Welsh Harlequin Ailment--Need Advice

[AHoags]

My year old Welsh Harlequin duck has been behaving strangely. We've noticed that lately she will temporarily limp or stop to rest on occasion. Today, she had a troubling incident which made me think that she had experienced some temporary paralysis. She stopped walking, stood up very straight, arched her neck in an oddly curved way, stood for a few minutes, tried to flap her wings (which was obviously problematic and labored), and then tried to get herself into the shed where the ducks sleep. When she tried to get into the shed, it was as if she couldn't get her body to move properly. She ran into the shed door as she tried to go inside. I followed her into the shed and watched her. She sat in a corner by herself (see pic) and "recovered". Then she walked over to the other ducks without any trouble and began grooming (she's on the right in the group pic). It was all very weird. Does anyone have any words of advice or similar experiences?

 

[EmilyP]

We've had a few females do this. Not sure the cause but the most recent was a pekin who was on antibiotics and pain meds for bumble and we decided it was due to dehydration for the most part and she was struggling to have proper BMs. Our welsh that did it a few times I'm not sure why she did it but her poop sure stunk something terrible and it was when she was broody so not pooping super often. Hope that helps

 

[AHoags]

We've had a few females do this. Not sure the cause but the most recent was a pekin who was on antibiotics and pain meds for bumble and we decided it was due to dehydration for the most part and she was struggling to have proper BMs. Our welsh that did it a few times I'm not sure why she did it but her poop sure stunk something terrible and it was when she was broody so not pooping super often. Hope that helps

Thank you for the insight. Were yours okay afterwards? Should I be giving probiotics and/or electrolytes to help?

 

[EmilyP]

Yes, neither of them seemed to have any issues after the episodes. The pekin was on pain meds for bumble so we stopped them (after talking to the vet) and gave her some more time in the clean pool. The welsh did it maybe twice that we saw and she was fine afterwards. Check to make sure she isn't eggbound but other than that she may have eaten something weird that's given her an upset stomach.