Young duck and young guinea can't walk!

[LaurieNew]

No other symptoms. All others (silkies, ducks, chickens, pheasant) are fine. Just all off a sudden these girls can't walk. The duck can swim. Both can move their legs. All eat game bird pellets. Both laid an egg today. Eyes clear. Poop hard to say, they free range, but haven't seen any abnormal poop. Both eat and drink fine. What happened? The duck is my baby! And, they were found in the same area of the yard.

 

[azygous]

That both animals were in the same area of the yard and came down with this paralysis suddenly at the same time is a huge clue. They may have gotten hold of a neuro toxin.

Go over that area of the yard with a very careful eye. What plants are there that might have poisonous leaves or fruit? Has there been any insect killer used there? Are there any machines sitting around that may be leaking fluids onto the soil? How about toadstools and mushrooms? Is there a compost pile? Does it have soggy contents that haven't been turned over in a long time? What kinds of things have been tossed onto this pile?

I'm guessing you will discover one of the above in that area of the yard.

There may be a chance for recovery. Administer activated charcoal, (burnt toast burned black) vitamin B complex and a half tab of selenium. If that produces no improvement, add vitamin E 400 IU to the mix.

 

[chickens really]

Look up West Nile virus.....

 

[LaurieNew]

Thank you! This seems to be helping the duck. The guinea hen didn't make it. Should I repeat treatment for the duck? She did take a few steps. I'm force feeding, she won't self feed yet.

 

[azygous]

Repeat the treatment until you see return to normal. Understand it's an outside chance. Neuro toxin poisoning is almost always fatal, and if the duck does make it, it may have permanent nervous system damage.

The vitamins are an attempt to repair the nerve damage. The activated charcoal is to absorb any poison still in the digestive track.