Keeping your Pekins healthy

[CHlCKEN]

I have One Cayuga, One Pekin, One Ancona, and One Swedish coming in 12 days and I’ve heard that Pekins are very prone to health problems. I want to keep mine as healthy and happy as possible, so I’m curious if there are any ways I should go about caring for my Pekin duck.

I have kept a pair of Pekins before but neither lived past two years, so I never had to deal with anything like that.

 

[Sheepheart]

pekin don’t have to be a meat bird, i would never eat a duck and my boys are 100% pets and always and will hopefully live to be 10+

They were bred for the purpose of providing a decent amount of meat for a duck, aka to be a meat bird. I’m not saying they have to be eaten.

 

[riss]

From what I hear, sand will keep their run on the dry side and make cleaning a bit easier, as the moisture from the poop with gett pulled by the sand and you can just scoop the poop out, less sand gets wasted.

Sounds like a litter box for ducks lol

 

[KaleIAm]

What do you mean by soft surfaces?

My pekin has had a lot of foot issues and my avian veterinarian has recommended grass outside, 4-6 inches of clean regularly fluffed straw inside the barn (or coop), and several layers of towels when she is inside. She told me to avoid all boards, gravel, and rocks. Following the recommendations has helped a lot, and even solved our problems when she was younger.

Unfortunately, I have a lot of experience with an unwell pekin. I've just spent the last several years devoting myself to keeping one alive. She's 7 now and I feel we've gone through everything.

My avian veterinarian has also told me that "food production animals, bred for meat or eggs, often have issues because of growing too quickly or overactive reproductive systems." Their bodies don't care if we love them like pets or not. Sad, but true.

 

[Sheepheart]

Why do they have trouble?

Probably something to do with being bred to grow quickly as a meat bird. I read more about pekins having niacin deficiencies and crippled legs due to lack of niacin, than any other duck.

 

[Sheepheart]

Sounds like a litter box for ducks lol

Lol I suppose it is!

 

[Peas4Ducks]

Let’s see picture of the container so we can help evaluate if that is what happened.

Good luck with your new birds! I hope your Pekin will be alright

I was using the container on the left for about a week, then moved the the one on the right a few days ago. Last night I upgraded to this big bowl just to stop second-guessing whether it was deep enough or not. They are also getting swim time in the tub almost every day, but I had to skip a day last week and I feel like that was when I first noticed her breathing.

Thanks! I really hope it’s just like a mild sinus infection.

The photos of your new babies are adorable and your Pekin definitely seems like he/she’s in good hands.

 

[Newfowler1]

They are adorable little Babies.

 

[KaleIAm]

I feel that optimal nutrition, lots of soft surfaces, a natural daylight schedule (no lightbulbs), and regular clean bathing water are good for pekin health.

 

[Sheepheart]

Pekins usually have a problem with taking in enough niacin, even if your duckling feed should be enough, I would also feed a niacin supplement of some sort. Niacin is water soluble, so don’t worry about feeding to much, any extra will naturally be removed from the body.