Balding duckling at one month?

[wallawu]

This poor guy cant catch a break. Hes had leg troubles, an upper respiratory infection, and has been pretty much the bottom dog in the pile when it comes to his 5 buddies. I make sure i put the food with the brewers yeast on top in front of him when i feed them. His walking has improved and i think his legs are straightening. But now i dont know if hes being picked on or is just losing his fluff quickly in an effort to catch up. Check this out.

Is he being plucked when i turn my back or is this normal? Their feed is 20% protein so i dillute it with old fashioned oats. I put about a tbsp of BY on it every time i feed them.

 

[Amiga]

I wish I knew - any sign of new feathers coming in?

 

[wallawu]

Maybe some small ones. Tough to tell with the lighting i have and i dont want to pick him up and get them all excited right now. The other welsh harlequin had a bald spot on its back about a week and a half ago that looked like it had been pulled out, but its filled in now. Maybe hes playin catchup from bein the runt of the group.

 

[Amiga]

I think that may be the case. Please keep us posted.

 

[gal5150]

This may seem random, but I'm noticing a trend on boards about WH being exceptionally prone to niacin deficiency and this seemed to be true of our Dolly, now 4 weeks. Her Cayuga buddy, Fiona, though an absolute runt of that hatch, has had zero issues. Dolly showed leg issues at about right near the end of week 1...Brewers Yeast fixed that right up. Then, upper respiratory despite an immaculately dry brooder, great ventilation, proper heat, etc. Again, the Cayuga runt, Fiona, fine. Starting week 3, Dolly will lose a good deal of baby fluff when gently dried after swimming....Fiona, none.

Otherwise, bright, alert, growing rapidly....how about yours?

 

[wallawu]

This may seem random, but I'm noticing a trend on boards about WH being exceptionally prone to niacin deficiency and this seemed to be true of our Dolly, now 4 weeks. Her Cayuga buddy, Fiona, though an absolute runt of that hatch, has had zero issues. Dolly showed leg issues at about right near the end of week 1...Brewers Yeast fixed that right up. Then, upper respiratory despite an immaculately dry brooder, great ventilation, proper heat, etc. Again, the Cayuga runt, Fiona, fine. Starting week 3, Dolly will lose a good deal of baby fluff when gently dried after swimming....Fiona, none.

Otherwise, bright, alert, growing rapidly....how about yours?

That sounds almost exactly like this guy's situation. The female has also shown balance issues, but her legs are straight and the brewer's yeast seemed to have helped her pretty quickly since her case of it wasn't so severe. She got the respiratory infection, but they're both clear of that now after antibiotics. I've also seen a lot about Welsh Harlequins having leg issues when no other ducks around them are, so I imagine it's the breed that's changed a little bit. I called Metzer to ask about this, and the lady told me to e-mail John about it because he's probably the only one that would know if anybody does. I haven't e-mailed him yet and don't know that I will. I just worry about this little guy. He's been the one to warm up to us the most along with the other WH. I'll watch over the next few days to see if this issue gets better, worse, or spreads to the others.

 

[gal5150]

That would be interesting to find out. Mine are from Metzer as well. We finished our course of antibiotics, Dolly still seems to breathe "heavy", but she's also really big and vet was curious if her rapid growth had anything to do with it. Who knows, all I know is she's happy, alert, and doesn't seem bothered by any of it. Keep us posted!

 

[wallawu]

That would be interesting to find out. Mine are from Metzer as well. We finished our course of antibiotics, Dolly still seems to breathe "heavy", but she's also really big and vet was curious if her rapid growth had anything to do with it. Who knows, all I know is she's happy, alert, and doesn't seem bothered by any of it. Keep us posted!

Well, I got mine from tractor supply, and I think they're from a different hatchery in the "assorted" section, but I figured Metzer would know best.

 

[wallawu]

Ok so when i cleaned out their pen i picked him up--he has less fuzz today--there were some pretty tiny quill lookin things. Not very long and they were pretty thin. Since these are the first ducks ive had, i dont know what brand new feathers look like when they first start coming out. Again, theyre about a month old and this isnt happening to any of the others.

 

[Amiga]

Some ducklings have delayed development. Elfie was two weeks behind everyone else for about 6 months. At a young age, that was a huge difference.

I would keep providing all the good stuff ducklings need, and monitor. Please keep us posted.