Ducklebutt

In the Brooder
May 17, 2017
24
7
19
I woke up this morning to find one of my runner ducklings limping on his right leg and sat down every chance he gets! I'm worried he did something in the night or maybe slept on it wrong? I'm so unsure. I want this guy to survive as I only have four ducklings and he's such a sweetheart. When he walks his one leg is slightly turned in. Any help is appreciated.
 
@Ducklebutt are you providing any type of niacin for your ducklings. Are you feeding chick starter or duckling starter? if chick starter this feed doesn't provide the niacin water fowl need so we have to supplement. So first off start your ducklings on niacin there are a few ways to do this
You can buy over the counter niacin which has to be plain not flush free or time released or you can go to natural food store or a place like whole foods and buy Nutritional yeast or brewers yeast.

If you decide on plain niacin get one with at least 150mgs of niacin in it and empty into a gallon of water mix real well and fed this to your ducklings every day till they are at least 10 weeks old
If you decide to go with NYor BY use 1 Tab per cup of feed for same length of time this is usually what it takes to keep our lil ones from going lame and from having neurological issues . I would start asap.
Mean time give your duckling some water therapy [warm water] let it float swim and play this is a good way to help relax sore muscle or sprains and gain muscle strength. All your ducklings will benefit from this. Make sure the others aren't stepping on this one with injured leg and be sure to provide good quality feed [not scratch] and poultry vitamins along with the niacin, how old are your ducklings by the way?
Also when doing water therapy always stay right there to prevent ducklings chilling or drowning and be sure to pat dry and put straight back under heat if they are still young enough to be using heat.
 
@Ducklebutt are you providing any type of niacin for your ducklings. Are you feeding chick starter or duckling starter? if chick starter this feed doesn't provide the niacin water fowl need so we have to supplement. So first off start your ducklings on niacin there are a few ways to do this
You can buy over the counter niacin which has to be plain not flush free or time released or you can go to natural food store or a place like whole foods and buy Nutritional yeast or brewers yeast.

If you decide on plain niacin get one with at least 150mgs of niacin in it and empty into a gallon of water mix real well and fed this to your ducklings every day till they are at least 10 weeks old
If you decide to go with NYor BY use 1 Tab per cup of feed for same length of time this is usually what it takes to keep our lil ones from going lame and from having neurological issues . I would start asap.
Mean time give your duckling some water therapy [warm water] let it float swim and play this is a good way to help relax sore muscle or sprains and gain muscle strength. All your ducklings will benefit from this. Make sure the others aren't stepping on this one with injured leg and be sure to provide good quality feed [not scratch] and poultry vitamins along with the niacin, how old are your ducklings by the way?
Also when doing water therapy always stay right there to prevent ducklings chilling or drowning and be sure to pat dry and put straight back under heat if they are still young enough to be using heat.
Thank you! They are 10 days old now and I've been making my own feed with all recommended nutrients in it including niacin but I will look into getting more into their diet to see if that helps. None of the others have this issue and I'm wondering if he slept on it wrong or something of the sort. I need to make a new batch of feed anyways so I will work in more niacin into it this time around. Again, thanks for the help!
 
I don't what your using as a guide line for making your own feed but being as they are so young yet if me I'd stick to ready made formulated feed other than the niacin issue in chicken feed[starter] it really is the best to help give them the best start. Purina Makes an all flock feed called Purina flock Raiser you can get in crumble and is an excellent feed for all stages of life still if in a brooder situation they will need some extra niacin.
 

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