Duck off balance. HELP!!!

[SwedishDude99]

I let out my two ducks, Mordecai and Rigby, this morning into their yard before I went to school today. The gardeners had come, so my mom put them back and didn't let them back out. When I got home, I let them out of the coop and noticed that Rigby, my black swedish, was completely off balance. He started wobbling and tilting back on his feet. He also fell over a couple of times. My mom checked his feet while I held him and said she did not see any redness or anything swollen, so I do not think bumble foot, but it was getting dark already so I will check myself tomorrow to be sure. Any other ideas on what it could be. There is also a slight slope in their at one end so he could have possibly fallen down the slope at some point in the day and hurt himself, but I think my mom would have noticed. He was ok this morning too, so whatever is wrong has happened extremely recently. Any hell with this is greatly appreciated.

 

[yelyah]

Something similar is happening with my 4-5 week old duck. She was walking perfectly a few days ago, and suddenly she's forgotten how to walk. There is definitely something not right about her legs though. They seem red and swollen and she can't seem to hold herself up.

 

[SwedishDude99]

He knows how to, he can stand up and walk around but continually wobbles and then falls over. It's really sad to watch. I can't see anything visibly wrong with his legs. Hopefully someone will help us out soon.

 

[SwedishDude99]

Anyone?

 

[tajuano]

sounds like niacin deficiency. you should look through this forum, there were people who had the similar problem, you can add niacin to his water or buy a brewer yeast and sprinkle it on his drinking water, but not too much a little at a time, see if this helps

 

[SwedishDude99]

Okay thank you. What If it isn't a niacin deficiency? Will it hurt him to have any extra?

 

[Amiga]

100 to 150 mg of niacin in a gallon of water ought not to be a problem, based on anything I have read here on the forum.

What kind of surface does the duckling walk on? If there is not good traction, they can get spraddle-leg or splay-leg, and to fix that you need to replace the bedding with something that won't slip, and you may need to tie a little string between the legs to hold them in the proper position.

 

[SwedishDude99]

He Isn't a duckling. He is the duck that is in my profile picture. But the bedding is pine shavings and during the day they walk on dirt in their run.

 

[Amiga]

He Isn't a duckling. He is the duck that is in my profile picture. But the bedding is pine shavings and during the day they walk on dirt in their run.

I am so sorry, SD99, I got off track.

It may be some kind of toxin. A vet is always a good idea if you can.

How is he doing today? Better?

If it is a toxin, there is a flush on this link https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/700526/flushes-for-aiding-in-toxin-removal#post_9508213

and I would give food grade activated charcoal, a teaspoon in a quart of drinking water. It will do no harm, in any case, as long as you don't give too much charcoal.

 

[SwedishDude99]

It's totally fine. Anyway, he seems better today, but he's still kinda wobbly. He walks kind of weird too, so I don't think he has any type of injury as he is fine walking on both feet. I will check out that toxin link. Thank you so much.