Sick ducklings

[Landen Jett]

Hi we have 5 ducklings(2 khaki campbells, 2 anconas, and 1 fawn and white runner) and 2 of them have gone stiff for a short period which we think is seizures and one of them has been walking unsteadily most like she's drunk and so we think they have botulism but we are unsure. If anyone knows what this might be and how to deal with it that would be greatly appreciated

 

[Blue Raptor]

Here is a link if your sure it's botulism: Botulism.

 

[Eggcessive]

Botulism in poultry usually causes flaccid paralysis of the whole body, beginning at the feet and legs progressing up the spinal nerves to the wings, neck, breathing muscles, and eyelids. It comes from eating a toxin produced in decaying animal or plant matter in a low oxygen environment, such as fish underwater, animals buried underground, and maggots that may eat those. What are your ducks’ symptoms? Some things that may look similar would be moldy feed poisoning, or eating a plant or chemical that is toxic. There is no practical treatment, and most poultry may die within a day or so. It also can be difficult to diagnose with a necropsy unfortunately. It is more common in ducks than chickens, but most animals and birds, excluding vultures, can get it. Please let us know how your ducks get along. Giving water and electrolytes may help if it is something else wrong.

 

[Landen Jett]

So what originally happened was the ducks were running up a hill and all of a sudden one of them threw up and there was something green in it. Immediately after they threw up they fell backwards onto their back and after they got up they were unable to walk very well like they were very slow and unbalanced and anytime they tried to go up or down the hill they would fall so I started to hold her and just watch her. While I was doing this another one of them shrieked and went completely stiff with her legs stuck out and her head kind of folded so I grabbed her too, however, after a few minutes she seemed fine. So then after all this happened we took the two inside and began to set up a place for them to stay. While we were doing this another one of them did the same thing where she went stiff, so we ended up just bringing all of them inside to stay overnight so that we could watch them. We also gave them electrolyte water and food with brewers yeast in it. Over the course of the evening they seemed to be doing fine so this morning we let them back outside and we haven't noticed anymore problems so I don't really know what it could've been but they seem to be ok now so thank you for your help and if anything else happens I will post an update.

 

[Landen Jett]

So an update: The one that was originally walking funny had a seizure yesterday. Any ideas on what to do? We are feeding her food with brewers yeast in it in case its a deficiency. Also should we be worried like will she able to live normally with seizures (if she continues to have them) or will it cause her to die soon?