I am looking for help with my Khaki Campbell duck. She is one of two females who are going to be 5 years old at the end of this April.
Dilly, along with the other duck, had shown no signs of distress or sickness up until this point. Last Sunday evening, now nearly a week ago, I found her laying out in run unable to get up. That morning both ducks had come running out of their house for food without any issues. I was gone for the entire day and so did not find Dilly in her position until later that evening. Nothing can get at these ducks in their pen and they get along quite well, so I am not worried about the other duck having harmed Dilly. It is hard to say when exactly this behavior started other than at some point between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. of last Sunday she suddenly lost the use of her legs. The only thing which was drastically different that day was here in NJ we experienced a huge swing in temperature, having had quite a few days in the single digits and then that weekend (starting Sunday) having temperatures up to nearly 60. Otherwise nothing had changed with the ducks routine or living condition.
I moved Dilly into my shed where she could have a warmer space to herself and where I could keep an eye on her. She is laying on her stomach, with her legs straight back out behind her. Other than the loss of leg mobility, she is alert, responds to me, moves her wings and tries to shuffle around. She is eating (not as much as usual but still eating), and she is drinking and pooping.
After no improvement from the first evening I rushed her to our local emergency vet which handles exotics Monday morning. This vet has handled Dilly before and is familiar with her condition. Over a year ago she was attacked by a fox when I had the ducks out in the yard grazing. I had stepped in to get something and the fox came over the wall with my dog and I absent from the yard. The other duck was completely unharmed, but Dilly suffered some puncture wounds and many fractures to her wing. I rushed her to the vet where later that day it was decided she needed her wing amputated. She recovered beautifully from the surgery and went on being her happy, energetic self weeks later. She is off balance with the lack of the one wing and a few month later she did manage to break her other wing. The bones healed but her wing hangs a strange angle. So needless to say this duck, especially when compared with the other duck, has been the problem child and gone through some rough stages. But the vet has been very helpful and supportive and he is the one who saw her when I brought her in with the leg issues.
He did x-rays and blood work. The x-rays revealed that at some point she broke her pelvis but it was an old break and was completely healed as much as it was going to. I assume, but am not sure, that this could possibly have happened during the fox attack and went unnoticed because the damage to her wing was so obvious. But either way, the pelvic fracture is healed and she had otherwise shown no signs of being hindered by it visibly. Bloodwork revealed a high white blood cell count and she is now on anti-biotics as well as anti-inflammatory medication.
It has now been nearly a week since she first showed signs of this issue. She is still very alert and eating and drinking. I get her medicine down her fairly well. Her legs feel warm so there is no issue of circulation. The only thing she cannot seem to manage to do is move them at all. I currently have her in the shed where is kept comfortably warm, similar to what it was at the vet office where she had stayed overnight. She is on towels with pee pads under her so that I can keep her clean. Both her water and food is within easy reach.
I have added crushed tums to her food for calcium, which she may or may not be getting since she picks around different spots in her food.
I have since also purchased a poultry vitamin supplement which gets added to the water (one with Niacin) which I started her on last night.
These ducks get a chicken crumble feed which had been recommended to me and it is the same feed they have had over the last 4 years. For a snack, they get mealworms. Other than what they dig up in the yard, that is the entirety of their diet.
I am at a loss. These ducks, although they are egg layers, are pets and I really want to do what is right by them. I believe if she does not improve my vet and I are going to have to have a discussion about quality of life and decide whether or not she needs to be put down. I care for this duck and have at this point spent a fortune on her. I do not plan on jumping into any decision and plan on trying any course of action that might make her well again first.
Has anyone experienced something like this before? Does anyone have an insight into what I might do to get Dilly back on her feet? In the meantime the other duck is heartbroken and is constantly quacking and generally just causing a ruckus looking for her friend. That duck is also still eating and drinking but I can tell she is upset. I need to find a way to sooth her and get the sick duck back to being healthy. Any advice or input would be helpful!
