Keeping my Pekin healthy

[FernbergFarms]

hi! I have 6 ducks and 1 is a pekin. He is 10 months old and I loveee him! So I want to get some girls for him and so I was just reading up on pekins and someone said that their pekin was like 2 yrs old and it got too big for its body and they had to butcher him.. well I want to make sure this doesn’t happen to my duck. Is their anything I can do to regulate his weight or like just make sure he stays healthy? He is healthy now but I just wanna know if there is a specific amount of food to feed him or things to give him so he doesn’t get too big..?
Thx Alli he definitely holds a special place in my heart

 

[Gkundern]

Good question! I love mine too! My Lola is getting so big!

 

[KaleIAm]

I love it that you proactively want to take care of your ducks.

Not all pekins are overweight, interestingly mine has always been on the thin side. I thought I needed to restrict her food because she was so fluffy and waddly compared to my sleek welsh harlequin. I was pretty surprised when I took her to the vet and asked how overweight she was and they told me she was thin and wanted to test for parasites.

But it seems that it is a very good idea to pay attention to weight in pekins, as they aren't all going to be like mine. If you determine that your duck is overweight I found this article about weight management in waterfowl. https://www.metzerfarms.com/articles/ducksandgeeseoverweight.pdf

I've never had an overweight duck before, so I don't know how well the article's advice works.

 

[Isaac 0]

Pekins are meat birds, therefore, appear large in size, which is not uncommon. Determining if the bird overweight relies on the keel bone test described Kale, or simply weighing them and comparing it to other breed table weights online.

Due to their weight Pekins are nutritionally predisposed to developing certain vitamin deficiencies, specifically niacin (B3). This is predominantly a problem during growing age but can occur into adulthood as well. Feeding a feed formulated for waterfowl or poultry, then occasionally supplementing with niacin would be a precautious measure to take to ensure proper leg health.

Once again, due to their meat bird stature, they are also more inclined to develop leg problems such as sprains, or bumblefoot. Increasing their time in water, and ensuring their substrate out of the water is softly padded, and free of things they might tip on easily can help reduce future leg problems.

Taking all those precautions you can help reduce future problems, but it's unlikely you will totally eliminate them from occurring. Sadly, out of all my birds, Pekins are the most problematic in health.

 

[FernbergFarms]

Okay thank you! I’ll be sure to compare him to that chart and order some niacin.
So I also have another question. My Daisy (Pekin) also had a super dry bill like it almost looks like it’s going to flake closer to the top. Is there a lotion or cream for that? He has water to cover his whole head so that shouldn’t be the issue. My other ducks also have dry bills but not as bad (my girl had it flakey but she recovered)

 

[FernbergFarms]

Where can I get the niacin? And is it just straight vitamin B3 or is it with other things too?

 

[Isaac 0]

So I also have another question. My Daisy (Pekin) also had a super dry bill like it almost looks like it’s going to flake closer to the top. Is there a lotion or cream for that?

A dab of vaseline can be put on the dry part, but xerosis is fairly common in ducks in the winter.

Where can I get the niacin? And is it just straight vitamin B3 or is it with other things too?

At your feed store, or your grocery store. For niacin, you can use nutritional yeast, plain B3 tablets, or Cattle B complex.

 

[FernbergFarms]

Okay thank you!

 

[Gkundern]

I can palpate Lola's keel. So she must be fine! Great chart!

 

[FernbergFarms]

Daisy too