4 week old duckling can’t walk or stand

[merca126]

Hi,
I have been searching through the forums but I keep seeing posts about younger ducklings having leg issues. My pekin is 4 weeks old and started having issues standing and walking.. it appears to be one leg/foot in particular. I have gathered that it was caused from a niacin deficiency (started supplementing niacin) or deformity but it was fine ....and then not. A local animal rescue helped me tape its legs together and she mentioned doing that 2 days on.. 1 day off and then

repeat. It’s hasn’t helped yet, and I was looking for a direction to try next. I feel like if I could get the foot spread out, it would help steady him.

thank you!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Perhaps @Isaac 0 can help.

 

[Isaac 0]

Unfortunately, these issues are extremely common with heavyweight duck breeds, particularly Pekins.
Online it is hard to say what might cause this, but most often a niacin deficit will play a big role, but also several other minerals such as magnesium, calcium, etc. Environmental issues at an early age such as injury, or improper substrate can lead to leg issues as well.
Niacin supplementation is a great start. You did not mention how many mg's of niacin you are giving the duck a day, but I have found aiming for 75-100mg is sufficient for correcting a niacin deficit.
You can also offer a broad poultry vitamin in case there is some other nutritional deficit we can't pinpoint.
I would also focus on providing the duck with daily bathes in deep water, and ensuring the bedding substrate is soft, and not hard. If you think you could wrap the foot in vet wrap to help correct the angulation without twisting the leg too much, I would also try that. If you have access to a veterinarian experienced with birds, going that route might prove best for the duck.
https://www.metzerfarms.com/Veterinarians.cfm

 

[merca126]

Unfortunately, these issues are extremely common with heavyweight duck breeds, particularly Pekins.
Online it is hard to say what might cause this, but most often a niacin deficit will play a big role, but also several other minerals such as magnesium, calcium, etc. Environmental issues at an early age such as injury, or improper substrate can lead to leg issues as well.
Niacin supplementation is a great start. You did not mention how many mg's of niacin you are giving the duck a day, but I have found aiming for 75-100mg is sufficient for correcting a niacin deficit.
You can also offer a broad poultry vitamin in case there is some other nutritional deficit we can't pinpoint.
I would also focus on providing the duck with daily bathes in deep water, and ensuring the bedding substrate is soft, and not hard. If you think you could wrap the foot in vet wrap to help correct the angulation without twisting the leg too much, I would also try that. If you have access to a veterinarian experienced with birds, going that route might prove best for the duck.
https://www.metzerfarms.com/Veterinarians.cfm

This is Sooo helpful!! I really appreciate the thorough response. I wasn’t giving as much niacin as you recommend so I will up it a bit. And I will get the vitamin as well. And yes! Lots of warm baths. I plan to visit the vet this week since it hasn’t improved much but your advice has given me a lot of info to work with in the meantime. THANK YOU!