Duck, leg injury, urgent help needed

[MotherDucker35]

Hi,
I have a pekin duck that is 10-11 wks. On may 11th when I fed everyone she was fine, I came back in 5 minutes later & she was limping badly & didn't want to stand on one leg. I tucked her into a nest box & gave her food & water which she ate well & kept her confined to rest it for the night. No change the next morning so I began my research journey. I will add that at the time of "injury" my 4yo son was in the pen giving treats & all of the birds were gathered around him. So the is the possiblity that she was stepped on as well. He didn't think he did though. I did not see any sign of a physical injury at the time. Over the next few days she also quit using her other foot as well and both feet started to curl & both legs started to splay. I quickly got some niacin powder & started supplementing her food. Spoke with the store clerk where I got her when I was picking up food & he told me all their ducklings and chicks are fed chick starter, not duck food so this is what got me thinking perosis maybe & not an injury at all? So we have been using the niacin since May 21st and making sure she doesn't have access to our chick food. She is kept separated from her mates with a fine fence so they're next to her but can't pick on her. She gets warm water therapy daily in the tub & supervised pool time with her mates as well as Epsom baths every other day. After the 2nd day of niacin, she started slightly paddling her legs in the water & it has gotten stronger daily & currently she paddles both feet strong but her legs are still splayed pretty far & she looks like a little paddle boat when she swims. Her feet have uncurled now & I've been trying to wrap her legs to line them up but she gets very frustrated & I can't tell if she's in pain from it or if she's just mad at me for doing it. After many frustrating attempts to keep them taped & lined up I finally came up with our current solution which is a soft scrunchie wrapped in a figure 8 around both legs. She tolerates it & it keeps her feet together under her while she's laying instead of out to the sides. I guess i'm looking for advice on how to handle, if im doing the right thing, does she ever have a shot at recovery, etc. All info is welcome & greatly appreciated!!!! We love our Beverly & will do what we can for her! I just don't want to prolong her discomfort, cause her additional pain, or anything else if this is something she will not recover from
Thank you a million times over for any helpful advice!

 

[Isaac 0]

Hey, sorry I couldn't get back to you sooner. The niacin is great, but if this were also a riboflavin problem, the niacin wouldn't do much of anything to help her, any way you could pick up Durvet Liquid B Complex and give her 1ml a day? That contains most of the B vitamins associated with good leg health.

I would take the hobble off her legs a few times a day, she needs to exercise those legs, and water is a great way to do so. If you keep up the hobble, water therapy, and start her on the B complex she has a good shot at getting better, it'll just take longer since she is older.

I'll tag @Miss Lydia to see if she has any thoughts on this, and that way she'll be able to help in case I'm busy.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Best advise there is Liquid BComplex Durvet brand water therapy as often as you can and help her in an out and good feed which looks like she is getting and rest. She’s a doll

 

[MotherDucker35]

Best advise there is Liquid BComplex Durvet brand water therapy as often as you can and help her in an out and good feed which looks like she is getting and rest. She’s a doll

So, the only Durvet B complex I can find anywhere is injectable...I'm doubting that is what you're recommending but I can't seem to find a similar product, I am giving her Durvet vitamin and electrolyte packs in her water as well as the B3 powder supplement on her food though. I'm really surprised to see her legs straightening and thickening up so much, they were so weak and her feet were just limp and curled when we started. Now her feet are nice and "open" and flattened out and she is using her wings and legs to "bunny hop" all over the lawn when I let her. Unfortunately she has developed quite an attitude in the last few days when she used to be so affectionate and now shes snappy, but I get it. She's been cooped up immobile for 4wks now and I'm sure she's frustrated. I'd be cranky too!! I see a little progress every day though, so we're not giving up yet! Just wanted to post an update in case anyone was wondering about her. We're still fighting over here! And as always, thanks for your advice!

 

[Isaac 0]

The one we recommend is injectable, but we administer it orally or over treats, I believe you found the right one.

