Information on niacin

[Audreyschickens]

Hi! I am doing research on ducks (hoping to get some soon) and want to be prepared. I’ve heard that they need niacin when they are little and continue to need it for the rest of their life. But, I’m confused on how much, where to get it, and is brewers yeast ok to use instead? Some information on this topic would be very appreciated!

 

[Tonyg503504]

Just about any wheat product designed for human consumption has niacin in it ive heard you can just feed them pasta for deficiency idk about supplements tho.

 

[Jpat]

Ducklings almost always need vitamins weather they show symptoms or not

Brewers yeast is okay but use B Complex vitamins from the human vitamin isle at walmart or the pharmacy and mix it with water for ducklings

I use half a dropper (comes with a dropper) in every 2 cups of water for 2 weeks then 1/4 after that if they show no sighns of deficiency


i use prime from petsmart now though

dont worry about overdosing unless you forcefed half the bottle at once

 

[Tonyg503504]

 

[Cayuga momma]

You can't overdose niacin. Whatever the system doesn't use it flushes out. I believe @Miss Lydia says its a tblsp of brewers yeast or nutritional yeast to 1 cup of food.

 

[chickens really]

Pah...Lol..More hype than a truth. Ducklings need niacin in the diet but not the levels or length of time prescribed by many people...many natural foods contain niacin like peas, grasses etc. Trust me they do fine. If something goes wrong it's a mineral imbalance and possibly selenium.

 

[Pyxis]

I feed a feed that's meant for ducklings, so I don't have to add niacin. If you feed a feed meant for chicks, it might not have enough niacin for the ducklings in it, especially for heavy breeds like pekins. This is because those feeds are formulated for chicks, and will have enough niacin in them for chicks, but waterfowl need 2 to 3 times the amount of niacin that chicks do. In cases where you're feeding such feeds, it is a good idea to add niacin, just in case. It doesn't hurt anything, and it's better safe than sorry. Brewer's Yeast works fine for supplementing niacin if that's what you have.

The danger with too little niacin is that it will cause leg problems. The legs will not form correctly and will bend or bow out, sometimes to the point that the ducklings cannot even walk.

However, once they are grown, a niacin deficiency is rare. It's mostly only a problem in ducklings.

Metzer Farms, the largest producer of waterfowl in the US, has a page with info about it, including pictures of what can happen if they are deficient, here:

https://metzerfarms.blogspot.com/2018/01/niacin-what-is-it-and-why-do-my.html

 

[Kkrista123]

I just feed duckling feed for proper niacin levels!

 

[Miss Lydia]

You can't overdose niacin. Whatever the system doesn't use it flushes out. I believe @Miss Lydia says its a tblsp of brewers yeast or nutritional yeast to 1 cup of food.

That is right @Cayuga momma Most of us can't find feed just for water fowl and my situation is My birds all eat together same feed so I just add Nutritional yeast to my feed when I have ducklings or goslings. I even add NY at other times when they are adults if I see one may have a limp. Chock full of B vitamins sure can't hurt them. And I agree with @Pyxis Better to be safe than sorry and we have seen so many ducklings make wonderful improvements from the B complex if they already have symptoms. So yes Niacin is very important for health of young water fowl and is an inexpensive way of making sure they are getting all they need to grow up strong and healthy. If you go on that link at Metzers you can see what can happen if your not pro active.

 

[DuckMomCT]

Hope this thread is still semi-active as I’m looking for more info on B complex vitamins.

This is my second time raising ducklings, first round went great, I supplemented with Fresh Eggs Daily Brewers Yeast with garlic. Didn’t measure it out, just sprinkled a ton on their food. Same approach this time, but I have 2 Welsh Harlequins that are showing some difficulty getting up and are laying down more often than I would expect. 1 appears to be worse off than the other, both still with excellent appetites/attitudes.

The best way I can describe her behavior is when she gets up she looks like she’s an old lady with arthritis, like her legs are stiff. Takes her a little to get moving and then prefers to lay back down wherever she gets to. Could this be signs of a slight niacin deficiency? The other 2 (Cayuga & Golden 300 layer) are doing just fine. I’d appreciate any advice on the B complex - what kind to buy, how to administer, etc. Thanks!!!