Duckling dying? please help!

[Ekaufee17]

Hey everyone. She didn't make it. That night she layed down on her side and just never. Got back up. Thanks for the concern though, it really does mean a lot. The other khaki. Acted kind of lonely even with the two mallards and two blues we had, so we went and picked up three pekins and he pals around with his new buds just fine!

 

[aaajjss1]

aww poor duckie so sorry

 

[Ekaufee17]

Hey guys I have another problem. Rather than starting a new thread and becoming an annoying newbie, I figured id post here since its relevant. Today I let my month olds out of their brooder and watched them play for about an hour. No problems, high energy. Meanwhile I'm working on a new coop to move my adult ducks into, and I took my eye off them for maybe 20 minutes. Looked over and saw three of them falling asleep together (have 4 month olds total). I walked around the corner and found the 4th on its back kicking its legs. Picked him up and put him upright and he just flopped over again and started twitching... it was really bad. Eyes kept closing. Looked like death was coming. this was about nine hours ago... I'm hoping its another niacin problem, but in the back of my mind I'm worried that it could be the avian hep virus... I isolated the duck and brought it into the house. Gave it a slush of brewers yeast and water... seems to be A LOT better now.. is eating and drinking... even ate a worm out of my hand. Still doesn't have full balance, but doesn't flop around and twitch anymore. I'm hoping the little one is getting better, and it seems like it, but I don't want to get my hopes up.

 

[aaajjss1]

i don'tknow about that virus but niacin deficiency can get better then worse, but will eventually go away if you keep supplementing

 

[charitypearl]

I may or may not have a similar problem....I have 15 Anconas 1 week old. They all seemed great till this morning. A couple started acting funny..........lethargic and then it was like they were having seizures, shaking their heads back and forth. Then another flipped on its back and couldn't get back up. I read it could be a vitamin deficiency or bacterial infection so I added a vitamin electrolyte mix and duramycin to their water. They had been getting vitamins in the water up until yesterday, then I stopped because the hatchery reccommended plain water. I mix my own starter because you can only get medicated chick starter here, and I do add vitamins but maybe not enough. They have also been getting mashed hard boiled egg. I changed the bedding crook wood shavings to newspaper because I was worried they might be eating it and it could be causing problems.
Now it seems like the whole flock is acting lethargic though no more "seizures ". They seem to be drinking a lot but not eating much and some of them are calling a lot. Others are acting pretty weak. Any ideas what I can do? I certainly don't want to lose them all.

 

[Ekaufee17]

That's pretty much how this chick started out. Almost exactly actually. I've been mixing a little brewers yeast in with its water about twice a day and it seems to have gotten a lot better. Now eating quite ferociously, drinking a lot too. Even has the strength to try to jump to get the food out of my hand. The only thing noticeably wrong is that it is still very wobbly and loses balance easily. But it is nowhere near as bad as it was yesterday... with the "seizures" and flipping onto its back. Im considering reintroducing it to the group again after one more night or so.

 

[EJPedrazzi]

I may or may not have a similar problem....I have 15 Anconas 1 week old. They all seemed great till this morning. A couple started acting funny..........lethargic and then it was like they were having seizures, shaking their heads back and forth. Then another flipped on its back and couldn't get back up. I read it could be a vitamin deficiency or bacterial infection so I added a vitamin electrolyte mix and duramycin to their water. They had been getting vitamins in the water up until yesterday, then I stopped because the hatchery reccommended plain water. I mix my own starter because you can only get medicated chick starter here, and I do add vitamins but maybe not enough. They have also been getting mashed hard boiled egg. I changed the bedding crook wood shavings to newspaper because I was worried they might be eating it and it could be causing problems.
Now it seems like the whole flock is acting lethargic though no more "seizures ". They seem to be drinking a lot but not eating much and some of them are calling a lot. Others are acting pretty weak. Any ideas what I can do? I certainly don't want to lose them all.

