Duckling can’t walk

[alecudiana]

Hey there. I’ve got two 3 weeks old ducks and since two days ago one of them can’t walk properly. This happened suddenly.
I went to the vet and the doc gave me a B3 vitamin complex. She’s on day 3 of treatment and is doing a little bit better but not as good as I expected. She can swim and seems to keep her balance in water. She eats and drinks normally.
I was wondering if she could be too fat as she weights a bit more than the other duck.

 

[Stipenvlerk]

Hi and welcome to BYC,

sorry to hear your duckling has problems...
is it possible to upload a video of how she walks on YouTube and post the link here?

niacine deficiency can be very well the reason of walking problems but it’s not the only one.

 

[BigLar368]

We have an almost 3 week old duck doing the same. She favors one leg and when she walks she has a slight limp. We noticed that the first joint above her foot is slightly swollen and maybe 15% to 20% larger than the other. She will walk to wherever she is going and immediately. She eats and drinks just fine but is slightly smaller than the other three ducks. Our starter food is approved for both chicks and ducks and provides the correct amount of Niacin. I am installing a 50 gallon stock pond today and we will try to let her swim some and see if she can build strength in the weak leg.