I have a 2 month old duck that came from Ideal. "Wobbles" came in a hatchery choice package of 20 ducklings, including several crested. Wobbles had problems from the very beginning, and when called, Ideal indicated that sometimes crested ducks have "balance issues".
We pulled him almost right away from the rest of the flock, to allow him better access to food and water and to lessen the number of times he's simply run over by the other more mobile ducks. He eats and drinks well, though now usually only when I support his with my hand.
Wobbles has continued to get worse... at first he'd do what you describe, hug the wall, and could get around okay. Now that he's bigger the problem has just gotten worse and he spends most of his time on his back, flailing about. So much so that today I called a good friend of mine to ask him to "take care of" Wobbie for me. I can't kill the little guy, and neither can my husband who has been a hunter since he was a young kid. Thankfully, our friend can do the deed for us.
What makes it so much worse is that Wobbles is SO trusting and friendly. He loves to be held, in fact he can only groom himself when he's being supported.
So... sorry for the long post, but that's been our experience. I can't tell you how much I hope your duckling doesn't have the same problem. I'm sure gonna miss the little guy....
