhile.. They don't really even seem to know one of their own is gone.. This is my first time raising ducks so I wasn't sure how they handle that sort of thing.. Anyways we had done some research on their food and found the best stuff we could at the feed store and also added a vitamin mineral mix to their water.. I sometimes give them treats like tomatoes & lettuce and recently had been giving them mulberries - I always do research before giving them a treat but could it have been one of those things?? The mulberries keep coming to mind bc Danni duck really liked them and was usually front of the line begging for more... I am hesitant to give them any more treats for now..
What is the ACV good for? Is it something you give them regularly or only if something is going on? If so, how much should I give and do I add it to their water?