Duckling nostril closing!! Help

[Miss Lydia]

Is this niacin in powder form how much does it say per tablespoon? Or how ever your suppose to give it? I doubt they would eat it by itself.

 

[FernbergFarms]

Okay so it’s in like a crumble form and I’m supposed to mix it in with the food:

 

[FernbergFarms]

Also should I use a tooth pick or something to gently scrape the booger’s? And if I touch her too much or like mess with her bill too much can that cause behavioral issues down the road? Just want to make sure I’m not messing with it too much. I’ve given them 4 warm baths and all of those I’ve been gently trying to get the booger’s off

 

[NatJ]

they each need at least100mgs daily. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/niacin-deficiency-in-waterfowl.1367557/

Okay so it’s in like a crumble form and I’m supposed to mix it in with the food:

According to the photos you show, that package weighs 1.25 pounds.
And each pound contains 1000 mg of niacin.
So the entire container would have 1250 mg of niacin.

At 100 mg per duck per day, they would need to eat that entire container of Rooster Booster Poultry Booster in 6 days to get enough niacin.

(I do not know if that would give them dangerous amounts of other nutrients or not.)

 

[Isaac 0]

@FernbergFarms , I tried clicking on your video link, but it appears it was taken down.
Ducklings predominantly develop niacin deficiencies towards the three to eight-week (teenage) mark, so while it's not unheard of them developing leg problems this early it may be a sign you're dealing with something else. Especially considering the fact that you're feeding them a diet already high in niacin.

Since a number of mineral and vitamin deficiencies can cause bowedness of the legs, starting the bird on a broad poultry vitamin may be better than solely niacin. Try continuing vitamin supplementation for a week or two and hopefully you'll see some form of improvement. Keeping the birds on padded grounds with plenty of traction, and allowing the duckling in water to help exercise the legs would both be good ideas.

If you feel the duckling may benefit from an external device on its leg to help correct the angulation - there are many ideas online you can find. If you are able to clean the duckling's nares out without damaging the surrounding tissue, you may try and do so with a blunt toothpick - a warm damp compress prior to clean may make excavation easier. After cleaning the nares out hopefully, it can prevent further blockage by blowing its nare regularly in water.

 

[AprilsZoo]

Also should I use a tooth pick or something to gently scrape the booger’s? And if I touch her too much or like mess with her bill too much can that cause behavioral issues down the road? Just want to make sure I’m not messing with it too much. I’ve given them 4 warm baths and all of those I’ve been gently trying to get the booger’s off

Definitely do NOT use anything pokey or sharp to clear the nostril!! If it is a problem long term, the owner can find a vet to help with any treatment requiring sharp instruments.
Trust me, I feel for ducky. I had four kids & it was always heartbreaking when they’d wake up with both nostrils (and sometimes their eyes) basically glued shut. But if it is boogers, it will eventually come loose.

According to the photos you show, that package weighs 1.25 pounds.
And each pound contains 1000 mg of niacin.
So the entire container would have 1250 mg of niacin.

At 100 mg per duck per day, they would need to eat that entire container of Rooster Booster Poultry Booster in 6 days to get enough niacin.

(I do not know if that would give them dangerous amounts of other nutrients or not.)

All the nutrients on the panel shown are water soluble vitamins which aren’t dangerous (excess is eliminated by kidneys) but still it isn’t good to take wild amounts of any vitamin.

A better way to supplement would be to use a regular HUMAN niacin supplement (very important: not time-release & not no-flush). These are available at any supermarket or pharmacy. I even saw some tonight at the Dollar store. The tablets are typically pretty small, so if you cut them into halves or quarters you can probably just pop it in their bill. You could hide it in a bite of banana or another favorite treat. This would allow you to supplement with just the niacin. (Hopefully your friend would pay you back).


Oops— isaac0‘s answer posted while I was typing. Definitely go with his advice....

