Feet

[GMoose]

My I let out mytwo ducks who are about 2-3 weeks old in the hot sun. It was 95 humid and sunny. They didn’t like it one bit they were panting and the vaine on their feet got really red is this normal?

 

[ruthhope]

My I let out mytwo ducks who are about 2-3 weeks old in the hot sun. It was 95 humid and sunny. They didn’t like it one bit they were panting and the vaine on their feet got really red is this normal?

What surface were your ducklings out on? How long were they outside? They should be OK on grass in hot weather, but I would always let them out where they can get in the shade. Our ducklings were only taken out for brief supervised swimming sessions in a kiddie pool at 3 weeks old -- then they dried off running round in the grass. They were only outside for maybe 30 minutes maximum and 20 minutes of that was in water.

Concrete or blacktop paving gets very hot in the sun -- beware of having your ducks out on those surfaces. In the same way that the heat lamp in a brooder should be positioned to one side so ducklings can move out if they are too hot, outside there should be shade for the ducklings to move into if they are too hot. And they need access to water to drink all the time they are outside in the heat

 

[Miss Lydia]

My I let out mytwo ducks who are about 2-3 weeks old in the hot sun. It was 95 humid and sunny. They didn’t like it one bit they were panting and the vaine on their feet got really red is this normal?

I hope you got them into shade before they over heated.

 

[GMoose]

It happened again when I was cleaning out the brooder. Any thoughts??? They about 3 weeks old

 

[GMoose]

This one is with the flash on

 

[Miss Lydia]

If the bedding is wet and poopy it could be ammonia causing it. Ammonia build up in wet shavings will actually cause burns. How do the bottom of their feet look?

 

[GMoose]

The bottom looks fine. I change the bedding twice a day. It isn’t usually too wet... if it is ammonia will it go away with new bedding 3 or 4 times a day or will I need to treat it?

 

[Miss Lydia]

If the feet look fine then it's probably not the bedding. Ammonia will cause burns on the feet so I think we can rule that out. I am not sure what could be going on unless temp changes cause it they have alot of blood vessels in their feet. Do they seem to be having any problems other than the veins showing up? Walking okay?

 

[GMoose]

Walking fine, well almost fine. One of them when I let her out the first few steps her legs look wobbly. But then after a minute she is fine. I’m going out of town and handed them over to a friend who is a “duck expert” she told me she’s had it happen before and will keep an eye on it. Thanks!

 

[Miss Lydia]

If your not supplementing with a niacin product I'd def get them on one and TSC carries one called Liquid B complex It will say injectable but we use it orally 1 ml over a tasty treat daily until legs aren't wobbly for at least a week. Then switch them over to Nutritional yeast. 1 Tab to each cup of feed. They need this extra Niacin for strong leg muscles. Usually once they reach 10-12 weeks of age they don't need the extra but that can depend on the breed. Pekins may need the extra for life. Their legs will be carrying around a heavy body.