Citric Acid and Ducklings?

[YoungsDucks]

The barn I got my ducklings from sold me citric acid to put in the ducks' water as an immunity booster. 1 pinch per gallon of water. Anyone else heard of this? I know that citrus is bad for ducks, so I wanted to be sure.

 

[Speceider]

Why would you worry about citric acid because it it a fundamental component of the Krebs-Citric acid cycle....on turning carbohydrates into energy....carbohydrates are converted to citric acid....not sure how giving them citric acid could be detrimental.

 

[Amiga]

The barn I got my ducklings from sold me citric acid to put in the ducks' water as an immunity booster. 1 pinch per gallon of water. Anyone else heard of this? I know that citrus is bad for ducks, so I wanted to be sure.

Although the words are very similar, and indeed there is citric acid in citrus, they are not exactly the same thing.

As Speceider said, there is a chemical reaction in our bodies called the Krebs-Citric Acid Cycle. It is how our cells generate energy.

Anyway, it is used as a food additive for broiler chickens to reduce the risk of illness from pathogens. There are other uses as well.

What I am wondering is if the clerk who sold you the citric acid may not realize that ducks generally are more resistant to a number of illnesses than are chickens. Hmmm. I looked it up and citric acid is one of the ingredients in the vitamins I give my ducks sometimes. I would go with a broad spectrum vitamin, electrolyte and probiotic supplement, and then only occasionally, like times of stress. I gave my ducklings vitamins every two weeks or so the first couple of months, but now it's just sometimes in the winter, or when they are molting.

 

[YoungsDucks]

Thank you both very much! That is extremely helpful. We lost a duckling earlier, and while the vet thought it was an unavoidable infection from the umbilical cord (didn't know they had those), I am still very paranoid.

 

[Amiga]

Understood, Glad you are so conscientious. Try to enjoy them, too!