He is a pekin and I have no idea what is wrong, but he is my only pekin left and I am really upset.
Chuck can;t walk or stand
- Thread starter debilorrah
- Start date
- Aug 3, 2009
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No sign of a predator attack, right?
How is he acting other than that, does he seem lethargic/off in any other way?
How is he acting other than that, does he seem lethargic/off in any other way?
- Thread starter
- #3
No no sign of predators and everyone else out there is fine.
- Aug 3, 2009
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I totally stole this off of another thread, Deb. See if anything in here can help poor Chuck.
Have any brewers yeast(odd question, I know). Ducks require niacin and a lot of times a niacin deficiency will show up in their legs.
"I'm sorry you're dealing with this right now. Pekins are notorious for leg problems, especially if they're jumbo sized. It's so hard to watch your little ones struggle.
A couple things I would try, and the first one has already been mentioned--examine the food source. Feed store employees are not always the most knowledgeable about duck requirements. I would, for now, go with a pre-mixed food such as Purina flock raiser or Dumor chick starter, supplemented with niacin in the water. The other problem with the mixed-in-store feed is the potential for mold and such--a good feed store may have practices that avoid this, but the danger is present if they're not careful because rancid feed is often not distinguishable from good feed by smell or appearance. So if they have old feed mixing with new feed, it could all end up rancid very quickly. I'm not saying that this *is* happening, just that given your issues, it's a potentiality to consider. Even bagged food *can* have this problem if the feed store is not being careful about how long their feed sits in storage before selling, so it's important to find a feed store that *is* careful.
Once you have the feed situation sorted out, or before, you might try confining the lame ducks for a few days. They won't like it, but if the lameness is caused by their weight (as is sometimes the case in pekins), then forcing them to rest for a few days will often help them to recover. If they start to show improvement from confinement, then you will probably want to keep them confined until they are recovered fully.
Other considerations--could they have bumble foot? Are they free ranging or in a pen? Is there something in your grass or soil that could be irritating their feet? Any chance they've suffered an injury?
Those last considerations are what I consider LEAST likely, but not impossible.
And, for good measure, here is part of what Dave Holderread says about lameness in ducks, from pages 256-257 of Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks:
"Lameness can have many causes, including dislocated hip, sprains of leg or foot joints, infections, muscle damage, pinched nerves, dietary deficiencies (especially of niacin, biotin, and other B vitamins), or a calcium
hosphorous imbalance (common when high-calcium laying rations are fed to immature birds). Also important, but less common, are inherited leg weaknesses...
"If otherwise healthy, ducks with injured legs will normally recover if kept quiet in a clean pen and provided easy access to food that supplies a balanced diet and drinking water to which a good poultry vitamin mix has been added.
"When a deficient diet is the cause, take prompt action. Mixing a vitamin/mineral supplement in the drinking water or with the feed (per manufacturer's recommendation), or the feeding of 2 to 3 cups of brewer's dried yeast per 10 pounds of feed, will often correct the problem. If you have been feeding immature birds a high-calcium laying ration, immediately switch to a feed that contains a maximum of 1 percent calcium and a phosphorous:calcium ratio of 1:1 to 1.0:1.5."
That's just part of what he said--as always, I highly recommend the book!
Good luck. Lameness is often treatable/curable, so with luck you'll be able to get your babies up to speed and well again soon."
Have any brewers yeast(odd question, I know). Ducks require niacin and a lot of times a niacin deficiency will show up in their legs.
"I'm sorry you're dealing with this right now. Pekins are notorious for leg problems, especially if they're jumbo sized. It's so hard to watch your little ones struggle.
A couple things I would try, and the first one has already been mentioned--examine the food source. Feed store employees are not always the most knowledgeable about duck requirements. I would, for now, go with a pre-mixed food such as Purina flock raiser or Dumor chick starter, supplemented with niacin in the water. The other problem with the mixed-in-store feed is the potential for mold and such--a good feed store may have practices that avoid this, but the danger is present if they're not careful because rancid feed is often not distinguishable from good feed by smell or appearance. So if they have old feed mixing with new feed, it could all end up rancid very quickly. I'm not saying that this *is* happening, just that given your issues, it's a potentiality to consider. Even bagged food *can* have this problem if the feed store is not being careful about how long their feed sits in storage before selling, so it's important to find a feed store that *is* careful.
Once you have the feed situation sorted out, or before, you might try confining the lame ducks for a few days. They won't like it, but if the lameness is caused by their weight (as is sometimes the case in pekins), then forcing them to rest for a few days will often help them to recover. If they start to show improvement from confinement, then you will probably want to keep them confined until they are recovered fully.
Other considerations--could they have bumble foot? Are they free ranging or in a pen? Is there something in your grass or soil that could be irritating their feet? Any chance they've suffered an injury?
Those last considerations are what I consider LEAST likely, but not impossible.
And, for good measure, here is part of what Dave Holderread says about lameness in ducks, from pages 256-257 of Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks:
"Lameness can have many causes, including dislocated hip, sprains of leg or foot joints, infections, muscle damage, pinched nerves, dietary deficiencies (especially of niacin, biotin, and other B vitamins), or a calcium
hosphorous imbalance (common when high-calcium laying rations are fed to immature birds). Also important, but less common, are inherited leg weaknesses..."If otherwise healthy, ducks with injured legs will normally recover if kept quiet in a clean pen and provided easy access to food that supplies a balanced diet and drinking water to which a good poultry vitamin mix has been added.
"When a deficient diet is the cause, take prompt action. Mixing a vitamin/mineral supplement in the drinking water or with the feed (per manufacturer's recommendation), or the feeding of 2 to 3 cups of brewer's dried yeast per 10 pounds of feed, will often correct the problem. If you have been feeding immature birds a high-calcium laying ration, immediately switch to a feed that contains a maximum of 1 percent calcium and a phosphorous:calcium ratio of 1:1 to 1.0:1.5."
That's just part of what he said--as always, I highly recommend the book!
Good luck. Lameness is often treatable/curable, so with luck you'll be able to get your babies up to speed and well again soon."
- Thread starter
- #5
Thank you for that. I had no idea Pekins had leg problems! I am gonna get some vitamins.
- Aug 3, 2009
- 8,427
- 81
- 263
You bet. I sure hope that gets him back on his feet, poor thing.
Let me know how he does. I'll help if I can.
Let me know how he does. I'll help if I can.
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