Hi all, I need to tap into all of your experience with ducks to see if anyone has any idea what is going on with one of our runners. Ducken is 3 years old, female runner duck. Let me start by saying she was immediately taken to the best avian vet possible in Westchester, NY (Dr. Hess) first thing yesterday morning. She seemed to be limping and then decided she didn't want to walk at all. Nothing seemed broken or injured and her feet looked fine. She was fine when I put her in the coop at night and this condition seemed to have happened over night. Vet xrayed and checked her from bill to tail and couldn't find anything obviously wrong with her. They took blood and we just got the results back about 30 mins ago. Her white blood cell count is very high and her kidney numbers are bad (I'm sorry I don't have the specifics on the numbers on hand). We are rushing her back to the vet now to be admitted and get an ultrasound as well as antibiotics and fluids.
She stopped eating yesterday evening and wouldn't even take her favorite meal worms. She is drinking water though. She seems unsteady on her feet and would rather just lie down. She is normally super active and loud and read to snack on meal worms and kale at a moments notice. I put her in a warm bath this morning because she was covered in poop from spending the night lying in the same spot. She didn't seem to be paddling around well. Seems almost like her legs weren't working together if that makes sense.
We have 8 other ducks including a geriatric runner and 5 call ducks. None of them have any of these symptoms. They are all fine and healthy. Our chickens are also fine and healthy. They all eat the same thing and hang out in the same area and drink the same water. I change water several times a day and food bowls are emptied and cleaned out all the time. Blood work only showed elevated white blood cell and kidney level issues. Vet isn't sure what is going on.
She is scheduled to have an ultrasound to see if there is anything going on that the xray can't see. Do any of you have any experience with something similar? Any ideas of possible causes? I want to make sure I share any ideas with the vets to see if it help them save her. We adore this girl. She is our first duck and she was an orphan so we raised her from hatch and we were her first flock. She means the world to us.
Thank you in advance for any info you might be able to share.
She stopped eating yesterday evening and wouldn't even take her favorite meal worms. She is drinking water though. She seems unsteady on her feet and would rather just lie down. She is normally super active and loud and read to snack on meal worms and kale at a moments notice. I put her in a warm bath this morning because she was covered in poop from spending the night lying in the same spot. She didn't seem to be paddling around well. Seems almost like her legs weren't working together if that makes sense.
We have 8 other ducks including a geriatric runner and 5 call ducks. None of them have any of these symptoms. They are all fine and healthy. Our chickens are also fine and healthy. They all eat the same thing and hang out in the same area and drink the same water. I change water several times a day and food bowls are emptied and cleaned out all the time. Blood work only showed elevated white blood cell and kidney level issues. Vet isn't sure what is going on.
She is scheduled to have an ultrasound to see if there is anything going on that the xray can't see. Do any of you have any experience with something similar? Any ideas of possible causes? I want to make sure I share any ideas with the vets to see if it help them save her. We adore this girl. She is our first duck and she was an orphan so we raised her from hatch and we were her first flock. She means the world to us.
Thank you in advance for any info you might be able to share.
