Duck drinking funny

I have a mallard duckling that I picked up from the feed store yesterday. Today I noticed that when he eats and drink, that he throws his head back with every swallow. Sometimes he throws his head so hard that he falls over. Is this normal? If not, what could be wrong and what do I do?

Thanks!

My ducks and chickens all throw their head back when they drink. Not as much as when they were babies, but they were pretty funny as ducklings! I think it's perfectly normal. Enjoy! It's the start of the comic show known as duck keeping!

Mine was doing that way earlier today she looked like she bit off more than she could chew.

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I had a duckling hatch 18 months ago like that when hatching a friends ducks eggs. It was quiet traumatic to see the little one act in that way. I had to hold it to eat and drink. It would flip over at other times as well. About 10 days after she hatched I had to rush a duck to the vet- so took " Flippy" in as well- I did know that it was due to a thiamine deficiency by that stage and had giving the duckling vitamins- but she was so badly deficient that the dosage I was giving was not working to improve her condition. I was thinking that it was better to have her put to sleep as she was flipping over so much- life could not have been pleasant for her. My vet - knowing that I always exhaust all possibilities before turning to euthanasia said there was still hope and gave her a needle and prescribed large doses of vitamins to help her. She did continue to improve- but has never been completely normal.

Get some multivitamins from the feed store- or specifically something that has alot of the B group of vitamins in it- especially B1 ( thiamine) while it can cause other issues to overdose on some of the other vitamins- getting the ducklings levels back up to normal is important. The recommended dose on packs is just for maintenance- assuming that the diet is nutritionally balanced. When a duck/duckling is deficient - it needs higher doses get things leveled out. Give the ducklings some in the water- as well as giving it a concentrated mix straight into the bill with something like a plastic eye dropper.

Hopefully catching this early- your duckling will recover quickly... if it is a thiamine deficiency. but the alternatives may not have such a positive outcome. If the duckling has neurological problems - it may get worse as it grows- try the vitamins for now- and see how the little one goes- if you dont get any improvement within a few days- it may mean that something more serious is up with your little one.

Best of luck with her- I hope things turn out for the best.

I agree with the above......I had two gosling that did this they call it star gazing. Bump up those B vitamins. And that duck will always do it but soon it won't flip over any more just reach back far.

Here are mine

And here is the thread it was on
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=346129

Good luck

Thanks for the advice. I have vitamin pack mixed in the water. I was worried about niacin deficiency. Now I have to worry about another vitamin?

How much of the mix should I give him directly? I don't want to lose this little guy...

This is video of a normal healthy duck drinking.
Still rather "spazzy", but perfectly normal. If it looks more like a lack of nerve control than ducky exuberance, you may be dealing with some kind of nutritional or developmental issue.

I have two ducks that drink normally, but my little mallard does not. He throws his head back so that the top of his head lands on his back.

Yeah that sounds more like a niacin or thiamine deficiency. Hopefully with some supplementing the mallard will improve. If you do add liquid vitamins like poly visol, make sure you don't end up giving the duck pasty butt.

Wow. Sorry. My ducklings drank like the video one. Wasn't aware that yours were flipping back so far!