HELP CRIPLED AYLESBURYS?!

[Matilda hen]

Hi , i incubated and reared 8 ducklings , including 6 aylesburys! 2 of the 7 week old aylesburys started limping , then got worse NOW CANT WALK AT ALL AND ARNET ALERT! i know these are usually meat ducks but is there anyway i can save my babys?! i love them to bits and WILL NOT CULL THEM! they are like my babies and id do anything for them! plase help! heres a pic of herbie on his cushion , he as gotten a small bit worse since d pic was taken 3 days ago.

 

[70%cocoa]

Get some bird vitamins for them ASAP. These are dissolved into their water. Usually leg problems are from a vitamin deficiency.

What have you been feeding them on? Some feed is deficient in what ducklings need (eg chick starter) and some ducklings also need more vitamins than others.

Adding niacin to the feed (do a search on that) can help too though I personally find that it's quicker and easier to add soluble vitamins to the water as a first, fast step. You should be able to get this from pet stores. I'd also seek out some niacin though to add to the feed.

Giving them access to swimming water (supervised) is good too and will help strengthen muscles.

Let us know how you go!

 

[mrpekinduck]

Brewers yeast tablets for extra niacin and chicks aver should do the trick. On yeast tablet for every 1/4 cup of food. If on short notice try sugar water or watered down Gatorade. Good luck and adorable baby!!!!!

 

[Matilda hen]

ive been feeding them chick crumb (red mills) until 4 weeks , then layers pellets (red mills) nd dey have access to a gr8 pond daily! ill try the tablets though thanks! everything was fine until about 5 days ago?

 

[Marwan]

Ive posted this before but my duck developed the same thing. easy way is to get nacin tablets crush a quarter of a 100mg tablet mix with water and put into a syring and suqqze it into there gullet. alternatively crush half a tablet in a little bit of water and make sure they drink it all then give them plenty fresh water. the high concentration from the tablets rater than something like brewers yeast takes imidiate effect and theyll be normal in less than a few days. also it wont hurt to get vitamin supplements and calium powder and put it in thier food and water because thier babies. trust me this worked for me and my duck hadnt walked for months. literally a day after i gave him the first dose he stood up again after almost 4 months of not walking.

GOOD LUCK, and im sure youll be fine and theyll grow up to be excellent little babies

you can check out my youtube video to see how daffy walks now. you cant even tell who was the one who hadnt walked for soo long

 

[Miss Lydia]

ive been feeding them chick crumb (red mills) until 4 weeks , then layers pellets (red mills) nd dey have access to a gr8 pond daily! ill try the tablets though thanks! everything was fine until about 5 days ago?

Way too young for layer feed, do not start layer until point of lay which is usually around 5 months of age.

 

[Marwan]

Way too young for layer feed, do not start layer until point of lay which is usually around 5 months of age.

I agree they need started food. which you can buy from pet stores or online or alternatively crushed corn and veggies do the trick thats what mine were raised on

 

[Matilda hen]

ive bred ducks for a long time and always put them on layeres pellets at 4 weeks jusst like chickens and they are completely fine! i dont know maybe the feed in ireland is differand but thats how we all do things here and bearing in mind , this is only 2 chicks out of 8 , so the food is not the problem , its that they are aylesbury drakes and i do not need critism i need a solution so f you dont think i know what im doing dont comment , but if you hav solution to keep originally meat birds from eating themselves dead , and reversing what has happened within 3 days well THEN comment! im dont need your critism , all the other ducks have always been fine!!!!!!!!!!

and marwan , thankyou soooooo much i didnt hear of these tablets so i think u jus let me breath again haha thankyou ill let u know how he gets on

 

[duckyfromoz]

I have Aylesbury ducks- and they are a little different in their dietary needs from smaller ducks. My Monty is enormous- and was so fast to grow- I kept him on high protein starter and grower until he was about 16 weeks to ensure he was getting enough nutrients. Also- rather than just niacin- he had multivitamins in the water as well- just to make sure he wasnt deficient in anything essential for healthy growth.

Isnt it worth trying to put them back onto a higher protein feed made for their growing bodies just to see if it helps? You dont seem to have any other solution to your problem right now- so maybe that tells you something???? Try them back on the proper food for their age with some vitamin suppliments- and I bet you see a big improvement.

Matilda hen - I dont think anyone was criticising you - everyone is trying to help in their own way. People all do different things- personally I wouldnt try and syringe 100mg of Niacin directly into my ducks gullet- but thats just me- but you are happy to listen to this persons advise over everyone else who has posted here.


Quote: No wonder they had issues with their legs- that is not a balanced diet either. Im glad that you are now a member on this site and can get the information you need to feed your ducks a correct diet.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

The mentioning of not using layer pellets was an offer of something to try to help them. Some ducks don't do well switching feeds, SOME ducks need starter longer, SOME ducks need extra niacin added to their diet. All were suggestions on how to help them.

In the future when posting asking for help on an issue remember to include the following:

Breed of duck (chicken, goose ect)
Age
Feed they are currently on
Did you hatch or purchase them
How long has the issue been going on
YOUR LOCATION (not everything is available everywhere)
Housing set up for the bird(s)


Then take a deep breath and try and allow others to comment and make suggestions. Don't assume anyone is saying you don't know what you are doing if they don't directly say it. Allow the open dialogue to continue as many times solutions will come from openly discussing issues and bouncing ideas out. It's like brain storming, ideas need to be mentioned to keep the thoughts coming.