If any other information might be helpful for your input please let me know!
Dilly, along with the other duck, had shown no signs of distress or sickness up until this point. Last Sunday evening, now nearly a week ago, I found her laying out in run unable to get up. That morning both ducks had come running out of their house for food without any issues. I was gone for the entire day and so did not find Dilly in her position until later that evening. Nothing can get at these ducks in their pen and they get along quite well, so I am not worried about the other duck having harmed Dilly. It is hard to say when exactly this behavior started other than at some point between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. of last Sunday she suddenly lost the use of her legs. The only thing which was drastically different that day was here in NJ we experienced a huge swing in temperature, having had quite a few days in the single digits and then that weekend (starting Sunday) having temperatures up to nearly 60. Otherwise nothing had changed with the ducks routine or living condition.
I moved Dilly into my shed where she could have a warmer space to herself and where I could keep an eye on her. She is laying on her stomach, with her legs straight back out behind her. Other than the loss of leg mobility, she is alert, responds to me, moves her wings and tries to shuffle around. She is eating (not as much as usual but still eating), and she is drinking and pooping.
After no improvement from the first evening I rushed her to our local emergency vet which handles exotics Monday morning. This vet has handled Dilly before and is familiar with her condition. Over a year ago she was attacked by a fox when I had the ducks out in the yard grazing. I had stepped in to get something and the fox came over the wall with my dog and I absent from the yard. The other duck was completely unharmed, but Dilly suffered some puncture wounds and many fractures to her wing. I rushed her to the vet where later that day it was decided she needed her wing amputated. She recovered beautifully from the surgery and went on being her happy, energetic self weeks later. She is off balance with the lack of the one wing and a few month later she did manage to break her other wing. The bones healed but her wing hangs a strange angle. So needless to say this duck, especially when compared with the other duck, has been the problem child and gone through some rough stages. But the vet has been very helpful and supportive and he is the one who saw her when I brought her in with the leg issues.
He did x-rays and blood work. The x-rays revealed that at some point she broke her pelvis but it was an old break and was completely healed as much as it was going to. I assume, but am not sure, that this could possibly have happened during the fox attack and went unnoticed because the damage to her wing was so obvious. But either way, the pelvic fracture is healed and she had otherwise shown no signs of being hindered by it visibly. Bloodwork revealed a high white blood cell count and she is now on anti-biotics as well as anti-inflammatory medication.
It has now been nearly a week since she first showed signs of this issue. She is still very alert and eating and drinking. I get her medicine down her fairly well. Her legs feel warm so there is no issue of circulation. The only thing she cannot seem to manage to do is move them at all. I currently have her in the shed where is kept comfortably warm, similar to what it was at the vet office where she had stayed overnight. She is on towels with pee pads under her so that I can keep her clean. Both her water and food is within easy reach.
I have added crushed tums to her food for calcium, which she may or may not be getting since she picks around different spots in her food.
I have since also purchased a poultry vitamin supplement which gets added to the water (one with Niacin) which I started her on last night.
These ducks get a chicken crumble feed which had been recommended to me and it is the same feed they have had over the last 4 years. For a snack, they get mealworms. Other than what they dig up in the yard, that is the entirety of their diet.
I am at a loss. These ducks, although they are egg layers, are pets and I really want to do what is right by them. I believe if she does not improve my vet and I are going to have to have a discussion about quality of life and decide whether or not she needs to be put down. I care for this duck and have at this point spent a fortune on her. I do not plan on jumping into any decision and plan on trying any course of action that might make her well again first.
Has anyone experienced something like this before? Does anyone have an insight into what I might do to get Dilly back on her feet? In the meantime the other duck is heartbroken and is constantly quacking and generally just causing a ruckus looking for her friend. That duck is also still eating and drinking but I can tell she is upset. I need to find a way to sooth her and get the sick duck back to being healthy. Any advice or input would be helpful!
If any other information might be helpful for your input please let me know!
can you post some pictures of her poop?