 

[FernbergFarms]

Okay so the ducklings right now are on a chicken food with that vitamin booster. I was watering their food down a bit bc they were having a hard time getting the chicken food down. Also the one duckling with a clogged bill is growing and is a bit bigger than the duckling with the bad leg. It seems like the duckling with the bad leg isn’t growing as much. Could this be because he wasn’t getting enough food because it was too big? When I gave him the watered down food he couldn’t take himself away from the food. I feel so bad for them. So if it is booger’s then getting water and blowing their noses will clean on its own? It’s still completely blocked on one side and the other side is an eighth blocked. She has been blowing her nose in the water if I touch her bill with a Q-tip. Other than that she will like blow her bill into the ground not even in the water I gave her. (She can reach it)

 

[FernbergFarms]

And yes, I am sorry I took the video down and now I can’t get it back up! I’ll have to get another one tomorrow. Sorry!

 

[Isaac 0]

All the nutrients on the panel shown are water soluble vitamins which aren’t dangerous (excess is eliminated by kidneys) but still it isn’t good to take wild amounts of any vitamin.

All the ingredients weren't included with the label picture the OP provided so I looked up the brand online, and here are the other nutrients:

Guaranteed Analysis (per pound):

Lysine (min) 0.19%
Methionine (min) 0.24%
Calcium (min) 2.75%/ (max) 3%
Magnesium (min) 0.28%
Manganese (min) 535ppm
Cobalt (min) 7.20ppm
Zinc (min) 823ppm
Vitamin A (min) 500,000IU
Vitamin D3 (min) 50,000IU
Vitamin E (min) 640IU
Vitamin B-12 (min) 1mg
Riboflavin (min) 400mg
d-pantothenic acid (min) 150mg
Thiamine (min) 200mg
Niacin (min) 1,000mg
Vitamin B-6 (min) 100mg
Folic Acid (min) 300mg
Biotin (min) 16mg
Total lactic acid-producing bacteria 200,000,000CFU's
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/rooster-booster-poultry-booster-125-lb

Here are my thoughts - if these were my birds I would not want to be administering excess amounts of fat-soluble vitamins, especially ones that can prove toxic in small amounts ( calcium, zinc, vitamin D3), all mentioned are found in the product you are using. If you are wanting to focus on niacin, get a product high in plain niacin and use that, and if other vitamin supplementation is desired you can do so with poultry vitamin, but in a minimal amount.

It is hard to get a correct level of niacin with a poultry vitamin without raising other fat-soluble vitamins to a dangerous amount.

I feel so bad for them. So if it is booger’s then getting water and blowing their noses will clean on its own? It’s still completely blocked on one side and the other side is an eighth blocked.

If you can loosen a tad but of the "mucous" without damaging the surrounding tissue, or further compacting the debris I think the duckling will be able to work out the gunk from there, but if the nare is totally compacted it will have a hard time doing so. I cannot actually see much from your pictures so use your best judgment.

 

[AprilsZoo]

Okay so the ducklings right now are on a chicken food with that vitamin booster. I was watering their food down a bit bc they were having a hard time getting the chicken food down. Also the one duckling with a clogged bill is growing and is a bit bigger than the duckling with the bad leg. It seems like the duckling with the bad leg isn’t growing as much. Could this be because he wasn’t getting enough food because it was too big? When I gave him the watered down food he couldn’t take himself away from the food. I feel so bad for them. So if it is booger’s then getting water and blowing their noses will clean on its own? It’s still completely blocked on one side and the other side is an eighth blocked. She has been blowing her nose in the water if I touch her bill with a Q-tip. Other than that she will like blow her bill into the ground not even in the water I gave her. (She can reach it)

The one with the bad leg could be burning more calories just due to it being a little harder to get around. Most animals will self regulate this over time, so long as they aren’t being bullied away from the feeder. They just eat a little more.

I don’t know the difference between chicken/duck/all-poultry starter foods (as far as size of the crumble, ease of “chewing” & therefore ease of swallowing, etc.). Perhaps try adding less water, and maybe the duckling will eventually get used to the dry feed. Who knows if your friend will go to the trouble of wetting the feed after you return the littles?

Since @Isaac0 wasn’t opposed to you trying to clear the nares with a toothpick, if you think you can without hurting the duckling, it might be worth a try. But maybe first try pulling the cotton off a q-tip and use that. It will be more blunt, so less chance of injury.
Have you been in contact with your friend about any of this? What do they have to say? When are they returning? I hope they appreciate how much you care for their ducklings.