Help! Advice needed: 2 week old Crested Pekin having trouble balancing and walking

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team muff

team muff

Hatching
6 Years
Dec 12, 2013
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I have a 2 week old Crested Pekin who is struggling to keep her balance or walk more than a few steps without falling over and flailing around the straw. I picked her up at TSC because they had let me know they had a handicapped duck in the back that nobody wanted and after seeing her I could not leave her there. I brought her home two days ago and have been giving her niacin and will be purchasing nutridrench to put additional vitamins in the water. She is very alert, but just seems to have weakness in her legs and with standing for long periods of time. I am not sure if it is neurological, but they did say she had been doing this since they got her at the store. I put her in a hobble to see if that helps, but I do not think she has splayed legs, and she actually steps on her feet and crosses her legs more than anything (contributing to the poor balance I suppose). Any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated!
 
I believe neurological problems can occur in ducks with crests. She could have been born with it or she could have sustained an injury to the soft spot on her skull during transport. If it is neurological I'm not sure there is much you can do. I'd definitely give the niacin as she'll need that anyway. And the nutridrench is good too.

I guess the only thing I can think of to help her build strength in her legs is to give her lots of bath time. It should allow her to use her legs without needing to balance. Start with short swims, just a few minutes, and gradually increase the time each day. Make sure the water is warm but not too hot. Always stay with her while in the water. You can put your hand in the water to give her a place to sit and rest. If she starts to slow down or get water logged take her out. Always dry off before putting back under the brooder.
 
Thank you so much! Patty, Turbo's story was amazing you did so much for that little guy. So far Lucy is doing really well and her legs are getting stronger each day. The feed store let me know the following day when I went in to grab the Nutri drench that she also came with wry neck, which corrected itself in a couple of days. I am hopeful this is a vitamin deficiency that I can help her with and the vitamin D3 and niacin specifically. She is so so adorable and lovable that she will end up being our house duck no matter what at this point!
 
Thank you Turbo was a sweet heart and I still miss him. I just wanted you to read it and maybe get some information for helping Lucy.

I'm glad she is doing better. It sounds like she had a ruff start from the begining. Please keep us updated on how she is doing. I'm sure she will love being a house duck with all the special attention.

Thanks for the update too.
 
Lucy continues to do better each day. She is an energetic little one who sometimes gets ahead of herself when I am spotting her and even tries to get in a few sprints, many times getting away from my hand spotting her and she'll fall over. She is getting better at turning herself back over, but still struggles a bit either balance. The Nutri drench and niacin are helping tremendously with her getting strength back in her legs and wobbly gait. We are hopeful that she may be able to walk in the future. If not, we have plans for a walker on wheels so she can be our prized house duck!
 
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She is growing fast! This was only a matter of 5 days and she has doubled in size. I will upload more in the future, those were just the ones I had on hand.
 

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