Duck crossing legs when walking.

[hugitnotnugget]

I have a pekin drake that is 3 years old. Within the last month he started limping and now his legs cross when he walks. He is not walking much now. Any suggestions? Everyone else is well.

 

[Miss Lydia]

No injuries that you know of? Sounds like a vitamin B3 deficiency that we usually see in much younger ducklings but doesn't mean he can't have it as an adult. Other than vet care you can buy some liquid B complex TSC has the best in the cattle dept it will say injectable but is given orally. You want to try and get him to take it over something yummy instead of putting it in water which will water it down. Start him out on 1 ml daily and if that doesn't seem to help do this 2X a day try it for a week. If a vitamin B3 deficiency you should see some improvement. Can he move his legs in water ? Swimming is another way to help build muscle with out putting pressure on the legs . What do you feed him?

 

[hugitnotnugget]

No injuries that you know of? Sounds like a vitamin B3 deficiency that we usually see in much younger ducklings but doesn't mean he can't have it as an adult. Other than vet care you can buy some liquid B complex TSC has the best in the cattle dept it will say injectable but is given orally. You want to try and get him to take it over something yummy instead of putting it in water which will water it down. Start him out on 1 ml daily and if that doesn't seem to help do this 2X a day try it for a week. If a vitamin B3 deficiency you should see some improvement. Can he move his legs in water ? Swimming is another way to help build muscle with out putting pressure on the legs . What do you feed him?

Thank you. I will try the vitamins. He might have gotten injured but I didn’t notice it before. I feed them layer pellets. He seems to stand and swim fine. I am going to try to get him to swim more. It’s a little walk from the coop to the pond so I will carry him.

 

[hugitnotnugget]

I do give them some other scraps. Just older lettuce and watermelon is what I can think of. They also get some bird seed that I feed the wild birds.

 

[Miss Lydia]

This is the liquid b complex. And I’d get a feed that isn’t layer or at least drop the calcium down by mixing it half an half I use layer mixed with chick starter and then put oyster shell out for my layers. Check bottom of his feet to rule out bumble foot. Hopefully the liquid b will get him back up and walking on strong legs it’s going to say injectable but we use it orally if he’s eating good put it over enough of s treat that he gets the full dose.

 

[hugitnotnugget]

This is the liquid b complex. And I’d get a feed that isn’t layer or at least drop the calcium down by mixing it half an half I use layer mixed with chick starter and then put oyster shell out for my layers. Check bottom of his feet to rule out bumble foot. Hopefully the liquid b will get him back up and walking on strong legs it’s going to say injectable but we use it orally if he’s eating good put it over enough of s treat that he gets the full dose.View attachment 1762781

Thank you! I will try it. No signs of bumble foot

 

[casportpony]

Can you switch him to an all flock feed instead of the layer pellet? I ask because layer pellets contain too much calcium for non-layers, which could cause gout.