help please

[stephscool]

i got 3 pekin ducklings last week, and two of them are a little bigger than the 3rd one and the third one looks like it has a problem with one of its feet/legs. what should i do? im not really sure whats wrong with the foot :/. its like kind of out to the side.
thanks!

 

[JenifferHartman]

Can you post pictures?

 

[ljmecham2001]

I don't know what to tell you. You are probably going to have to take extra care of it for the rest of it's life. If it can walk okay, then it might have a better chance. I have had a chicken with a broken foot and I had to keep it separate from the others, but it healed up and was okay! This one probably has a genetic defect that will last forever though. This is just my advice from experience in the past. Sorry, hope I helped.

 

[Amiga]

With ducks there are a few things you can do, especially early.

Add niacin to the water - 150mg per gallon, plain niacin, not no-flush or timed release.

Sprinkle a tablespoon of brewer's yeast or nutritional yeast on the food each day. Not baking yeast.

Give the duck time in lukewarm water twice a day, deep enough to float in to take weight off the leg, to build muscle and increase circulation.

Don't require them to hop up or down - set swim pans down into the ground a bit, use ramps with easy slopes, not steep.

 

[stephscool]

thanks for the replies! I haven't taken a picture yet, but i did go out to buy niacin and brewers yeast. I'm going to see if that helps but if not i'm going to take extra care of it. Hopefully the niacin will help! Thanks!

 

[stephscool]

and what is a swim pan? also how do i properly dry a duckling after letting it swim? and is there a specific way i should be picking up to carry them? and putting down the ducklings after i carry them?

 

[Amiga]

and what is a swim pan? also how do i properly dry a duckling after letting it swim? and is there a specific way i should be picking up to carry them? and putting down the ducklings after i carry them?

A swim pan is a kiddie pool or big bucket or anything the duck swims in. Many of us have some kind of pan or little pool instead of ponds.

I would bring our ducklings from the bathtub back to a clean dry warm brooder, and anyone who did not immediately start preening, I would gently pick up and wipe with a dry washcloth. They got the idea pretty quickly.

Don't pick them up or grab them by the legs (I doubt you do that). Legs are their weakest part. With ducklings I would make my hands into like a cage, my fingers spread apart a little, surrounding their little body so they could not wiggle loose and fall or jump. As they got older, I would gently hold their shoulders with one hand and slide the other hand under their belly, fingers apart, so that each leg was between two fingers. If I were carrying them, I would hold them near my chest, always holding with both hands.

 

[stephscool]

ive been adding niacin to the water and adding brewers yeast to the food.

my duckling used to not walk really at all and now he moves but his feet are like all together and he walks on his knees it looks like. if i keep the niacin and brewers yeast up, will he get better soon? its been like a week since ive started adding them.

thanks!

 

[Amiga]

He may need a brace or braces.

This site has some good ideas for chicks that may help you fix something up for your duckling. Usually, if we start working with them and helping them when they are very young, the outcome is much better. https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry

Is the little getting any time in water? Warm water, like 80 degrees F, deep enough to float in, but never left alone - and only swimming for maybe five minutes.

 

[stephscool]

yeah i let him swim in the water for a bit every other day. thanks for the link! should i do anything about it or wait a week or so to see if the niacin helps?