Duck not growing.

[Leighnicki]

Help. My little duck is 3 months old and has not grown much at all. No feathers coming in still has its down! It gets around fine eats well. But idk what to do for it. I literally have it in with a quail. Which is no working anymore because the male quail is trying to breed with it and is pulling out the down. Any suggestions welcome.

 

[ruthhope]

Help. My little duck is 3 months old and has not grown much at all. No feathers coming in still has its down! It gets around fine eats well. But idk what to do for it. I literally have it in with a quail. Which is no working anymore because the male quail is trying to breed with it and is pulling out the down. Any suggestions welcome.

Hi Leighnicki

Do you only have one duckling? It needs ducky friends -- a quail even if it weren't a male traying to mount your duckling, isn't enough
What are you feeding your duckling. DUcklings need specialist duckling starter food. By 3 months they can go onto duck pellets or crumbles, But make sure you are feeding duck specific food and not all flock which does not meet the nutritional needs of ducklings.

I suspect your little duckling has a nutritional deficiency leading to delayed feathering and slow growth. As well as only feeding your duckling specifif duck food, can you get a bottle of rooster booster vitamins from your feed store [or on line from Tractor Supply? Can you also sprinkle nutritional yeast or brewer's yeast onto the duck food -- 1 tablespoon per cupful of duck food

I would not give any treats at the moment -- just get duck specific food into this little fluffy until it starts to put on weight. You might monitor its growth by weighing every week.

If this is an only duckling, please urgently get two or more duckling friends for it.

 

[Leighnicki]

Hi Leighnicki

Do you only have one duckling? It needs ducky friends -- a quail even if it weren't a male traying to mount your duckling, isn't enough
What are you feeding your duckling. DUcklings need specialist duckling starter food. By 3 months they can go onto duck pellets or crumbles, But make sure you are feeding duck specific food and not all flock which does not meet the nutritional needs of ducklings.

I suspect your little duckling has a nutritional deficiency leading to delayed feathering and slow growth. As well as only feeding your duckling specifif duck food, can you get a bottle of rooster booster vitamins from your feed store [or on line from Tractor Supply? Can you also sprinkle nutritional yeast or brewer's yeast onto the duck food -- 1 tablespoon per cupful of duck food

I would not give any treats at the moment -- just get duck specific food into this little fluffy until it starts to put on weight. You might monitor its growth by weighing every week.

If this is an only duckling, please urgently get two or more duckling friends for it.

It is not the only duck I have but the others all outgrew it very quickly. I could not leave it to be trampled by the others. They are huge in Comparison now! After the first 3 weeks it was obviously not growing and I switched to duck feed and is still on duck pellets. I will pick up some rooster booster Friday when I go in to get feed. Anything is worth a try at this point. Thank you.

 

[ruthhope]

It is not the only duck I have but the others all outgrew it very quickly. I could not leave it to be trampled by the others. They are huge in Comparison now! After the first 3 weeks it was obviously not growing and I switched to duck feed and is still on duck pellets. I will pick up some rooster booster Friday when I go in to get feed. Anything is worth a try at this point. Thank you.

Glad to know there are other ducks around!! is there a quiet one that could be this little duck's buddy?

As your little one is eating duck pellets, I am wondering if there is malabsorption causing the nutritional deficiency. What is the duckling's poop like?

However, niacin deficiency is a more likely cause. Some ducks just need more niacin than others. In addition to sprinkling nutritional yeast or brewer's yeast on the duck food, can you get a bottle of durvet high level Vit B complex from Tractor Supply? It says injectable but we give it orally to ducks. You need to get your little one to take 1ml of durvet per day. We say soaked into a treat and that might be okay with yours -- just a few mealie worms for example. But don't overdo the treats. This little on needs high quality duck food for all its nutrition

 

[SilverBirds]

Glad to know there are other ducks around!! is there a quiet one that could be this little duck's buddy?

As your little one is eating duck pellets, I am wondering if there is malabsorption causing the nutritional deficiency. What is the duckling's poop like?

There is a double thread if you'd like to read what was said here. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/duck-not-growing.1543975/

 

[Leighnicki]

Glad to know there are other ducks around!! is there a quiet one that could be this little duck's buddy?

As your little one is eating duck pellets, I am wondering if there is malabsorption causing the nutritional deficiency. What is the duckling's poop like?

However, niacin deficiency is a more likely cause. Some ducks just need more niacin than others. In addition to sprinkling nutritional yeast or brewer's yeast on the duck food, can you get a bottle of durvet high level Vit B complex from Tractor Supply? It says injectable but we give it orally to ducks. You need to get your little one to take 1ml of durvet per day. We say soaked into a treat and that might be okay with yours -- just a few mealie worms for example. But don't overdo the treats. This little on needs high quality duck food for all its nutrition

Because I brought it in due to cooler temps outside. This is the poo. Yes can certainly look into getting the B complex. I dont give it treats really just some dandelion greens sometimes that I break up and put in water dish.

 

[Leighnicki]

There is a double thread if you'd like to read what was said here. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/duck-not-growing.1543975/

Yea not sure how this happened. Thank you.

 

[Mother Clucker 69]

I am saddened to say that I had an Indian Runner we had to euthanize. She quit growing and was born with a vitamin deficiency. We couldn't bear to watch her suffer anymore. I hope and pray your baby gets better. Love them duckies.

 

[Leighnicki]

I am saddened to say that I had an Indian Runner we had to euthanize. She quit growing and was born with a vitamin deficiency. We couldn't bear to watch her suffer anymore. I hope and pray your baby gets better. Love them duckies.

Oh, that's horrible and I'm hoping that's not the case here. It acts happy and healthy so far. Likes to cuddle on my lap. Just really worried if those feathers don't come in. House duck is probably not an option with my husband. He don't like ducks anyway, so not happy about my small flock. Lol. I just love them though!

 

[ruthhope]

Oh, that's horrible and I'm hoping that's not the case here. It acts happy and healthy so far. Likes to cuddle on my lap. Just really worried if those feathers don't come in. House duck is probably not an option with my husband. He don't like ducks anyway, so not happy about my small flock. Lol. I just love them though!

So glad yours is a happy duck and not suffering from her failure to thrive. The duck poop looks normal enough although i have no idea what malabsorption poop in a duck looks like! It wouldnt look normal