Can you overdose ducklings on niacin?

[LaynaDon95]

I have a duckling who is not doing very well. She has been kinda down lately. I pulled a clump of poop off her vent(?) (Is that what it's called for ducks?) and her whole underside of dirty. She is a couple months old, and much smaller than her siblings. She is a white/blue muscovy. I have her in a lukewarm bathtub to loosen the dirt and poop on her underside. I can't tell is she has a kink in her neck or not, but I want to give her some niacin in case. I only have the time release kind. I'm trying to feed it to her in feed (as opposed to in her drinking water). But it's hard to know how much she is getting this way. Can you overdose a duckling on niacin? Also, any advice on getting her better would be much appreciated.

 

[Habibs Hens]

niacin is vitamin B3

so yes it can be overdosed

just the same as humans can get overdosed on vitamins and minerals

 

[Kevin565]

niacin is vitamin B3

so yes it can be overdosed

just the same as humans can get overdosed on vitamins and minerals

X2!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I'd give it to her in her water, and also get poultry vitamins to give to her also in her water. here is the link on Niacin from metzers to give you an idea on How much to give. I hope she gets better. http://metzerfarms.blogspot.com/2011/03/are-my-ducklings-leg-problems-due-to.html

 

[LaynaDon95]

She's doing much better better. I put her in my chick brooder (with no chicks currently living in it, of course.) and gave her some food and water. I think she was bullied out of food and water by the bigger birds in the coop. She's the smallest bird I have. (minus the chicks my hen is raising, but they are separate.) She showed the same symptoms, only not as extreme, as a pullet of mine did once. My smallest pullet, who was bullied and not allowed food. A few days of quarantine with free food and she was right back to normal. The duckling ate like a little piglet and she's now back up on her feet and running around the brooder. I think that's all she needed. I'll have to keep a very close eye on her and make sure she gets plenty of food when I put her back out with Mama Duck.

 

[Habibs Hens]

i cant remeber where i read it but there is a set guide to how much niacin to give and it takes into consideration amount of wastage to spillage and dropped food

glad your duckie is doing better

 

[Miss Lydia]

She's doing much better better. I put her in my chick brooder (with no chicks currently living in it, of course.) and gave her some food and water. I think she was bullied out of food and water by the bigger birds in the coop. She's the smallest bird I have. (minus the chicks my hen is raising, but they are separate.) She showed the same symptoms, only not as extreme, as a pullet of mine did once. My smallest pullet, who was bullied and not allowed food. A few days of quarantine with free food and she was right back to normal. The duckling ate like a little piglet and she's now back up on her feet and running around the brooder. I think that's all she needed. I'll have to keep a very close eye on her and make sure she gets plenty of food when I put her back out with Mama Duck.

 

[Oregon Blues]

I don't think the time release niacin will do her any good. Things pass through a duck's system too fast for time release medications to work well.

If she has a poop problem, I suggest that you treat her for coxcidia, which will also treat for giardia, which are the two most likely suspects in intestinal problems. Niacin deficiency shows up as weakness in the limbs, not a loose bowels.

The next time you are in town, buy yourself a bottle of regular old niacin. I can get it for about $2 a bottle, so it is not a big investment. Dissolve a 100mg tablet into a gallon of drinking water and give it to the whole flock. But if the ducks are outdoors with access to greenery and the occasional bug, it is probably not niacin deficiency.

 

[LaynaDon95]

I don't think the time release niacin will do her any good. Things pass through a duck's system too fast for time release medications to work well.

If she has a poop problem, I suggest that you treat her for coxcidia, which will also treat for giardia, which are the two most likely suspects in intestinal problems. Niacin deficiency shows up as weakness in the limbs, not a loose bowels.

The next time you are in town, buy yourself a bottle of regular old niacin. I can get it for about $2 a bottle, so it is not a big investment. Dissolve a 100mg tablet into a gallon of drinking water and give it to the whole flock. But if the ducks are outdoors with access to greenery and the occasional bug, it is probably not niacin deficiency.

I was giving her niacin for her neck, not her poop. Her poop is fine now. It turns out her neck is fine, too, she was just holding it funny and fighting me when I tried to straighten it, but it's back to normal. I plan on getting niacin next time I make it to town, I'm sure I'll need it at some point. Like I said, I think she was just undernourished. After having free food and water she's back to normal. I have to get rid of some roosters.