HELP! Pekin limp

[tyretros1234]

Hey everyone, if you saw my last post about the Buff duck’s blood feather bleeding, she has fully recovered and is all better!
Now i’m having a problem with my Pekin. It seems as though he’s having a tough time walking. I didn’t really notice until they got excited and he tried running and it seemed as though he was playing hopscotch. He walks with one foot pointed in most of the time and moves slower than the other ducks. Poor fella even refuses to enter the pool or has a tough time doing so.
I can try to grab a video if needed, but as you know it’s hard sometimes
Poor duck is really struggling and kind of doesn’t even stand right most of the time..

any tips or causes help big time. Thank you all so much for the help last time!

 

[hayley3]

Hey everyone, if you saw my last post about the Buff duck’s blood feather bleeding, she has fully recovered and is all better!
Now i’m having a problem with my Pekin. It seems as though he’s having a tough time walking. I didn’t really notice until they got excited and he tried running and it seemed as though he was playing hopscotch. He walks with one foot pointed in most of the time and moves slower than the other ducks. Poor fella even refuses to enter the pool or has a tough time doing so.
I can try to grab a video if needed, but as you know it’s hard sometimes
Poor duck is really struggling and kind of doesn’t even stand right most of the time..

any tips or causes help big time. Thank you all so much for the help last time!

Ducks need extra B vitamins for their foot health. I would post over on the duck forum because they deal with this subject a lot!

 

[Isaac 0]

A video would be helpful in determining the cause of the leg problem. If you're noticing his are feet pointed inwards (Pigeon-toed), and he's tripping over his own feet, that may be suggestive of a niacin deficiency. Birds with such a deficiency often become inactive; sit around, develope wet feather, and often develop sores on the hock area, which soon leads to a bone infection. Life can be improved for these birds by focusing on vitamin B supplementation, but if the duck is rather old, it's likely the bones are too far set, and the problem won't be able to be resolved; only supportive care may prove usefulful. Out of breeds, Pekins are predisposed to developing niacin deficiencies due to their faster growth than other breeds.

 

[tyretros1234]

A video would be helpful in determining the cause of the leg problem. If you're noticing his are feet pointed inwards (Pigeon-toed), and he's tripping over his own feet, that may be suggestive of a niacin deficiency. Birds with such a deficiency often become inactive; sit around, develope wet feather, and often develop sores on the hock area, which soon leads to a bone infection. Life can be improved for these birds by focusing on vitamin B supplementation, but if the duck is rather old, it's likely the bones are too far set, and the problem won't be able to be resolved; only supportive care may prove usefulful. Out of breeds, Pekins are predisposed to developing niacin deficiencies due to their faster growth than other breeds.

Hi. He hasn’t even lost all of his yellow fuzz yet, so that’s great that it isn’t too late. Anyways, I always add niacin to their water. They have a 1 gallon waterer that i’m upgrading because it gets drank too fast. I usually add about a half of a capsule into every 3rd gallon that I fill up. Sometimes I fill up 2 times a say. I’ve been doing so for about a month and he’s still having the problem. Any other suggestions? I will try to snap a video tomorrow in daylight when they run around.

 

[Isaac 0]

Hi. He hasn’t even lost all of his yellow fuzz yet, so that’s great that it isn’t too late. Anyways, I always add niacin to their water. They have a 1 gallon waterer that i’m upgrading because it gets drank too fast. I usually add about a half of a capsule into every 3rd gallon that I fill up. Sometimes I fill up 2 times a say. I’ve been doing so for about a month and he’s still having the problem. Any other suggestions? I will try to snap a video tomorrow in daylight when they run around.

What is the brand of your niacin capsules, and is it labeled as a plain, flush-free, time-release, etc? What is the mg content?

 

[tyretros1234]

What is the brand of your niacin capsules, and is it labeled as a plain, flush-free, time-release, etc? What is the mg content?

It’s Solgar brand in a brown bottle with a gold cap. I made sure that it was plain niacin not flush. And they’re 500mg each.

 

[Isaac 0]

It’s Solgar brand in a brown bottle with a gold cap. I made sure that it was plain niacin not flush. And they’re 500mg each.

I look forward to seeing a video of the duck when you have the chance.

 

[tyretros1234]

I look forward to seeing a video of the duck when you have the chance.

I look forward to seeing a video of the duck when you have the chance.

My girlfriend got the video. It’s kind of hard to see his pigeon toe walk in the video, but you can see him waddle weird and trip twice. Theres 4 ducks in the video, he’s the biggest.
heres the link:
https://streamable.com/oxw0wn

 

[Isaac 0]

There may be some slight angulation to his legs creating difficulty when he walks, as the feet cross over each other when he steps. There are many condtions that may cause a bird to develop a problem; most predominantly that will be a nutritional-related deficiency. Your bird is quite old, and it's possible he was fed a nutritionally incorrect diet, such as one intended for birds, and the dietary, and vitamin supplementation change was too late to be effective.

Continuing to offer a balanced-diet, provide B vitamins, and ensuring the duck is getting in water daily to help relive the weigh-off his legs, and keep feather condition in shape is recommended. From the video, it appears their run area mainly consists of hardened, compact dirt; over time that can predispose a bird to develop conditions such as Bumblefoot, arthritis, and osteomyelitis. Providing softer material in the run, would help prevent those problems from occurring.

 

[tyretros1234]

i appreciate the tips. He’s only 8-9 weeks old and still hasn’t developed a real quack and still has yellow on his head. All of the ducks were fed the same thing- following the feeding order I found online. Always vitamin B in his water.
Are you saying that he can’t be corrected? I also plan to upgrade the ground asap. Something softer and that can be sprayed off easily and not muddy.