Duckling extravaganza *Runner, Saxony, Magpie, and Silver Appleyard*

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I've been having such a rough time with the group of shipped ducklings.

I give brewers yeast daily and yet I am dealing with niacin deficiency in some of them. Also the magpie drake has seizures if he gets startled while sleeping.

I wonder if the stressful shipping thing had an impact on them that badly...they should not be dealing with niacin deficiency considering I give them the proper amount. I'm pretty concerned about the girl Saxony and really hoping intense vit b therapy works on her. The others are not as severe and it came on suddenly yesterday. I know they are bigger ducks so that may be why. Frustrating!
 
Ok here they are! They are so big and so cute.

Their legs look so much better today after switching from the brewers yeast I had been giving them to a b complex vitamin and putting them back on nutri-drench. The amount of improvement is outstanding. I have high hopes for full recovery!


Cosmo


Asher


Grasshopper (could you not just kiss his adorable spotted bill right off!!?)


Cricket, the brooder is near a glass door and she was watching a crane fly over the house


Asher


Nova


Gyspy the queen of mean or the sass master
 
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They look great! I'm very glad you get them straightened out. I'm gonna need Grasshopper to come visit me! Love those mixed color bills!!!
 
Debs Flock said:
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They look great! I'm very glad you get them straightened out. I'm gonna need Grasshopper to come visit me! Love those mixed color bills!!!
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It is a work in progress, I am still pretty concerned about the female Saxony. But I feel like it is part a growth spurt and not having strong enough legs and part niacin issues. Hopefully we see a full recovery though!

Oh my gosh. Grasshopper and his spotted bill make me turn to a puddle of mush the second I lay eyes on him. And he is so friendly, both magpies are...both silver appleyards are like mini t-rex and the Saxonies are sweet and mellow but a bit more reserved.


dotknott said:
Oh goodness! How old are they now?
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I think they are 5 weeks now! It goes so fast!

Edited to add: Cinder and Ember the runners are pretty much big ducks now. Have some wing feathers growing more yet and a bit of fuzz on their necks. I am 99% sure they are both girls though and that makes my heart very happy! I had to move the to the basement as those two quacking in my bedroom at night was not good for the sleep thing LOL! Or the allergies for that matter. They go outside as soon as the nights get above 40 degrees here.
 
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They are all looking very good.
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I tried the brewers' yeast this time around (since it seemed that was what most people were using) and switched back to putting niacin in the water. It seemed to me most of the brewers' yeast ended up at the bottom of their food or stuck to the outsides of their bills then at the bottom of their water. I felt very little went in the ducklings and it was way more work and mess. It is hard to find non-time release, non-no flush niacin, but once you find a bottle, you are set for the whole brooding period. (I found one at my local natural foods). I personally haven't experienced any complications from shipped ducks (all but 2 of mine where shipped - 2 were from a semi-local farm). Since they have to be shipped within 24 hrs of hatch, they may have undiscovered preexisting problems that would have otherwise been apparent in a day or so. I would only attribute physical issues (from an abusive ship) to ducklings that arrived on-time. There could be nutritional problems from ducklings that arrive late. The ducklings you get most places (except for direct from the breeder) have probably been shipped first (TSC and such) so they would be just as stressed.

It seems that you have a good handle on it now though giving them the B complex. Hopefully all of them will make a full recovery including your magpie drake.
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Tevyes Dad said:
They are all looking very good.
love.gif


I tried the brewers' yeast this time around (since it seemed that was what most people were using) and switched back to putting niacin in the water. It seemed to me most of the brewers' yeast ended up at the bottom of their food or stuck to the outsides of their bills then at the bottom of their water. I felt very little went in the ducklings and it was way more work and mess. It is hard to find non-time release, non-no flush niacin, but once you find a bottle, you are set for the whole brooding period. (I found one at my local natural foods). I personally haven't experienced any complications from shipped ducks (all but 2 of mine where shipped - 2 were from a semi-local farm). Since they have to be shipped within 24 hrs of hatch, they may have undiscovered preexisting problems that would have otherwise been apparent in a day or so. I would only attribute physical issues (from an abusive ship) to ducklings that arrived on-time. There could be nutritional problems from ducklings that arrive late. The ducklings you get most places (except for direct from the breeder) have probably been shipped first (TSC and such) so they would be just as stressed.

It seems that you have a good handle on it now though giving them the B complex. Hopefully all of them will make a full recovery including your magpie drake.
fl.gif
Click to expand...
The last week has been abnormally crazy for us around here ( our first niece was born, our dog turned 6, we celebrated our 11 year anniversary, Mothers day and my sil is in town from out of state) so I am just getting back on to update.

What I meant was I wonder if them dropping the box had an impact on mostly my magpie drake. If the fall while being shipped messed with his head a bit. But he seems fine now, they are outside full time as of a couple of days ago because our newborn niece was having some complications and we needed to be able to leave in a hurry and be gone over night. The only way to do that was to get them out in their pen with a small pool so they wouldn't run out of water over night. Thankfully, she improved and we did not need to make an emergency trip.

The legs on the Saxonies are not perfect yet but they look better than they did and they get around fine. I'm hoping they continue to improve.

But everybody is doing pretty well now, it was just so many issues at once.

I was pleasantly surprised how easily the 2 runners and the 6 younger babies took to each other but the three adults in the other pen wanted to kill them. The pens are right next to each other so they can see them and get used to them before we let them meet.















 
Just found this thread and I'm loving following the progress and photos of your babies!! We have a Magpie duck, Tallulah, so I'm keen to see how your Magpies turn out! Our Tallulah has such an awesome nature. Still extremely friendly, despite being a 4 month 'adult' now, and still loves cuddles!
 

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