URGENT: Sick male duck

[Pasqual]

It is hard to tell the underlying cause of the loss of range movement in her neck without a thorough physical exam, and radiograph. I can speak from the experience saying sometimes abnormalities that occurred during the hatch, can oftentimes appear unnoticeable until the bird ages in which then, there is more stress on the deformed ligaments, and bones.

The problem may have originated during hatch where there was a great muscle pull of the neck, there may have been an injury at some time in his life that you were unaware of, or as @Miss Lydia suggested it could be a genetic deformity like scoliosis. There may very well be a misalignment in his lower cervical vertebrae, but without a radiograph, it's had to tell. Nutritional and any other condition that may affect neurological function are all possibilities.

Whether the condition be, sadly, with older birds the prognosis is less favorable as the muscles tend to become more set, and hard in place to correct as easily. That doesn't mean you can't provide the bird with a few vitamins for neurological health, like vitamin E, and thiamine (B1), just don't expect a full range of movement in his neck thereafter.

Looking at your video, the duck does seem to do well regardless, so I would focus, as of now, just making sure he's on a good diet and getting bathing time each day. Throwing scattered treats into the water while he's bathing, may improve the way his necks moves by exercise.

Thanks for your advices. I’ll make sure to provide him with the vitamins and bathing treats.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

He was a very normal duckling. Specifically, he was born on last year November, and this November 2/11 his symptoms appeared, so he obviously has scoliosis, no? I shall provide him with sunflower seeds.

So his symptoms appeared somewhat suddenly, out of nowhere? - That almost rules out scoliosis, which establishes slowly over several months. I agree with @Isaac 0, without a thorough exam, including an x-ray this is hard to diagnose, but if the symptoms occurred quickly, like from one day to the next, there is a good chance that it is an injury which should heal to certain extend.
Agree with the others that exercise will definitely help him as well as some extra vitamins, just don't overdo the lipid vitamins A,E and K. Water soluble Vitamins like C and B* cannot be overdosed. - Well almost cannot, don't feed him a pound of Niacin, he will glow in the night…
Can you get some red-kale? As weird as it sounds, but Limpy, my limping drake walks a lot better when i feed him shredded red kale. After about a week of feeding him that, his legs and bill become more orange and he is walking much more stable and doesn't trip that often.
Also, all my ducks love red kale… But don't be scared when the kale comes back out at the other end of the duck: It looks strangely green, but it is totally ok.

 

[Pasqual]

So his symptoms appeared somewhat suddenly, out of nowhere? - That almost rules out scoliosis, which establishes slowly over several months. I agree with @Isaac 0, without a thorough exam, including an x-ray this is hard to diagnose, but if the symptoms occurred quickly, like from one day to the next, there is a good chance that it is an injury which should heal to certain extend.
Agree with the others that exercise will definitely help him as well as some extra vitamins, just don't overdo the lipid vitamins A,E and K. Water soluble Vitamins like C and B* cannot be overdosed. - Well almost cannot, don't feed him a pound of Niacin, he will glow in the night…
Can you get some red-kale? As weird as it sounds, but Limpy, my limping drake walks a lot better when i feed him shredded red kale. After about a week of feeding him that, his legs and bill become more orange and he is walking much more stable and doesn't trip that often.
Also, all my ducks love red kale… But don't be scared when the kale comes back out at the other end of the duck: It looks strangely green, but it is totally ok.

I may have noticed it later, but if it had developed in stages it definitely wouldn’t take more than 2 days because for me he’s a special needs duck and my only pet so I keep an eye on him. I would assume he sprained his neck (maybe muscle because his neck is so active and flexible cleaning his Right side but it becomes so limited when cleaning his left)
I wouldn’t give him crude vitamins as supplements, I prefer natural remedy as I believe nature cures nature, and I am now putting for him daily a big bucket with food on its bottom so he dips his hole head and eyes and moves his neck.
I will try to get him red kale. It sounds like a perfect thing. I will hope it is an injury, and if it’s not, I’ll make sure he lives happily through it.
P.S. I wouldn’t like him to glow at night

 

[Miss Lydia]

I wasn't diagnosing That your boy had scoliosis just that it can show up in ducks and might be something to research. I agree I prefer to use natural methods of treating if at all possible. So hopefully all your doing will help with him getting over this. I do know that muscle spasms from an injury can interfere with range of motion in neck muscles. So hopefully gentle exercises will help get him back to feeling good again.

 

[Pasqual]

I wasn't diagnosing That your boy had scoliosis just that it can show up in ducks and might be something to research. I agree I prefer to use natural methods of treating if at all possible. So hopefully all your doing will help with him getting over this. I do know that muscle spasms from an injury can interfere with range of motion in neck muscles. So hopefully gentle exercises will help get him back to feeling good again.

