My Pekin duck has frequent seizures. What can I do to help her?

Thanks for reaching out about Vita. Have any diagnostic testing been performed (radiographs, comprehensive blood work)? Other support avenues need to be investigated such as anti-inflammatories, treatments for toxins, Marek's disease and more. Good luck.

Sorry to hear about Chiku's situation. There are not too many actual avian clinics in the country, so sometimes you need to just find a veterinarian who feel generally comfortable working with them. Another option is to contact a veterinarian who spends a good deal of time working with farm birds like chickens, turkeys, and ducks. While these aren't the same as Parrots by any means, they have a much better grasp concerning their anatomy and physiology. If Chiku is truly having seizures on a semi regular basis, he may be suffering from a disorder like epilepsy. Just like dogs and cats, this condition can be treated medically with a daily dose of phenobarbital usually. It may not completely control the seizure activity, but it can drastically reduce the frequency and severity of them. I would look into finding a veterinarian like one I have described and see if they are willing to work with you in these regards. Hope this helps.

Without knowing what caused the deaths of the rest of your flock it would be hard to recommend treatment. It sounds as if some sort of contagious issue such as bacterial infection, virus, etc may be causing the problem. It would be best to bring your drake into a local vet clinic ASAP so he can be examined to determine the cause of the illness. If you have any other birds remaining in your flock, separating out and quarantining sick birds from the healthy ones, and thoroughly cleaning all shared food, water, bedding areas may help reduce further spread.

It is likely to be due to a respiratory tract infection like viral rinotracheitis (herpes virus), or more commonly duck virus hepatitis. Duck virus hepatitis is a highly fatal contagious disease of young ducklings, 1-28 days of age. Ducklings are most susceptible at the younger ages and gradually become more resistant as they grow older. The disease is rarely seen in ducklings over 4 weeks of age. To prevent this disease, keep age groups isolated and vaccinate breeder ducks with an attenuated live virus duck hepatitis vaccine (to produce maternally immune ducklings). Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation (where you can post pictures ) if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

If possible, the cause of the seizure activity should be diagnosed. Afterwards, an effective treatment or control regimen can be recommended. Seizures in birds can be caused by trauma, infection, tumors or neurological disorders. Start a seizure log. Note length of seizures, time of day/night, diet, behavior before/after and any other pertinent information. This may help the veterinarian diagnose the cause. Consider a consult with a veterinary neurologist. If one is not available, the local veterinarian may be able to consult with one via phone after an exam.

Thanks for reaching out about Harley. A veterinary visit is recommended in an attempt to determine the cause of the seizures. Many conditions can be treated or managed. At the minimum, anti-convulsive medications can improve quality of life. Good luck.

I would strongly recommend a veterinary check up as soon as possible to determine the underlying cause of the seizures and give appropriate treatment. Infectious diseases affecting the central nervous system, nutritional causes, toxicities, secondary seizures (liver problems), metabolic diseases (hypoglycemia and hypocalcemia) are only few of the differentials. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation (where you can post pictures ) if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.