Is my duckling okay??

His back seems overly arched?? I have another who does not look like this. Also he seems to be CONSTANTLY tryong to peep. Its like a whisper, no sound. He never stops. This has been ongoing since I got him a few days ago. Also, its been going on since before I noticed his back being much more arched than usual. He also sneezes A LOT. Yes he has deep enough water.

May have something like wry tail....

So often, ducklings respond to extra B vitamins, so I would do that. Here is something I wrote about B vitamins.

People often get confused about what to use, so please stick with me here .

You have some options.

I would go with brewer's yeast. Forgive me for using capital letters, but for anyone else who may casually look over this thread, NOT baking yeast, NOT winemaking yeast. Brewer's yeast is a nutritional supplement and it provides niacin and a few other vitamins.

Generally, folks who supplement with brewer’s yeast use a tablespoon per cup of food.

Ducklings need about three times the niacin chicks do. And some ducklings get leg problems or seizures if they don't have enough niacin.

If you cannot find the brewer's yeast, or if you happen to have (here come the capital letters again, please forgive me) PLAIN niacin - NOT no-flush, NOT timed release, then dissolve 150 mg niacin per gallon of water for the duckling’s drinking water.

Another approach is to use B Complex capsules, and use the B3 - niacin - levels as a guide. Again, 150 mg B3 per gallon of drinking water.


Keep the little one on the supplements for about 8 weeks.

Sometimes it only takes a few days to see improvement.

You can also see how it went for Qwackers and Bentley from these threads.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/857143/treating-wry-neck-in-crested-duckling-edited-title

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/761308/peking-duckling-with-crooked-neck-help

He ended up passing away.. he started having necks spasms as well, thought he was dehydrated and gave him syringe water. He died instantly. Guess Ill know what to do next time...?

Sad for the loss...