I need to know- does this mean my baby duck is unhealthy?

[Ilovemyduckkids]

i recently became concerned about one of my newer ducklings, which i named Frank. We bought her and two others (All Pekins) from the local farm store in early May this year (2019, specifying just in case) and moved them out into the coop in late May, and we keep new birds in a little “jail” inside to get the other birds used to them.
So enough of backstory I think, if I may have missed something feel free to ask for more details. Anyway, I tried to take her out of the jail earlier today, and instead of running like the others as usual she just sat there and quacked loudly at me. I took her outside and put her down and continued to just sit there, concerningly, until she stood up and started walking away. She was a bit slow and I’m not sure why because her legs are fine and physically she seems overall fine, but when I took her back in the coop so I could let her back into the jail I set her down and she did the same thing but her wing went out that time. Again, she just stood up and walked again, so I let her back into the little temporary jail but none of the others act like that? She seemed overall okay, she could hold her head up and didn’t seem weak, she just seemed to act like a Ragdoll cat or a fainting goat?? Is she broken, or does this just happen sometimes?

 

[Jpat]

So they are a month and half old? What are you feeding them?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Have you added niacin to their diet since they were tiny? Pekins grow super fact and a niacin deficiency is very prevalent in them because of it and if feeding chick starter it hasn’t near the niacin growing water fowl need for strong legs. And yes it can only happen to one in a flock but all need it. I’d start by getting the liquid b complex at TSC its in the cattle dept and will say injectable but peel off the foil and use a 1 ml dropper to get out the dose and give it over something yummy your duck likes that way he is getting full dose the others can have it in their water. This one should have one ml a day. Should take about a week to see improvement then keep up with the b complex till your duck is showing No sign of weakness for at least a week then switch to Nutritional yeast over their feed a couple times a week 1 Tab per cup of feed. It’s very important to treat this deficiency their legs will be carrying around more weight as they mature.

 

[Amer]

I'd ask about diet too. Do you feed them medicated chick starter?
Feeding medicated chick starter is a mistake many people make with their birds. Its especially bad for waterfowl. Amprolium is a thiamin blocker, weakening already delicate legs. That is because it can't kill the protozoan in the gut, instead it starves them of this essential vitamin.

 

[DuckyDonna]

An excellent article by @Pyxis
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...medicated-feed-the-myths-and-the-truth.74761/

 

[MagpieDucks]

An excellent article by @Pyxis
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...medicated-feed-the-myths-and-the-truth.74761/

In Pyxis’ article:

“Amprolium is not actually a medication at all - rather it is a thiamine blocker. It works by starving the coccidia of the thiamine they need, thus killing it off. This also means that the birds eating it are getting less thiamine too, but generally it doesn't affect them negatively.”

 

[chickens really]

Ducks don't suffer from coccidiosis.. it is recommended to not feed a medicated feed. Ducks need a feed specifically balanced for Ducks and it will never be a medicated feed.

 

[casportpony]

Again, she just stood up and walked again, so I let her back into the little temporary jail but none of the others act like that? She seemed overall okay, she could hold her head up and didn’t seem weak, she just seemed to act like a Ragdoll cat or a fainting goat?? Is she broken, or does this just happen sometimes?

Welcome to BYC!
Where do you live?
What type of food and supplements are you feeding?
Can you take a video, upload it to YouTube or Vimeo, then copy/paste the link here?

---

I'd ask about diet too. Do you feed them medicated chick starter?
Feeding medicated chick starter is a mistake many people make with their birds. Its especially bad for waterfowl. Amprolium is a thiamin blocker, weakening already delicate legs. That is because it can't kill the protozoan in the gut, instead it starves them of this essential vitamin.

Amprolium is 100% safe for waterfowl and to the best of my knowledge, a thiamine deficiency would not cause problems with the legs.

Source:
http://www.duckdvm.com/condition/thiamin-deficiency



and would it surprise you to know that Purina make a medicated version of Flock Raiser?

Source:
https://www.purinamills.com/chicken-feed/products/detail/purina-flock-raiser-medicated

 

[Ilovemyduckkids]

Thank you all for your responses!! I don’t believe the feed is medicated, and they all seem to be doing well at the moment! I’m sorry for the super late reply, it’s been busy with school and stuff. I’ve kept an eye on them though, and I can assure everyone that they are okay

 

[Ilovemyduckkids]

So they are a month and half old? What are you feeding them?

My mom feeds them a mixture, currently, of oats and some other types of food, some grainy thing and corn. I’m not exactly sure what it is but I trust she does her homework I’m the bird feed