Help!

[chickenpie1990]

Hi again.. not sure if this is in the relevant post bit I'm quite worried about my one duckling I think it's the same one as above .. he doesn't really seem to be growing as quickly as the other 6 I have and also he's got bald patches by his eyes and both his legs shake really bad to the point he can't stand for certain periods of time and just plonks himself on the ground and he's still wobbly he will be about 4 to 5 weeks now. Anyone have any idea what's going on? Thanks

 

[Amiga]

Are you giving them extra B vitamins?

What do they eat?

Do you have a vet?

 

[chickenpie1990]

Not at the moment I'm just giving them chick crumb and yes I have a vet. The others are all fine .. I think this is the one that had a bit of trouble hatching we had to help him get out

 

[chickenpie1990]

I happened to find a page on here .. it says that he may be niacin deficient and that's what's causing the problem. Do you think it's also the food I'm Giving them? Can they go on different food now they're about 4 weeks old. So sorry about this. I'm so new to all of this I'm worried I'm going to mess them up and they will all be deformed or something !!!

 

[Amiga]

You are being conscientious - there is alot to learn. I think your little one may need more b vitamins. Some ducklings are like that.

When Inget home I can send you a document... Meanwhile search the archives for Amiga B vitamins and see if you can find the writeup.

 

[chickenpie1990]

Okay would it be worth buying some brewers yeast for him I read that people use that for deficiencies. And thank you so much

 

[Amiga]

Yes, that's a great idea. I am home - can copy this document I wrote.

This includes all my thoughts about it, including other options.


I would go with brewer's yeast. Forgive me for using capital letters, but for anyone else who may casually look over this thread, NOT baking yeast, NOT winemaking yeast. Brewer's yeast is a nutritional supplement and it provides niacin and a few other vitamins.

Generally, folks who supplement with brewer’s yeast use a tablespoon per cup of food.

Ducklings need about three times the niacin chicks do. And some ducklings get leg problems or seizures if they don't have enough niacin.

If you cannot find the brewer's yeast, or if you happen to have (here come the capital letters again, please forgive me) PLAIN niacin - NOT no-flush, NOT timed release, then dissolve 150 mg niacin per gallon of water for the duckling’s drinking water.

Another approach is to use B Complex capsules, and use the B3 - niacin - levels as a guide. Again, 150 mg B3 per gallon of drinking water.


Keep the little one on the supplements for about 8 weeks.

Sometimes it only takes a few days to see improvement.

You can also see how it went for Qwackers and Bentley from these threads.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/857143/treating-wry-neck-in-crested-duckling-edited-title

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/761308/peking-duckling-with-crooked-neck-help

 

[chickenpie1990]

Okay thank you .. I managed to buy some brewers yeast from my local tack shop.. would it be okay to put it in the food for all the ducks because I haven't really got anywhere I could put him on his own ..

 

[Amiga]

That should be fine.

 

[chickenpie1990]

Hia again .. the little duckling I was on about previously is alot better and seems to be doing well now but now I've noticed that the other duckling that was small seems to be developing a leg problem and his legs are quite far apart .. I dont think he's getting enough of the brewers yeast in the food as the others seem to leave him out .. I found these niacin tablets but not sure if these are the correct ones could u tell me if these are right please https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0...SY200_QL40&dpPl=1&dpID=51RB5mFu2sL&ref=plSrch

And could I put these in the water supply ?