Adding the vitamins is a good start, but ducklings specifically need a lot more niacin than chicks. Brewers yeast, rice bran and tuna are some of the foods you may have at hand that are high in niacin, otherwise you'll need to add a niacin supplement to their water. But only the regular kind, not 'flush-free' or anything. Add 100mg to 1 gallon of water and hopefully you will see improvements in their strength and coordination. Flock starter also has higher niacin than chick starter. What's in your starter?

 

[Ekaufee17]

with the brewers yeast... its noticeably less niacin than pure niacin (obviously). how much should i be giving them until i can get niacin? ive been making a slop of it by mixing it with their water. theyre drinking it, but im not sure if im giving them too much, not enough etc...

 

[oceansideangora]

I was just reading through this thread. I ended up with 5 ducklings yesterday, which were planned for but not yet. Anyway, the feed store gave me Organic chick starter to go with them, but I am a little panicked over the Niacin now. I live in a tiny town and can only find the time release.

However: I am a vegan, and happen to have Nutritional Yeast. I was looking up nutritional data on it, vs brewers and this is what I found:
BREWERS YEAST:

Amounts per Custom Food (30g)​

Calorie Information​

Amounts Per Selected Serving​

%DV​

​

Calories​

116​

(486 kJ)​

6%​

From Carbohydrate​

52.0​

(218 kJ)​

​

From Fat​

0.0​

(0.0 kJ)​

​

From Protein​

64.0​

(268 kJ)​

​

From Alcohol​

~​

(0.0 kJ)​

​

Carbohydrates​

Amounts Per Selected Serving​

%DV​

​

Total Carbohydrate​

13.0​

g​

4%​

Dietary Fiber​

6.0​

g​

24%​

Starch​

~​

​

​

Sugars​

0.0​

g​

​

Fats & Fatty Acids​

Amounts Per Selected Serving​

%DV​

​

Total Fat​

0.0​

g​

0%​

Saturated Fat​

0.0​

g​

0%​

Monounsaturated Fat​

~​

​

​

Polyunsaturated Fat​

~​

​

​

Total trans fatty acids​

0.0​

g​

​

Total trans-monoenoic fatty acids​

~​

​

​

Total trans-polyenoic fatty acids​

~​

​

​

Total Omega-3 fatty acids​

~​

​

​

Total Omega-6 fatty acids​

~​

​

​

Learn more about these fatty acids
and their equivalent names

Protein & Amino Acids​

Amounts Per Selected Serving​

%DV​

​

Protein​

16.0​

g​

32%​

Vitamins​

Amounts Per Selected Serving​

%DV​

​

Vitamin A​

0.0​

IU​

0%​

Vitamin C​

0.0​

mg​

0%​

Vitamin D​

0.0​

IU​

0%​

Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol)​

0.0​

mg​

0%​

Vitamin K​

~​

​

~​

Thiamin​

1.2​

mg​

80%​

Riboflavin​

1.5​

mg​

90%​

Niacin​

10.0​

mg​

50%​

Vitamin B6​

0.8​

mg​

40%​

Folate​

60.0​

mcg​

15%​

Vitamin B12​

0.3​

mcg​

5%​

Pantothenic Acid​

0.6​

mg​

6%​

Choline​

~​

​

​

Betaine​

~​

​

​

Minerals​

Amounts Per Selected Serving​

%DV​

​

Calcium​

0.0​

mg​

0%​

Iron​

1.1​

mg​

6%​

Magnesium​

32.0​

mg​

8%​

Phosphorus​

0.0​

mg​

0%​

Potassium​

633​

mg​

18%​

Sodium​

63.0​

mg​

3%​

Zinc​

1.5​

mg​

10%​

Copper​

1.0​

mg​

50%​

Manganese​

~​

​

~​

Selenium​

63.0​

mcg​

90%​

Fluoride​

~​

​

​

Sterols​

Amounts Per Selected Serving​

%DV​

​

Cholesterol​

0.0​

mg​

0%​

Phytosterols​

~​

​

​

Other​

Amounts Per Selected Serving​

%DV​

​

Alcohol​

~​

​

​

Water​

~​

​

​

Ash​

~​

​

​

Caffeine​

~​

​

​

Theobromine​

~​

​

​

​

Read More http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/custom/1323569/2#ixzz2PwCekQrY

