3 Week Runner Duckling - Shaky Legs!

[DuckChick758]

Hi! I have a few Runner Ducklings, about 3 weeks old now. They have seemed healthy and happy, and mostly still do, but I am a little worried about one - she is happy, eats, talks, etc, but she seems to have a wider stance and shaky legs occasionally. She can get around, but she sits way more than the rest...definitely needs a break more often. I have read some other threads where others have had the same issues with young runner ducks and they seem to grow out of it with Niacin supplement. Is this likely the case? Or at this stage should I be worried about permanent damage?
I am feeding purina flock raiser, which supposedly has Niacin, but it is unclear how much, so I have been sprinkling brewers yeast on their food each morning from the day I got them. They get little bits of treats each day, a few mealworms, some peas, cucumber, and in nice weather are allowed some time in the yard (grass), etc. If it is a Niacin problem, she clearly isn't getting enough. I bought Duravet High Level B Complex, and today I gave her a dose, and gave the others a few drops as preventative. Does this sound like sufficient treatment? How long should I do this? And if it gets worse, does anyone have suggestions?
Does anyone have any insight or success (or non-success) stories?
Thanks!

 

[nuthatched]

I would boost the niacin, some breeds just need more. You're doing great so far.

 

[cheezenkwackers]

I think what you are doing is exactly correct. I have had a couple ducklings do the shaky leg thing at a few weeks old. I think they just grew fast. I fed Purina duck and added yeast and b-vitamins too. Each grew out of it.

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

Sounds like you are on the right track
With some ducklings they just need more niacin
As babies I do 1tbs to 1 cup feed of nutritional yeast
I do this to 12 weeks. Then I add it a few times a week not measuring just sprinkling it on
In winter I add it daily
So far I have not had leg issues
With the B complex it’s 1ml daily
2-3 weeks
Usually continue it for a week after they are better to be sure
They don’t overdose on it as the body releases out what they don’t
need
Because she is only shaky but able to walk and you are on top of it she should get better faster

 

[DuckChick758]

Thanks all. Good to know I am on the right track in treating her - I am new to this, and didn't want to be doing something wrong! This morning she already seems slightly more stable on her feet, so the B Complex seems to be working quickly. I'll keep her on it for a few weeks and reevaluate.

Also wondering if anyone has advice on the feed - like I said, they are on Purina Flock Raiser Crumbles - 20% protein. My feed store says that can be what they eat forever...they say ducks do well with that. I am not opposed, but I hear 20% might be too high in protein and cause wing problems? Does anyone know much about that? I hear so many mixed opinions online.

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

Thanks all. Good to know I am on the right track in treating her - I am new to this, and didn't want to be doing something wrong! This morning she already seems slightly more stable on her feet, so the B Complex seems to be working quickly. I'll keep her on it for a few weeks and reevaluate.

Also wondering if anyone has advice on the feed - like I said, they are on Purina Flock Raiser Crumbles - 20% protein. My feed store says that can be what they eat forever...they say ducks do well with that. I am not opposed, but I hear 20% might be too high in protein and cause wing problems? Does anyone know much about that? I hear so many mixed opinions online.

I’m not able to get duck feed near me so I use chicken feed
I use the starter till 2 weeks then over a course of every 3 days I move to the grower feed 16%
I have one boy with angel wing who my vets told me was my fault keeping him in the starter feed 21a% past 3 weeks
Since doing it the new way I have never got angel wing again and that boy has fathered over 50 offspring with not one getting angel wing
Also the lady I got him from has never had angel wing
I can’t say 100 % it was the higher protein but my vet sure thinks so
Others on here have kept the higher protein and never had angel wing issues
If you do see the start of it get on treating it right away and can usually be fixed
Some wrap others use sock with foot cut out and put it on like a shirt
That way seems to work best
Unfortunately for my boy I didn’t know the sock trick and he was a nut abd got the wrap off every time even when the vet did it
So he lives with one wing a little wonky but gets along just fine

 

[DuckChick758]

I’m not able to get duck feed near me so I use chicken feed
I use the starter till 2 weeks then over a course of every 3 days I move to the grower feed 16%
I have one boy with angel wing who my vets told me was my fault keeping him in the starter feed 21a% past 3 weeks
Since doing it the new way I have never got angel wing again and that boy has fathered over 50 offspring with not one getting angel wing
Also the lady I got him from has never had angel wing
I can’t say 100 % it was the higher protein but my vet sure thinks so
Others on here have kept the higher protein and never had angel wing issues
If you do see the start of it get on treating it right away and can usually be fixed
Some wrap others use sock with foot cut out and put it on like a shirt
That way seems to work best
Unfortunately for my boy I didn’t know the sock trick and he was a nut abd got the wrap off every time even when the vet did it
So he lives with one wing a little wonky but gets along just fine

Ok, I am able to get Klambach Duck and Goose which is 18% or Klambach Flock Maintainer at 16%, so maybe I will try and switch them over slowly to one of those through the next week or so. Honestly am not really even sure how to tell what the start of angel wing looks like. Is it easy to tell? After they fully develop their wings, is the higher protein no longer a concern?

 

[DuckChick758]

I think what you are doing is exactly correct. I have had a couple ducklings do the shaky leg thing at a few weeks old. I think they just grew fast. I fed Purina duck and added yeast and b-vitamins too. Each grew out of it.

How long did it take for yours to grow out of it? Mine has been on 1ml daily of B-Complex + feed with niacin for 10 days now. While she has not gotten any worse, she's still shaky. She can walk, her legs are straight, but she still takes lots of breaks and shakes when she stands too long. She's about a month old now.

 

[Plague]

How long did it take for yours to grow out of it? Mine has been on 1ml daily of B-Complex + feed with niacin for 10 days now. While she has not gotten any worse, she's still shaky. She can walk, her legs are straight, but she still takes lots of breaks and shakes when she stands too long. She's about a month old now.

When we raised our first group we had a Pekin in the group. He had issues and he would sit a lot. Had shaky legs when he walked. After we started adding brewers yeast it took maybe a week for him to stop laying down, but had the shaky legs still for another week or two after. If yours wasn't laying down from it I would think it shouldn't take more than a couple weeks.

 

[DuckChick758]

UPDATE:
She has not gotten any worse, but I don't think I am seeing a lot of improvement. They are on a duck formulated feed with sufficient niacin (Klambach Duck and Geese) for about a week now - before they were on Purina Flock Raiser, but I switched to cut their protein down a bit. Still sprinkling some brewers yeast on feed each morning. AND both have been on 1ml of Duravet High Level B-Complex for just about 2 weeks.

The other one looks great - very upright stance almost all the time.

This one can walk - I'll post some videos, but as you can see, still wobbly. Almost as if her center of gravity is too far forward. Any thoughts? Maybe she will still grow out of it? They are 4 weeks now. You will see her up and walking in the videos, but right after walking about that much, she shakes a lot and needs to plop down for a rest. Second video shows her at about a best case when she walks - she was motivated to get back to her friend, so she is capable of getting around alright sometimes, but she just struggles other times?

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I am just not sure what else to do for her!