Help with my 10 week old Pekin!!

[Miss Lydia]

Keep us updated on your little one please.

 

[casportpony]

The package you have contains 2500 mg of niacin per 8 ounces, and that 8 ounces makes 110 gallons, so if I have done the math correctly, that's about 23 mg of niacin per gallon of water.

 

[MDot23]

I will Miss Lydia thank you all for your help! I feel like I’m getting on the right track now!

Keep us updated on your little one please.

 

[Miss Lydia]

We’re here for you!

 

[DuckyDonna]

I'm glad you came here for your information too! We have the best people here that are always willing to help. They have tons of years of experience and actaully know what they're talking about.

 

[MDot23]

You guys are a true help How many days should I be giving him the b complex?

 

[Helloworld]

I give all my ducks the right protein feed, the good niacin supplement for their water, and give peas daily to help. All my other ducks are fine but my Pekin boy Snow is getting worse. I don’t want to give up on him. He barley walks, he stumbles, uses his beak to push on the ground to help get his body up, his legs are shaky. He sits most of the day, and he can’t keep up with the other ducks. He seems stressed all the time. He can’t run or nothing. Today he has gotten worse. I have to help him every day with eating and drinking. I’m afraid he’s living life in pain. What else can I do for him? I’ve tried giving him extra niacin and it doesn’t help him, what else could this be?

Some questions,

How long has he been like this?

What type of flooring does he live on?

Are you feeding 55mg/kg of niacin daily?

Is he put up and confined from the rest?

Do you notice any leg/foot issues?
especially spraddle leg which usually is seen from birth but not always?

Can he use his neck?

early signs of niacin deficiency are failure to grow and thrive, and reluctance to walk. Eventually the legs bow and the hocks swell, until the duck becomes completely and irreversibly lame.

Niacin recovery happens quickly and he will get up by now not worse.

Is he using his beak solely for assistance in standing or do you see him use the edge of his wings as well?

Are his feet bright orange or dull colored?


You ask is he suffering?
Yes.

When put into water can he paddle and which or both wings is/are he using?

Can he float and balance in place?

Was he with another drake before this happened? I ask because its breeding season and competition time as well and they can kill another for top spot.

Will he be able to survive in a flock?
No unless you want to put them in confinement too. I have raised waterfowl for 10 years. When an animal is placed into an environment where he is required by the paddle to work his role in the family, if not done then they will eventually put him out. Why? Because he is a great threat to them and draws predators to the flock. So they will push him away, usually a tight spot where they can hide him permanently. Don’t want to but nature is unforgiving.

Things to note:

The tiniest thorn, piece of metal, sedge grass which is growing out right now, can take a bird down. If it would be this, then you will see only one side of the bird being affected.

My thoughts are,
if this is sudden and not from birth, make sure niacin is correct, which you are doing.
We use gamebird starter. After grown, we use half purina omega plus, mostly because this type has tiny pellets rather than normal pellet size of other chicken feeds by Purina. The other half stays gamebird starter. My ratio brings me a little bit over the recommended niacin amount.
Confine him so he does not exhaust himself and you can watch. We use cheap cameras with phone app. Make sure water and foot can be gotten so he can get laying down.

He is 10 weeks old. Depending on his environment, he is in serous training. Waterfowl and poultry will have wounds and everything looks dandy. Think head lice when you are looking.

If you do not get this duck all the way back up and you are raising them as if they were wild and need instinct, they will end up killing it. I had one just like this.
Fences are the easiest way. They will take injured duck to fence, make him push his head through and he will eventually strangle on bottom wire.
We had another group push one up to a fence and we use horse wire btw, and as soon as it goes to sleep, they will lightly wake it up. The duck will wrap his head around, all too sleepy to realize that was his second turn on the wire he was relaxing on. They will do it again until the duck cant turn anymore and then startle them with their screams to which the duck will strangle himself because he is trapped. I have learned so much behavior from a simple camera. Once was enough but you never know.

You are at the thin line drawn in the sand. Do you want to keep trying and have a pet that will need constant protection if you do manage to get him back? Can you go through his struggle and watch him suffer because right now he is. I would give him a long chance. But if you don’t see any improvement in one month you probably wont.

Give him a chance.
Wet his crumbles
I will be praying for y’all

 

[MDot23]

He had been like this for around a month now. I started doing things that I thought would help him, and he seemed to have been getting better for a few days. And now today he has gotten worse again..

I use pine shavings, with straw on top. Only for the sleeping area. And the rest of the time he is on regular ground, as I let them free range during the day.