I understand, instead, your suggestion was in place. It’s good to know all possibilities to know how to approach the problem. He also looks like the ducks that have scoliosis so it may be right after all. I’ll try to encourage him to exercise. Just a question. Is it ok if he eats green kale instead? I’ve just made a search and apparently, no red kale in Kuwait

 

[Isaac 0]

Green kale would work perfectly fine.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I may have noticed it later, but if it had developed in stages it definitely wouldn’t take more than 2 days because for me he’s a special needs duck and my only pet so I keep an eye on him. I would assume he sprained his neck (maybe muscle because his neck is so active and flexible cleaning his Right side but it becomes so limited when cleaning his left)
I wouldn’t give him crude vitamins as supplements, I prefer natural remedy as I believe nature cures nature, and I am now putting for him daily a big bucket with food on its bottom so he dips his hole head and eyes and moves his neck.
I will try to get him red kale. It sounds like a perfect thing. I will hope it is an injury, and if it’s not, I’ll make sure he lives happily through it.
P.S. I wouldn’t like him to glow at night

I understand, instead, your suggestion was in place. It’s good to know all possibilities to know how to approach the problem. He also looks like the ducks that have scoliosis so it may be right after all. I’ll try to encourage him to exercise. Just a question. Is it ok if he eats green kale instead? I’ve just made a search and apparently, no red kale in Kuwait

That is an awesome idea, with the bucket! The food will motivate him to stretch his neck, so his body can work it all out. Yes and green kale is as good as red kale for a drake. I'm feeding red kale to my flock because the carotenoids somewhat deepen the colors of the egg-yolks, since he isn't laying any egg in the foreseeable future…
That story with Limpy glowing in the night: My wife learned that Niacin (B3) is good for the skin, so she ordered some Niacin pills. Upon arrival she took four of them at once without reading the instructions - one pill contains 500mg of Niacin, which will make you blush. Taking two grams made her glowing…
Fast forward to Limpy's accident, i was feeding him mealworms dowsed in Niacin powder and usually he shared those with his sisters Curiosity, Katharina and Nona, but one evening he wanted all for himself and gulped down everything in an instance. ~200mg of Niacin went into one tiny Runner Drake, who after about five minutes started to plush up his feathers and flap his wings for ventilation…
I now laugh about glowing Limpy, but hell was i concerned for him that evening!

 

[Pasqual]

That is an awesome idea, with the bucket! The food will motivate him to stretch his neck, so his body can work it all out. Yes and green kale is as good as red kale for a drake. I'm feeding red kale to my flock because the carotenoids somewhat deepen the colors of the egg-yolks, since he isn't laying any egg in the foreseeable future…
That story with Limpy glowing in the night: My wife learned that Niacin (B3) is good for the skin, so she ordered some Niacin pills. Upon arrival she took four of them at once without reading the instructions - one pill contains 500mg of Niacin, which will make you blush. Taking two grams made her glowing…
Fast forward to Limpy's accident, i was feeding him mealworms dowsed in Niacin powder and usually he shared those with his sisters Curiosity, Katharina and Nona, but one evening he wanted all for himself and gulped down everything in an instance. ~200mg of Niacin went into one tiny Runner Drake, who after about five minutes started to plush up his feathers and flap his wings for ventilation…
I now laugh about glowing Limpy, but hell was i concerned for him that evening!

Wow! Never knew that thanks for the info!
That’s quite the story I’m glad it only went to blushing and not something worse. I will make sure to double-check the quantity I give him so he doesn’t glow
About the red kale, I wish I could give him some. I always wanted his bill to be deep orange but unfortunately. Nonetheless, thanks for the info. If I ever find any (I may request farmers) I will definitely give him.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Wow! Never knew that thanks for the info!
That’s quite the story I’m glad it only went to blushing and not something worse. I will make sure to double-check the quantity I give him so he doesn’t glow
About the red kale, I wish I could give him some. I always wanted his bill to be deep orange but unfortunately. Nonetheless, thanks for the info. If I ever find any (I may request farmers) I will definitely give him.

You can try to feed him shredded carrots! Those are rich in carotenoids too, unfortunately my ducks won't eat those. Also Pumpkins, sweet potatoes and squashes contain a lot. My ducks would love to eat pumpkins every day, but i'm a lousy pumpkin farmer…

 

[Pasqual]

You can try to feed him shredded carrots! Those are rich in carotenoids too, unfortunately my ducks won't eat those. Also Pumpkins, sweet potatoes and squashes contain a lot. My ducks would love to eat pumpkins every day, but i'm a lousy pumpkin farmer…

Thanks! I’ll try to give him some. I have good news. The range in which he’s moving his neck widened today, and he was able to clean the outer feathers of his wing (not yet deep under it). Also his eye hasn’t foamed in some days now. Thanks everyone for your precious advices