3 week old ducklings legs turned inwards

[Waddlewoods]

One of my ducklings who's 3.5 weeks old is tripping over their legs which are slightly turned inwards. I noticed lately that they would come out and get food and water but then go back and lay down.

I did a ton of researched prior to hatching my ducklings and since day one have been making sure they get niacin. Fed them duck starter with niacin, adding a vitamin & electrolyte powder which contains niacin to their water and add nutritional yeast to their food. So I really don't know how it could be a niacin deficiency.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Some ducklings are bit more clumsy. I guess I would just keep an eye on it.

 

[CoriM]

Some ducks need more too. I would dose liquid vitamin B complex at 1 ml a day over treats for a few weeks and see if that might help straighten her out.

 

[Supercow]

One of our ducks arrived 2 months old from a breeder with harsh living conditions and in bad health. We did not realize at the time - starting out with zero practical experience, our previous (first) purchase was from a lady who really loved her ducks and took good care of them, so we assumed this was what everybody did.

When she came in (together with 2 more from the same breeder) our 5 ducks, the original gangsters, decided that she was the one of the three newbies that they absolutely didn't want around. They all ran directly at her, she got pecked, stomped, chased, it was bad.

She had an eye infection which was cured by antibiotic fed by a syringe. But more importantly, she could not walk more than 15 ft without flopping down.

We kept her under a special regimen for a month and a half:

- Over the day, she'd be mostly closed in a (very) large dog crate with frequently refreshed water (infused with a vitamin/mineral mix with lots of niacin) and cooked peas (niacin) sprinkled over by deactivated yeast (again a great source of B-complex vitamins). Cooked peas is actually what she preferred to all regular duck food (grains, pellets); the other stuff would just remain mostly uneaten. Sometimes during the day we would let her out just to catch some sun and for us to see how it's going.

- Over the night, she'd be in a smaller (but still quite large) dog crate inside the duck coop (the super large one would not fit so that the flock would not consider her a stranger. Again, water with the booster and the peas with yeast.

After 3 weeks or so the walking got better; the distance she could go was slowly but surely increasing.

After 4 weeks or so we declared her well enough and socialized enough (and us tired enough of moving crates around) that she could stay in the duck house without a crate - would not get bullied. This worked fine.

After 6 weeks we declared her well enough to live in the same way as all the other ducks, no special treatment anymore.

I mean, when the duck gets hard to catch, obviously she got much better at running

This point was in mid-June. Since then she's been doing well. One of her feet is still rotated inwards and we believe that's how it's going to stay. She walks somewhat like a clown (more so than the others, anyway) but can walk at speed and without rest stops. She's also a full member of the flock, no social problems.

So yes, niacin, niacin, niacin. It's a great help. But don't necessarily expect a speedy fix or a complete one. Maybe, but maybe not entirely.

The only special behavior that remained is that she really, really loves to be in the pool (we have 2 kiddie pools) and stays in there most of the day. We're guessing because it takes the weight off her feet and makes her comfortable. All ducks love water but this one is really deeply in love with it

Big thanks to folks in the Quack Shack part of the forum who supported me, a newbie, in this duck recovery adventure!

 

[CoriM]

Wow, thanks for sharing your story and all those details. Bless you for taking the time and care to help this little one and condition her for a normal life!! I hate it when people mistreat their animals!

 

[skeeeter]

Just want to say.. I've noticed that lots of ducks are "pigeon toed" Maybe it helps them swim faster, idk , but I only see them having walking problems with it if they are growing too fast.

 

[Waddlewoods]

One of our ducks arrived 2 months old from a breeder with harsh living conditions and in bad health. We did not realize at the time - starting out with zero practical experience, our previous (first) purchase was from a lady who really loved her ducks and took good care of them, so we assumed this was what everybody did.

When she came in (together with 2 more from the same breeder) our 5 ducks, the original gangsters, decided that she was the one of the three newbies that they absolutely didn't want around. They all ran directly at her, she got pecked, stomped, chased, it was bad.

She had an eye infection which was cured by antibiotic fed by a syringe. But more importantly, she could not walk more than 15 ft without flopping down.

We kept her under a special regimen for a month and a half:

- Over the day, she'd be mostly closed in a (very) large dog crate with frequently refreshed water (infused with a vitamin/mineral mix with lots of niacin) and cooked peas (niacin) sprinkled over by deactivated yeast (again a great source of B-complex vitamins). Cooked peas is actually what she preferred to all regular duck food (grains, pellets); the other stuff would just remain mostly uneaten. Sometimes during the day we would let her out just to catch some sun and for us to see how it's going.

- Over the night, she'd be in a smaller (but still quite large) dog crate inside the duck coop (the super large one would not fit so that the flock would not consider her a stranger. Again, water with the booster and the peas with yeast.

After 3 weeks or so the walking got better; the distance she could go was slowly but surely increasing.

After 4 weeks or so we declared her well enough and socialized enough (and us tired enough of moving crates around) that she could stay in the duck house without a crate - would not get bullied. This worked fine.

After 6 weeks we declared her well enough to live in the same way as all the other ducks, no special treatment anymore.

I mean, when the duck gets hard to catch, obviously she got much better at running

This point was in mid-June. Since then she's been doing well. One of her feet is still rotated inwards and we believe that's how it's going to stay. She walks somewhat like a clown (more so than the others, anyway) but can walk at speed and without rest stops. She's also a full member of the flock, no social problems.

So yes, niacin, niacin, niacin. It's a great help. But don't necessarily expect a speedy fix or a complete one. Maybe, but maybe not entirely.

The only special behavior that remained is that she really, really loves to be in the pool (we have 2 kiddie pools) and stays in there most of the day. We're guessing because it takes the weight off her feet and makes her comfortable. All ducks love water but this one is really deeply in love with it

Big thanks to folks in the Quack Shack part of the forum who supported me, a newbie, in this duck recovery adventure!

Aww I'm happy she improved!

My ducklings are now all grown up (well around 20weeks). They are all walking perfectly fine and no issues at all with their legs. The black one I posted this post about is the lead hen and no turned in legs.

I just continued on with the vitamin lix I was using in their water, and nutritional yeast in their food + peas for snacks. I made a point of making sure this duck was getting enough. Took a few weeks