Duck and goose help!

[rob247]

hi,
I have a problem with 2 of my ducks and a goose and was wondering if anybody could give me some advice. I have 11 chickens, 7 bantams, 5 ducks and 2 geese. Last week i noticed one of the ducks looked lame so i inspected her and found that her knee joint was a bit swollen and felt a bit hot. I decided to put her in a bath of clean water for a few hours a day just to take the weight off. This seemed to help so i decided just to keep a close eye on her as she was able to eat and drink and seemed fine in herself apart from the mobility. Yesterday i noticed that another of the ducks and one of the geese have the EXACT same problem. I have been racking my brain ever since trying to think what it could be. I have checked the field where they are kept and there is nothing there that could of caused injury and/or poisoned them. I am finding it really strange that the exact same thing has happened to all 3 of them. They are all eating and drinking, there is no sign of any injury to the joints, They are all still laying, feces are normal, all are aproximately 12 months of age, they seem ok in themselves, and all are on feed designed for waterfowl. I am wondering whether it could be a deficiency of some sort which could be weakening the joints but i just dont know, it is really strange that it has happened to 3 of them. Any help/advice would be much appreciated

 

[PDurkin]

One of my rouen females had the same problem, I let her bathe for a few hours a day as well and within 2 weeks the problem was done with. She was still allowed access to the flock of 12 and it didn't show up in any other birds. I am doubting it is any sort of disease, it must be an injury. I hope somebody with more knowledge on the subject can chime in and help you out. Good luck!

 

[scratch'n'peck]

I do think waterfowl, especially heavy domestic waterfowl are prone to these problems. I think you were right to provide access to water so the it can take some weight off the legs. When something similar happened to one of my pekin ducks I asked myself if he could have twisted the leg getting in and out of the water or perhaps he was getting chased an twisted it when running. I never really did find out what caused it. I did some research more recently and it suggested that a lack of niacin could contribute to leg problems. That sort of deficiency does not seem very likely since you have been feeding them a feed for waterfowl, but it wouldn't hurt to look into that possibility.

Oh by the way,

 

[rob247]

Thanks for the replies guys. think i will definately keep on with the bathing and will look into the niacin deficiency.