White Layer Duck unable to use her legs

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Hi Friends,
i just found this evening that one of my White Layers has a huge bumble on her foot that i have failed to see.
The plan was to start with soaking and treatment tomorrow morning as it is already dark outside and getting cold. So i went inside and chopped up ½cabbage for the ducks, came back out and found that duck flat on her belly, legs stretched back and unable to get up. I picked her up and her heart is beating like crazy, breathing heavy. Both legs feel hot, the while bird feels hot and she refuses to eat or drink anything.
Her belly feels soft, crop feels empty.
Assuming that she is cramping from a fever, i placed her in a bowl with tap-warm water to cool her down. After a while she calms down and breathes easier. Sprinkled some meal-worms into the water and she starts to eat them and drinks some water in the process.
Now she is in a box on hay and not looking very happy.

Video of her in the water is uploading right now.

 

[Eggcessive]

@Miss Lydia may be able to help you. Have you given any extra niacin in her food? Human vitamin B Complex tablets can be crushed 1/2 tablet daily into food, and have plenty of niacin and other B’s. Can you post any pictures of the foot? I would use warm water for soaking if it is getting cold outside, and bring her inside to dry her.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

She is getting really hot when she sit on the hay, heart-rate through the roof, heavy breathing, i have set her back into the water and she is doing better there. Still not able to bring her feet into normal position.
Here is the video:

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

@Miss Lydia may be able to help you. Have you given any extra niacin in her food? Human vitamin B Complex tablets can be crushed 1/2 tablet daily into food, and have plenty of niacin and other B’s. Can you post any pictures of the foot? I would use warm water for soaking if it is getting cold outside, and bring her inside to dry her.

She is 8 month old and foraging outside the whole day, so i doubt that she needs any extra B vitamins. I know she has bumble foot, what really concerns me is that she seems to have fever and her legs are cramped to the back. If i try moving her legs into the normal position, she quacks and bites, so i assume that is painful. I try to give her some Magnesium…

 

[Eggcessive]

Did this just happen today, or has she been having problems before with her legs? Do her legs feel limp or paralyzed? Botulism can cause paralysis in the legs that spreads up the spinal cord to the wings, neck, and eyes within a day. It is caused by eating a toxin produced in dead animals or fish that have been underwater or underground, or eating worms or maggots that have been on those things. Hopefully, this is just something that is treatable, and she just has a fever. I know little about ducks, so I hope others will offer help. I have read that ducks do not get enough niacin in the usual feeds, so it might be useful to try it.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Another encouraging sign: She pooped in the water.

 

[Eggcessive]

More info on niacin:
http://www.duckdvm.com/condition/niacin-deficiency

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

She wasn't limping at all, even with that huge bumble on her foot. It happened within a couple of minutes: I saw her in the group of ducks waiting for their supper, went in to cut cabbage and when i came back out she was lying on the ground.
Botulism was my first thought too, her legs are cramped stiff and hot. Now in the water (cold!) they seem to relax a bit.
She ate some cat kibbles with magnesium, i don't know if i can get a pill of paracetamol for the fever into her.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

She is better after sitting in cold water for almost two hours

She's back on her feet!
I'll watch her for the next hour, if the fever comes back she'll get an acetaminophen.

 

[Eggcessive]

Do not give her acetominophen, tylenol or paracetamol. It is toxic to chickens, cats, and some others. You may give aspirin 81 mg twice a day safely, or put 325 mg in 8 ounces (240ml) of water. Glad the soak helped her. Hopefully, you will figure out what is going on. Pictures of ber bumblefoot may be helpful. Hopefully, some other duck people will chime in. @WVduckchick and others may help.