Duck can't stand

[aja19919]

Hello,

I have a young Ancona duck (just feathered out) that is unable to stand. It is able to push itself about on it's belly, but is unable to stand. The others seem to be fine. Any ideas what could cause this or what to do about it?

Living conditions:
fed: all purpose layer crumber w/ scratch
fresh veggie scraps (mainly lettuce, a little corn on cob)
water
enclosure is 25 x 46 w/ tall grass
lives w/ young chickens that haven't begun to lay yet.
access to kiddie pool for baths.
locked in at night.

Thank you
Amy
WA State

 

[CalBells]

Could it be a niacin deficiency? Have you been supplementing the feed with niacin or brewer's yeast? I am new to ducks myself, but have read that they need more niacin than chickens. The chicken feed needs to be supplemented, otherwise they can have issues with their legs. I have also read that even if they all eat the same thing, differences in metabolism will mean that some will have issues while others may not. Hopefully others with more experience will chime in with other ideas for you.

 

[Amiga]

CalBells makes some good points. The diet looks like it is too low in niacin and even too high in calcium. The low niacin will cause nerve problems that often show up as leg problems.

And the calcium is a strain on the kidneys for non-laying ducks, such as ducklings and drakes.

Yes, some ducklings seem more sensitive to these things than others.

I would get plain niacin in capsules that can be pulled apart so the niacin powder dissolves in water. 100 to 150 mg of niacin per gallon of water for ten weeks.

Please keep us updated!

 

[aja19919]

Wow, thanks for the tip. I had no idea. I do have Brewer's Yeast but would probably have to go to a vitamin store for the niacin. what would the dosage be? Could I just sprinkle BY on the feed or would that be a waste? Feed ducks seperate from chickens? (pain to do this as they currently mingle) .



I do give oyster shell, free range. Is that adequate enough for the calcium?

This duck has lost more of its mobility. I take it and put it in a 1000 gallon tank where it swims and is quite happy. I feed it there as well. It can swim. Tonight it had enough and was able to get out on its own, I then put it in the enclosure for safe keeping at night.

Wondering if I should put the duck in a pet crate so it can get it's own supplemental feed?

By feeding "duck" feed (all purpose poultry?) will it affect the chickens that are in there with them?

This reminds me of copper levels for goats and sheep. Too much will kill a sheep and not enough will harm a goat.

Thanks again

 

[Amiga]

Wow, thanks for the tip. I had no idea. I do have Brewer's Yeast but would probably have to go to a vitamin store for the niacin. what would the dosage be? Could I just sprinkle BY on the feed or would that be a waste? Feed ducks seperate from chickens? (pain to do this as they currently mingle) . Those who use brewer's yeast sprinkle across the top of the food, perhaps a tablespoon a day. Niacin is water soluble, and though I cannot tell you I am certain, it seems water soluble vitamins ought not bother the other birds. Perhaps someone else can check in, who does this with chickens. For now, you may want to separate the duck and feed it a special diet, till you are more comfortable with the concern about the others. Won't hurt other ducks, that's for sure.



I do give oyster shell, free range. Is that adequate enough for the calcium? In my experience, it depends on the duck. Zwei is a smart duck, she noms on the oyster shell quite a bit, as do most of the others. Sieben forgets to eat it, and Michele does not seem to even think about it. Since all my flock are layers, I add sprinkles of it to their food, the dust gets dissolved into their night drinking water, and I feed them organic layer pellets. Every way I can get calcium into my layers, I do it. If I had ducklings, I would need to rework the system. sigh.

This duck has lost more of its mobility. I take it and put it in a 1000 gallon tank where it swims and is quite happy. I feed it there as well. It can swim. Tonight it had enough and was able to get out on its own, I then put it in the enclosure for safe keeping at night. Beautiful! I think hydrotherapy works wonders.

Wondering if I should put the duck in a pet crate so it can get it's own supplemental feed? See above

By feeding "duck" feed (all purpose poultry?) will it affect the chickens that are in there with them? I don't have chickens, I have read many people feed Flock Raiser with good results. There are other flock feeds as well. A friend of mine feeds Countryside Organic, which is pricey but she says the hens are in great shape and the eggs are wonderful. I fed CO for a while, but the ducks had a hard time with eating it all. They would pick out the parts they liked and leave the rest. Pelleted food helps them get a better diet for now, till I figure out alternatives.

This reminds me of copper levels for goats and sheep. Too much will kill a sheep and not enough will harm a goat. Who knew we would need to be nutritional chemists when we got involved in raising animals?!

Thanks again

 

[aja19919]

I wanted to let everyone that the duck is walking again.

I put her on Purina Flock Raiser and just kept throwing her in the pond for excercise and cleaning and she evidentually came back. She is 1/2 the size of the other ducks and I think that is because she didn't have as much access to the food as the other pigs did.

Thanks again for the advice.

Amy

 

[Amiga]

 

[microsat]

I wanted to let everyone that the duck is walking again.

I put her on Purina Flock Raiser and just kept throwing her in the pond for excercise and cleaning and she evidentually came back. She is 1/2 the size of the other ducks and I think that is because she didn't have as much access to the food as the other pigs did.

Thanks again for the advice.

Amy

didn't you use any niacin or brewer's yeast, did you?

 

[wildsam]

I wanted to let everyone that the duck is walking again.

I put her on Purina Flock Raiser and just kept throwing her in the pond for excercise and cleaning and she evidentually came back. She is 1/2 the size of the other ducks and I think that is because she didn't have as much access to the food as the other pigs did.

Thanks again for the advice.

Amy

Now, did you use the niacin then or simply the flock raiser? Cuz it seems like I got one of the slower more sensitive ones too. She is only about 1/3 the size of my other ones and I got her a small Khaki for company plus giving her electrolytes. Seems to be helping her a bit, since she starts getting up and around a bit more, but am still not too satisfied and would really like her to get better (and maybe kick the other ones in the rear soon... hehehe). Gonna go and get me some brewers yeast tomorrow since I couldn't find any niacin around the stores here. Might be because we live in the middle of nowhere and the couple of feed stores here more focus on chickens, cows and horses... the joys of living in cheese country I guess...lol

 

[Morgan Culp]

Hi. MY duckling got her ankle caught in something in the pen. It was swollen for a bit and quickly got better. 5 minutes later she can't walk at all. I don't know what do and I've never written anything on here before.
I've raised ducklings before, but I've never had this many problems as I'm having now.