I believe he is getting the right about of niacin daily, I give him extra just to help.

He isn’t confined from the rest of the flock.

He doesn’t have spraddle leg or any other issues like that.

He does use his neck very well!
And he seems to be a healthy duck(gaining weight good!)

His feet and beak are a bright color!

He does use his wings as well.

He does so much better in the water! He using both wings, balances well. He seems the happiest in the water because he can move around so good!

He is with another 10 week old and two 9 week old. And I do believe they are all male but I don’t know for sure yet.

Every time I’m with the flock(which is usually all day) they don’t seem to pick on him or anything. And when the flock goes away from him, and he starts quacking they come running to him. And it seems like they are trying to comfort him.

I love him so much, but if he is suffering I don’t want him to suffer like that for the rest of his life. I’m going to give him the longest chance I can give him.

Thank you so much! Pray he gets better

Some questions,

How long has he been like this?

What type of flooring does he live on?

Are you feeding 55mg/kg of niacin daily?

Is he put up and confined from the rest?

Do you notice any leg/foot issues?
especially spraddle leg which usually is seen from birth but not always?

Can he use his neck?

early signs of niacin deficiency are failure to grow and thrive, and reluctance to walk. Eventually the legs bow and the hocks swell, until the duck becomes completely and irreversibly lame.

Niacin recovery happens quickly and he will get up by now not worse.

Is he using his beak solely for assistance in standing or do you see him use the edge of his wings as well?

Are his feet bright orange or dull colored?


You ask is he suffering?
Yes.

When put into water can he paddle and which or both wings is/are he using?

Can he float and balance in place?

Was he with another drake before this happened? I ask because its breeding season and competition time as well and they can kill another for top spot.

Will he be able to survive in a flock?
No unless you want to put them in confinement too. I have raised waterfowl for 10 years. When an animal is placed into an environment where he is required by the paddle to work his role in the family, if not done then they will eventually put him out. Why? Because he is a great threat to them and draws predators to the flock. So they will push him away, usually a tight spot where they can hide him permanently. Don’t want to but nature is unforgiving.

Things to note:

The tiniest thorn, piece of metal, sedge grass which is growing out right now, can take a bird down. If it would be this, then you will see only one side of the bird being affected.

My thoughts are,
if this is sudden and not from birth, make sure niacin is correct, which you are doing.
We use gamebird starter. After grown, we use half purina omega plus, mostly because this type has tiny pellets rather than normal pellet size of other chicken feeds by Purina. The other half stays gamebird starter. My ratio brings me a little bit over the recommended niacin amount.
Confine him so he does not exhaust himself and you can watch. We use cheap cameras with phone app. Make sure water and foot can be gotten so he can get laying down.

He is 10 weeks old. Depending on his environment, he is in serous training. Waterfowl and poultry will have wounds and everything looks dandy. Think head lice when you are looking.

If you do not get this duck all the way back up and you are raising them as if they were wild and need instinct, they will end up killing it. I had one just like this.
Fences are the easiest way. They will take injured duck to fence, make him push his head through and he will eventually strangle on bottom wire.
We had another group push one up to a fence and we use horse wire btw, and as soon as it goes to sleep, they will lightly wake it up. The duck will wrap his head around, all too sleepy to realize that was his second turn on the wire he was relaxing on. They will do it again until the duck cant turn anymore and then startle them with their screams to which the duck will strangle himself because he is trapped. I have learned so much behavior from a simple camera. Once was enough but you never know.

You are at the thin line drawn in the sand. Do you want to keep trying and have a pet that will need constant protection if you do manage to get him back? Can you go through his struggle and watch him suffer because right now he is. I would give him a long chance. But if you don’t see any improvement in one month you probably wont.

Give him a chance.
Wet his crumbles
I will be praying for y’all

 

[casportpony]

Are you feeding 55mg/kg of niacin daily?

This might be a little confusing to some. One should feed a duck food that is 55 ppm niacin, which is 55 mg per kilogram of *feed*. Purina makes two products that contain the right amount, one is Purina Flock Raiser, the other is a duck pellet. The 55 mg/kg thing is *not* referencing bodyweight. However, if a duck has a niacin deficiency, the veterinary literature I have recommends giving niacin to the duck at 50 mg/kg of *bodyweight* orally three times a day.

This is what 1 kg (2.2 pounds) of food should have in it:

These are feeds that contain enough niacin:

This one is expensive, but it is a great product.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Give him the liquid b complex until he is up on his feet and stays that way. May take a week maybe longer. In the mean time I’d try to keep him quiet and not trying to keep up with the other ducklings.