Can a Duckling Have PMV or Similar?

[amyable]

I have just been speaking to a lady who has rescued a baby duckling. They found it in a garden and watched it for hours to see if it's parents were about. By the next morning it was still alone so took it in.
She has had it for a few days now and although it was initially very weak, once it had had a drink and re-hydrated, it became very lively and started to eat.
The problem she has found is that it walks and swims backwards, dragging it's beak along the ground. She has searched for info but even a 'duck' expert she found on the internet didn't know what was wrong.
I just wondered if it was anything like PMV the pigeons get?

Janet

[Feefo]

Hi Janet,

Ducks don't get Pigeon PMV1, but they can get 4 other strains: PMV4, PMV6, PMV7 and PMV9. They can also get Newcastles Disease, but they are not as susceptible as other poultry:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/dise...le-faqs.htm#q1

I don't know how common it is for them to get PMV , or what the symptoms are. I suspect (hope!) that the duckling could have something else. There are members on this forum, like Terrry, who have a lot of experience of ducks and may have seen the symptoms that you describe.

Cynthia

[amyable]

Thanks Cynthia,
I wondered if Terry could shed any light on this as the lady doesn't know if this is maybe why the parents abandoned it.

She has searched hard on various forums but no-one has been able to help so far. It was only as she described the symptoms that I mentioned about the pigeon PMV. One other thing I forgot to mention was she said when it eats, most of the seeds end up on it's back, so I assume it's tossing them about too.

Luckily she's prepared to give it while to see how it gets on, so I said I'd get back to her if I found anything out.

Janet

[MaryOfExeter]

Ducks can get paratyphoid, which is similar to PMV. Could that be it?
I've never heard of a duck with PMV.

[TAWhatley]

Doubtful that this is either PMV or paratyphoid. I would guess this is the result of trauma, improper incubation/development, or lack of nutrition. Ducklings also do behave this way if they have been deprived of food and water for a fairly long time and then gorge on it. If this latter could be the case, then the duckling needs to be kept very, very warm and even vigorously rubbed to bring it out of this state and back to a semblance of normality. If it is incubation, then there is really nothing we can do to help. If it's malnutrition then Vitamin B and Niacin will often make a huge difference. Brewers Yeast is a good source of the Vit B and Niacin. If it's trauma, then it really depends on what happened and where and how badly the duckling was injured.

I really hope this turns out to be a "simple" case that can be rectified by either just plain old good food and water and/or the addition of Brewers Yeast.

Please keep us posted.

Terry

[pdpbison]

...electrolytes might help...

Plain Water after dehydration can still leave them pretty 'off'...


Phil
l v

[TAWhatley]

Originally Posted by pdpbison

...electrolytes might help...

Plain Water after dehydration can still leave them pretty 'off'...


Phil
l v

Good point, Phil .. the electrolytes would be very good.

I think we're well past the time frame on this duckling, however, and I hope it it is doing OK.

Terry

[amyable]

Thanks for the info, I'll call her now and pass it on.

Will get her to keep me posted on it's progress and get back to you.

Janet