NUTRITIONAL YEAST:

Amounts per Custom Food (16g)​

Calorie Information​

Amounts Per Selected Serving​

%DV​

​

Calories​

45.0​

(188 kJ)​

2%​

From Carbohydrate​

8.0​

(33.5 kJ)​

​

From Fat​

5.0​

(20.9 kJ)​

​

From Protein​

32.0​

(134 kJ)​

​

From Alcohol​

~​

(0.0 kJ)​

​

Carbohydrates​

Amounts Per Selected Serving​

%DV​

​

Total Carbohydrate​

5.0​

g​

2%​

Dietary Fiber​

4.0​

g​

16%​

Starch​

~​

​

​

Sugars​

1.0​

g​

​

Fats & Fatty Acids​

Amounts Per Selected Serving​

%DV​

​

Total Fat​

0.5​

g​

1%​

Saturated Fat​

0.0​

g​

0%​

Monounsaturated Fat​

~​

​

​

Polyunsaturated Fat​

~​

​

​

Total trans fatty acids​

0.0​

g​

​

Total trans-monoenoic fatty acids​

~​

​

​

Total trans-polyenoic fatty acids​

~​

​

​

Total Omega-3 fatty acids​

~​

​

​

Total Omega-6 fatty acids​

~​

​

​

Learn more about these fatty acids
and their equivalent names

Protein & Amino Acids​

Amounts Per Selected Serving​

%DV​

​

Protein​

8.0​

g​

16%​

Vitamins​

Amounts Per Selected Serving​

%DV​

​

Vitamin A​

0.0​

IU​

0%​

Vitamin C​

0.0​

mg​

0%​

Vitamin D​

0.0​

IU​

0%​

Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol)​

0.0​

mg​

0%​

Vitamin K​

0.0​

mcg​

0%​

Thiamin​

9.6​

mg​

640%​

Riboflavin​

9.7​

mg​

570%​

Niacin​

56.0​

mg​

280%​

Vitamin B6​

9.6​

mg​

480%​

Folate​

240​

mcg​

60%​

Vitamin B12​

7.8​

mcg​

130%​

Pantothenic Acid​

1.0​

mg​

10%​

Choline​

~​

​

​

Betaine​

~​

​

​

Minerals​

Amounts Per Selected Serving​

%DV​

​

Calcium​

0.0​

mg​

0%​

Iron​

0.7​

mg​

4%​

Magnesium​

24.0​

mg​

6%​

Phosphorus​

0.0​

mg​

0%​

Potassium​

0.0​

mg​

0%​

Sodium​

5.0​

mg​

0%​

Zinc​

3.0​

mg​

20%​

Copper​

0.1​

mg​

6%​

Manganese​

0.1​

mg​

6%​

Selenium​

0.0​

mcg​

0%​

Fluoride​

~​

​

​

Sterols​

Amounts Per Selected Serving​

%DV​

​

Cholesterol​

0.0​

mg​

0%​

Phytosterols​

~​

​

​

Other​

Amounts Per Selected Serving​

%DV​

​

Alcohol​

~​

​

​

Water​

~​

​

​

Ash​

~​

​

​

Caffeine​

~​

​

​

Theobromine​

~​

​

​

​

Read More http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/custom/1323565/


To me, this looks like a better choice for Niacin than Brewers yeast. Should I add a sprinkling of it to their crumbles? Also I can get Flock Raiser, when can I start them on that, and get them off the chick starter?

 

[Amiga]

Well, looking at Livestrong, the difference seems to be that nutritional yeast provides B12, and brewer's yeast does not.

Cottage Rose and Valley Permaculture recommend either nutritional or brewer's yeast for ducklings on chick starter. Hope someone with experience comes in here. I was blessed to be able to get turkey-waterfowl starter.

I started adding some grower pellets to the starter crumbles at two weeks, gradually increasing the proportion of grower till the crumbles were all gone.