My Week Old baby duck won't walk

Hello all, so I recently got two baby ducklings from Mcmuarry Hatchery. One a Buff, and the other a Cayuga. The Cayuga passed away after two days, so they're sending me replacements. Well, the buff duckling, Milo, has been super entergetic and full of life and always chirping. He's a blast. But this morning when I woke up, he was chirping lightly in his area, which is kept warm by a heating pad. He suddenly couldn't walk! He was perfectly fine the night before, playing, the whole nine yards. Now, his eyes seems more tired and he keeps wanting to sleep...even though he slept through the night and half the day. He can barely hold his head up accurately, and his wings are more downward and not toward his body at all. He's also not walking. I checked for any apparent injury, and found none. He seems like he's at a discomfort though. I'm just super worried about my little Milo and just want him back to his normal. Sometimes he walks a little but only very short bursts, and he's not as talkative. Please help! I have been feeding him dumor 24% starter, and he's had no problem up until now. He's a little over a week old, so he's still rather small. Could it be some sort of a niacin deficiency? Should I get him save a chik and nutri drench? Thanks so much

Here's two pictures I just took of him

tonisummers said:

Here's two pictures I just took of him

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Hello, I am almost sure it is a niacin deficiency, Signs of a niacin deficiency are
Lack of weight gain
Reluctance to walk
Failure to thrive
And eventually leg development is affected


You can put brewers yeast on the food or you can crush up a 100-150 mg. Niacin tablet per 1 gallon of water until 8 - 10 weeks old


Best wishes to you and your duck, he's adorable by the way

PearlTheDuck said:

Hello, I am almost sure it is a niacin deficiency, Signs of a niacin deficiency are
Lack of weight gain
Reluctance to walk
Failure to thrive
And eventually leg development is affected


You can put brewers yeast on the food or you can crush up a 100-150 mg. Niacin tablet per 1 gallon of water until 8 - 10 weeks old


Best wishes to you and your duck, he's adorable by the way

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Also, do not get time released niacin tablets and not the yeast you bake with, I will try to send a picture of the yeast I used for my duck

This is what I used. Just sprinkle some on the food until 8-10 weeks old. It's common at that age to get a niacin deficiency, the food I would change to dumor chick starter/grower
20% feed

PearlTheDuck said:

This is what I used. Just sprinkle some on the food until 8-10 weeks old. It's common at that age to get a niacin deficiency, the food I would change to dumor chick starter/grower
20% feed

Click to expand...

This is what I used for my ducks/chickens when they were babies

PearlTheDuck said:

This is what I used for my ducks/chickens when they were babies

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Thank you for the feedback, but I put him in warm water as someone from another thread said helped move their legs, now he keeps laying there and chirping with his eyes closed... he opens them and gets up but just barely. I'm so worried about him

tonisummers said:

Thank you for the feedback, but I put him in warm water as someone from another thread said helped move their legs, now he keeps laying there and chirping with his eyes closed... he opens them and gets up but just barely. I'm so worried about him

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My beautiful baby just passed away.

So sorry to read this. Words just aren't adequate when a pet is lost. Sending you hugs.

tonisummers said:

My beautiful baby just passed away.

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Broke my heart to read that, I feel your pain im so sorry for your loss. It was not a niacin deficiency then, it was some disease again, I'm so sorry hopefully he passed peacefully. He's with my duck pete now and with another lost duck named blueberry, he's in a better place now.

Just know nothing is your fault. Sending you hugs