Drake lost his sense of balance AND voice?

[Alexandra33]

Just yesterday, I noticed my little Spazz wasn't his usual spunky self. Posture appears quite bunched, with chin pressed into chest.....not to mention walking and climbing the coop steps are now unbelievably difficult. To top things off, poor guy's almost completely lost his voice. Only noise he's capable of making is escaping air.

Spazz still manages to keep up with his group, and eats/drinks, but everything else seems off. I'd really hate to lose him. Any advice?

~Alex

 

[Duckworth]

How old is he? What are you feeding? Are you adding any vitamins, or supplements? Can you post pictures or upload a video of his worrisome behavior to YouTube or Vimeo and post a link here so some of the people here who are most familiar with treating ailing ducks can better assist?

@casportpony @Miss Lydia

 

[Miss Lydia]

A video would be great @Alexandra33

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Last year my drake Donald lost his voice for about a week, i guess because of over-use. (?)
Pictures and videos would be very helpful. Have you been able to examine Spazz? Any signs of an injury, he may has injured or sprained his neck. I had a duck that after crash-landing - she rolled length-wise once - was not really moving her neck for the rest of the day.

 

[Alexandra33]

Really appreciate the responses. Yes, as soon as I get home later, I'll be sure to capture his behavior on film.

Did a quick examination yesterday, and not much seemed out of the ordinary other than loss of voice.....although, he almost acted dizzy (a.k.a. slight head spinning). Could've been my imagination, of course.

I provide them with 22% protein, non-GMO broiler crumbles, since some of the flock members are still too young for layer feed. Brand is Kalmbach. No supplements, though I've been known to add some in the past when needed. Table scraps are also a small part of the birds' diet.

The other 7 ducks are perfectly fine. Two are a couple years old, and then the rest are Spazz's age - 5 months.

~Alex

 

[DuckyDonna]

Are you 100% sure he is a drake? Your description of the way he's walking sounds just like my egg bound girl.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Probably not egg bound at 5 months old. I guess it's possible if Spazz is laying already?

 

[DuckyDonna]

Probably not egg bound at 5 months old. I guess it's possible if Spazz is laying already?

he probably would have noticed that. Or would he? I don't know what girl has laid what eggs I get out of 6 girls I never know. I know this was off the wall but thought I'd throw it out there just to keep things interesting. He seriously does sound just exactly like what my girls do when they are egg bound.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Maybe then if this duck has begun to lay. Hopefully OP will let us know soon.

 

[Alexandra33]

Interesting input!

I'm 99.99% sure Spazz is indeed a drake. Just a week ago, he was raspy as can be....no quack. A piece of information I neglected to include is that these are Calls. As you all know, once females find their voice, they never stop sharing loud opinions.

Finally got a couple videos! Unfortunately, he appears to be getting worse.

~Alex