Wobbly duck

[MugsyM]

It will come off you just have to work a it. Work on peeling off the metal piece then under it is the rubber stopper like a plug pull that off and use your dropper. You can’t shoot the liquid b straight down her throat though it might go in the wrong hole.

I got it off finally. She is on her third day. I was surprised that she came out of her pen this morning and was sitting about half way up the yard. I didn't see her when she got there. She came the rest of the way and again I didn't see her getting there. She is laying under one of my above ground planters sleeping and I was able to see the foot and it is shriveled. I tried zooming in as best I can. Any thoughts, opinions or suggestions?

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Is it only when shes preening? I'm wondering if its type of wry neck? If so, the treatment would be vitamin e and selenium and it can take weeks to see a turn around.
Hopefully others with more experience would have some insight.

 

[Galaxyfalcon]

Is it only when shes preening? I'm wondering if its type of wry neck? If so, the treatment would be vitamin e and selenium and it can take weeks to see a turn around.
Hopefully others with more experience would have some insight.

It's definitely not just when she's preening. I let her out for a few minutes to get a little outside time and take a bath and she was wobbly to and from the grass area. I'll take a look at vitamin e and selenium. Do you have any supplements you would recommend?

 

[Galaxyfalcon]

What feed is she on? Did the vet run blood work for deficiencies? Her legs look unstable like a niacin deficiency especially since she appears to be a larger breed and is only 3 months. If it were my duck I would go get vitamin B from Duravet or Poultry cell and give orally asap.

They're on duck pellets from tractor supply mixed with a little scratch and then we've also been adding some multivitamins and a bit of brewers yeast added in. They also get greens (peas and spinach etc). Until the ducklings were about 2 months old (and as needed) we were adding durvet vitamin b complex to their water supply. I've also got some nutridrench to give her for an added boost.

The vet did x-ray but didn't feel a need to do blood work; for some reason she didn't think it was an infection (I asked if it could be a bacterial and if we should be her on antibiotics) but she didn't think it was worth the effort. Xrays confirm no breaks, fractures, no metal ingested etc (so no metal poisoning).

I don't think it's a niacin deficiency because it came on so quickly; I also caught her shivering a little the other day when she was swimming in her water.

The good news is that she looks like she's doing a bit better today, which is the first day where she's looked better and not worse. She's able to walk/hobble without toppling over and I saw her actually scratch her head with one foot without falling over which was impossible for her even yesterday.

I'll be sure to give her some vitamin b and nutridrench. Does anyone thing a charcoal flush could be a good idea or would that stress her too much?

 

[Galaxyfalcon]

In terms of spinach, they get it every once in a while as a treat along with some other greens, so it's definitely not the only thing in their diet!

Poppy is having a bad day today, back to being wobbly and unsteady. She fell down a few times already this morning while trying to clean and stuff. She also has a little discharge from one of her eyes.

When do ducks start laying eggs? She took a weird position where she "stood up" and sort of shuffled forward while her backside tipped low. She was also wiggling her tail a lot during that time. The only other time I've seen a hen do that was with a duck having egg laying problems. I was wondering if she could be having an egg binding issue and the pressure is pressing on a nerve or something, but she's a bit too young for that I thought. I felt her tummy this morning while treating her feet (which are looking really good) and didn't feel anything hard/firm on her tummy area.

The discharge from the eye makes me think of some kind of infection. Should I contact the vet to try and get her on some antibiotics?

 

[Crazy Maizie]

The discharge from the eye makes me think of some kind of infection. Should I contact the vet to try and get her on some antibiotics

Maybe with all that is going on, it would be best for the duck if you can take it to the vet.

 

[Galaxyfalcon]

Maybe with all that is going on, it would be best for the duck if you can take it to the vet.

I took her early this week (Tuesday) and the vet did xrays but was hesitant to do bloodwork / antibiotics. She wasn't sure what was wrong with poppy but didn't find any breaks or issues, no ingested metal etc. If I want definitive answers there's an avian specialist a few hours away I could try to reach out to. Vet said to keep an eye on her and see if she improves without any intervention other than what we're doing and to reconnect on Tuesday after the holiday weekend and give an update if she's alive/if we want an autopsy if she passes by then.

 

[MugsyM]

Ducks need anywhere from 100-125 mg of niacin a day. This could have been coming on gradually to where you didn't notice it.
I'd give her another day before doing the flush. Just to see if the B-complex is doing it for her. Some larger breeds just need that extra even if on duck specific feed like Poppy.
Glad to hear she seems to be improving.

Miss Lydia... I got the Durvet Vitamin B complex. Can you give me a suggestion on getting the cap off. I don't have any syringes and was planning on just using an eye dropper to try to give it to her orally.

 

[Miss Lydia]

It will come off you just have to work a it. Work on peeling off the metal piece then under it is the rubber stopper like a plug pull that off and use your dropper. You can’t shoot the liquid b straight down her throat though it might go in the wrong hole.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Make her a shoe so her foot lays flat you can use a plastic container like a cool whip one cut it size of her foot wrap in vet wrap to cover sharp edges. Place foot on it wrap it in vet wrap tight enough so it won’t come off but don’t cut off circulation.