Help! Young Peking (6-7 wks) walks on the joints/"knee" of his legs

[chickens really]

Any medicated feed should not be used with Ducklings..Has never been tested on That species..

 

[Mrs.SWhite89]

Sorry you are having trouble.

I don't have the answer... but will share that the Purina flock raiser has the correct amount of niacin, as I contacted them and asked. That is what my ducklings ate from day with no issues or supplements. But Peking are much heavier meat birds.

What was the protein % in your starter? I know some are as low as 18% which I think could be an issue...

Hope this resolves for your little's!

I found this and it says 0mg of niacin, I add niacin to my flock raiser for ducks that don't free range.

 

[acceabex]

Sorry you are having trouble.

I don't have the answer... but will share that the Purina flock raiser has the correct amount of niacin, as I contacted them and asked. That is what my ducklings ate from day with no issues or supplements. But Peking are much heavier meat birds.

What was the protein % in your starter? I know some are as low as 18% which I think could be an issue...

Hope this resolves for your little's!

Flock Raiser only has enough Niacin for growing ducks most of the time. I fed that with my first ducklings and noted clear niacin deficiency that was resolved quickly with supplementation. It's produced regionally and depends on what is available in that region at the time. This is also confirmed via others. So while it's better than chick starter, it's not 100% and needs to be monitored.

Because of this, I feed Purina's vet/zoological product called Mazuri. It's better balanced and has guaranteed minimum level of niacin. Thankfully, it's getting much much easier to find.

Just brainstorming ideas with the leg issue -- what is covering the floor of your brooder? Could this be spraddle leg that is showing in him because he's a Pekin (bigger and heavier than the others)?

Pulling for him and hoping the vet has an easy solution!

 

[casportpony]

Thanks! We've been adding extra brewer's yeast to the purina and about 100mg of NOT flush-free (or time released) niacin in the water every day.

The chick starter had 20%. We were putting brewer's yeast in that too, but we did just begin a week ago with the flock raiser and added niacin.

The Purina flock raiser contains 55 ppm niacin which should be enough for most ducklings, but migh not be enough for others. Mazuri duck starter has over 80 ppm. Chick starters are maybe 35 ppm?

For those of you with leg problems I would suggest that you try to get your niacin levels up over 70 ppm.

What does that mean? 70 ppm = 70 mg per kilogram (2.2 pounds), which is ~32 mg per pound. So what you should do is look at the ingredients on your products and add the amount needed to bring your feed up to 32 mg per pound (70 ppm)

 

[casportpony]

This is also my understanding.

The reason for not feeding medicated is because ducks eat much more than chicks so proportion may not be right. But I guess amprolium isn't the medication they are talking about. As I was recently told by a respected person that this is another one of those perpetuated myth things. I didn't know there were other types of "medicated" feed available.

It's people on forums that keep perpetuating this myth and many others. There are many medications used in chick starters, but amprolium is the most common. Amprolium is fine for all fowl.

 

[BrittAppalachia]

Flock Raiser only has enough Niacin for growing ducks most of the time. I fed that with my first ducklings and noted clear niacin deficiency that was resolved quickly with supplementation. It's produced regionally and depends on what is available in that region at the time. This is also confirmed via others. So while it's better than chick starter, it's not 100% and needs to be monitored.

Because of this, I feed Purina's vet/zoological product called Mazuri. It's better balanced and has guaranteed minimum level of niacin. Thankfully, it's getting much much easier to find.

Just brainstorming ideas with the leg issue -- what is covering the floor of your brooder? Could this be spraddle leg that is showing in him because he's a Pekin (bigger and heavier than the others)?

Pulling for him and hoping the vet has an easy solution!

It's wood shavings on the bottom. Can a duck get spraddle leg at an older age? These problems with walking didn't start until maybe three weeks ago when March was 3-4 weeks old.

 

[chickens really]

No, it's a Deficancy in diet..

 

[casportpony]

It's wood shavings on the bottom. Can a duck get spraddle leg at an older age? These problems with walking didn't start until maybe three weeks ago when March was 3-4 weeks old.

A slippery surface could be aggravating the situation. What is under the shavings?

 

[BrittAppalachia]

A slippery surface could be aggravating the situation. What is under the shavings?

We put a shirt down now under the wood chips, but before it was the slippery plastic of the brooder box. I've seen him get up from where he usually lies down, but maybe he also could have been slipping from lack of traction and that's how he hurt his legs/feet?

 

[casportpony]

We put a shirt down now under the wood chips, but before it was the slippery plastic of the brooder box. I've seen him get up from where he usually lies down, but maybe he also could have been slipping from lack of traction and that's how he hurt his legs/feet?

There are some conditions that can have multiple causes, this might be one of them. Can you post a video of him trying to walk on a towel? To post video you need to upload to YouTube or Vimeo then copy/paste the link here.