Help for a duck with deformed legs

[cawisu]

Hi, I joined this forum in the hope that I might get some help for our new duck.

We wanted to add some more females to our flock and today collected 4 Pekin ducks aged around 4 months. When we went to see the ducks I was told they were healthy and that the current owner had them since April. The area they were kept was very small with no outside access and the duck with the bad legs was lay down and so I didn't notice she had a problem.

When we got home we realised straight away that she was walking on her hocks, she doesn't seem to be in any pain but I am really concerned as we are quite new to ducks and I haven't seen this before. I have read that niacin deficiency can cause leg problems in ducks.

I have emailed the guy I got them from and asked how long the duck has been like this for, I have also told him that I still want to keep her, I don't want to send her back to being in such a small area (or worse).

Can ducks like this live a relatively normal life, do I need to do anything special?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[duckyfromoz]

At 4 months old- it is a good candidate for a niacin deficiency? Does it stand or walk at all - or just always on her hocks? A classic sign of niacin deficiency is the legs bowing - so walking on the hocks could be something different entirely- but as a starting point- getting some extra niacin would be a good move.