 

[Miss Lydia]

That’s so great to hear she’s making progress. Get the injectable and start her on it over treats, you should see even more progress.

 

[Isaac 0]

The dosage will vary accordingly to age, currently, we go, 1/4ml for ducklings that are between one to seven days old, 1/2ml for ducklings that are one week to two weeks, anything above that will be 1ml, this is once a day, although if you have a hard time getting the complex into the duckling you can split the dosage in half and give some in the morning and evening. The effects of giving too much vitamin B are somewhat limited, it does seem, however, that you would need to give a large amount to the duck for it to have a damaging effect.

This is a quote from John Metzer

"We have been asked if it is possible to overdose on niacin. Because of how small the amount is, it is easy to think you can give your birds too much. The answer is that you would need a lot to overdose. We don't have an exact amount to point towards, but humans can overdose on niacin and that can cause bowel problems. If your birds start having digestive issues, then it's a possibility, but is unlikely."


We recommend for novice duck keepers to give them the complex over treats, to reduce the risk of aspiration if given orally with a syringe. Duck seems to enjoy mealworms, peas, lettuce, tomatoes the most, it can also be mixed into a wet soupy feed. The reason we recommend not giving it in water is most of the time ducks spill around half of the water, so it makes it hard to calculate the dosage, and birds that are in poor condition may not be able to get around to drink often. If your bird is not able to get around or is so debilitated, you may need to administer orally with a syringe/eyedropper, the easiest and safest way I have found is to drop the B complex onto the side of their bill, the sensation of the water droplets often will make them drink the liquid, another technique is to dip their bill for a short second in some of the liquid. If this doesn't work you may need to stick the syringe in their mouth, I will provide an article on the bottom on how to do that correctly.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/niacin-deficiency-in-waterfowl.1367557/

 

[MotherDucker35]

The dosage will vary accordingly to age, currently, we go, 1/4ml for ducklings that are between one to seven days old, 1/2ml for ducklings that are one week to two weeks, anything above that will be 1ml, this is once a day, although if you have a hard time getting the complex into the duckling you can split the dosage in half and give some in the morning and evening. The effects of giving too much vitamin B are somewhat limited, it does seem, however, that you would need to give a large amount to the duck for it to have a damaging effect.

This is a quote from John Metzer

"We have been asked if it is possible to overdose on niacin. Because of how small the amount is, it is easy to think you can give your birds too much. The answer is that you would need a lot to overdose. We don't have an exact amount to point towards, but humans can overdose on niacin and that can cause bowel problems. If your birds start having digestive issues, then it's a possibility, but is unlikely."


We recommend for novice duck keepers to give them the complex over treats, to reduce the risk of aspiration if given orally with a syringe. Duck seems to enjoy mealworms, peas, lettuce, tomatoes the most, it can also be mixed into a wet soupy feed. The reason we recommend not giving it in water is most of the time ducks spill around half of the water, so it makes it hard to calculate the dosage, and birds that are in poor condition may not be able to get around to drink often. If your bird is not able to get around or is so debilitated, you may need to administer orally with a syringe/eyedropper, the easiest and safest way I have found is to drop the B complex onto the side of their bill, the sensation of the water droplets often will make them drink the liquid, another technique is to dip their bill for a short second in some of the liquid. If this doesn't work you may need to stick the syringe in their mouth, I will provide an article on the bottom on how to do that correctly.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/niacin-deficiency-in-waterfowl.1367557/

Awesome, thank you so much for all your insight! I've been in contact with the poultry science division at MSU who put me in contact with a poultry vet fairly close to our area, so miss Beverly has herself an appointment at 6pm tonight and we're hopeful for some good news. I ordered the other B complex & it will be here tomorrow. As an update, last night she pushed herself up fully & took two steps!!! First time in 4wks! GO BEV!!! wish us luck! You guys are awesome & I appreciate all the info so much!!

 

[Isaac 0]

That is really wonderful to hear, please keep us posted!

 

[Isaac 0]

Sorry to hear about Beverly! I'd love to see some more pictures of your other ducks.