Advice please...my duckling is limping--I think she is injured!

[New duck mommy 2021]

Sorry I’m late to responding
Sounds like you got good advice
My guess is she caught her leg in the paint tray
One way to avoid water issues is get a plastic container with a lid ( I use butter ones ) cut holes in the lid so they can dunk their heads but not jump in and swim
Then I set it in a cake pan so water drops get in that
It’s not 100 % perfect but much better
Yes let your babies swim
I start mine day 3
5-10 mins of warm water
Never leave them unattended
I use paper towel to dry them as it absorbs most the water
Then they start to preen and use the oil gland
I set them back to the heat source
As for grit they don’t need it in the feed
A small bowl ti the side and they will use as they need
Sprains it strains can take a few days to weeks to heal
Let her go at her own pace as long as she is still eating and drinking

 

[OneEggToRuleThemAll]

Thank you so much, @New duck mommy 2021

 

[Miss Lydia]

I forgot to mention the grit thankfully @New duck mommy 2021 did yes they will use it as they need it. The same for when they get old enough to lay oyster shell goes into a separate dish from feed and they use it as they need it too. I made this waterer for my ducklings.

 

[OneEggToRuleThemAll]

I forgot to mention the grit thankfully @New duck mommy 2021 did yes they will use it as they need it. The same for when they get old enough to lay oyster shell goes into a separate dish from feed and they use it as they need it too. I made this waterer for my View attachment 3693341ducklings.

@Miss Lydia how on earth do you keep your brooder area so clean? LOL! I clean their brooder box twice a day, and I change their water 5+ times per day. All they do is eat, drink, and poop everywhere! Luckily for them, they are absolutely adorable!

Love the waterer--I'm going to make one just like that today! I tried to make one with a gallon size water jug...cut circle-shaped holes into the sides and my Buff actually went INSIDE the hole and got stuck halfway in!! I thought they were WAY too big to get stuck in there...scared me half to death! The duckling water situation is a challenge to perfect, haha!

Thank you again for all your help! Mae is still limping this morning, but she's getting around, eating, and drinking, so I've kept her in the brooder with her sisters. I did end up buying the Durvet injectable vitamin B complex from Tractor Supply, along with a bag of freeze dried black soldier fly larvae. I gave them some of the larvae this morning to see how they liked it, and they went NUTS for it, so I'm ready to give them more with the B complex squirted on top, but I don't know how much to give. Any suggestions? Or should I just add it to their drinking water? I appreciate your (and everyone else's) help!

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

@OneEggToRuleThemAll
That’s good to hear she is eating and drinking
as a duck in pain will not really eat
I have had sprains / strains last obly a few days to my last guy was a few weeks
He walked on it was just slower to get around
I think he fell in a little hole they dug and sprained it
Peas are a great source for niacin as well
Just makes sure treats are only a small amount
I give my adult ducks 1ml of the b complex
I think with a baby I would only do a little bit but @Miss Lydia may have exact doses for sizes
Anytime I have a duck with a sore leg I give the b complex
Just gives them a bit extra while they heal
I also don’t put anything on the leg for sprains or strains
I was cleaning the brooder often as well
Last summer I helped a friend by bringing babies back to sell for her
Plus I had a batch of my own
I had over 30 babies and a gosling here
Only a few days with that many but wow that was a lot of cleaning non stop

 

[Miss Lydia]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/niacin-deficiency-in-waterfowl.1367557/
This will give you doses for the age of the ducklings.

did you let them play in warm water yet?
as for cleaning well it's a non-stop job I just happened to take that picture shortly after I had cleaned their coop. lol

 

[OneEggToRuleThemAll]

Thank you! So I read the link provided, and found the info (in green text) below...

...but is that per duckling? So, if I have 4 ducklings aged 10 days old, I would give them 1/2ml EACH once per day?

The dosage

The dosage will vary accordingly to age, currently, we go:

• A few drops a day, for newly hatched ducklings
• 1/4ml, once a day, for ducklings 5-7 days old
• 1/2ml, once a day, for ducklings 7-14 days old
• 1.0ml, once a day for duck(lings) older than 14 days

Or,

• 25mg, once a day, for ducklings 5-7 days old
• 50mg, once a day, for ducklings 7-14 days old
• 100mg, once a day, for ducklings older than 14 days

 

[Miss Lydia]

I actually put one cap full in their water 2X a day that is how often I changed their water

 

[OneEggToRuleThemAll]

Thats for 1 duckling so times that by 4 what they don't use their bodies pee out

Wonderful, thank you!!

 

[Miss Lydia]

The one with the 4X duckling would be if you are seeing a niacin deficiency since I didn't I only used the capful plus Nutritional yeast in their feed.