Leg twitching anyone???

[allanimals21]

I noticed this evening that one of my muscovy drakes leg is twitching. He is kinda bow legged to begin with but his leg was shaking? Any idea what is wrong? Or chances are am I over reacting?

 

[FenDruadin]

Is he full grown? What does he eat? In young ducks that's often a sign of niacin deficiency--I don't know if adult ducks can get it. Try adding niacin (500mg per gallon) to his water, or brewer's yeast (no dosage--just sprinkle generously on top) to his food. If it's a niacin deficiency, the niacin will fix the problem and probably reduce the bow-leggedness too (which can also be caused by niacin deficiency). It is very common in ducks who are fed chicken rations.

Good luck!

 

[allanimals21]

he looks like he's full grown but apparently hatched this spring? The lady I got them from fed them cracked corn and let them graze. They get cracked corn and duck pellets and graze here. Also they love cat food. I will try the brewers yeast. Where can I get that? Is it safe for the other birds? (chickens and guineas)

 

[FenDruadin]

Brewer's yeast is safe for everyone. You can eat it too--very nutritious. It should be available at health food stores, and also anywhere that sells beer making supplies. Not sure where else. I actually just use niacin caps, available at any old drug store. I get the kind that can be opened up and mixed into the water, not the kind you have to crush (although some people do use those). Just make sure it's not the flush-free kind, because those have another drug in them that I'm not sure is safe for ducks (might be, I just don't know). Just be careful not to overdose on the niacin, as that can be bad too.

So, anyway, the brewer's yeast is easiest to use, but harder to find. Call you local health food stores and see if they have it.

Yup, he would look full grown even if hatched this spring--they grow fast. I can't say for sure that your problem is niacin, but I think there's a good chance it is, and if so, it's an easy thing to fix if you go ahead and fix it now. It can cause permanent damage if allowed to continue, which is why the bowleggedness may not go away even if it was originally caused by a deficiency. The shaking should stop, though, if in fact it's caused by niacin deficiency.

Cracked corn is not a very good source of nutrition, so the deficiency probably started with his original owner. Duck pellets and graze are excellent, of course, and the duck pellets *should* contain enough niacin. But if they're used to the cracked corn, they may be overeating it and not getting enough duck pellets. I would carefully limit the cracked corn, actually, because it's not very nutritious, even though they love it.

Good luck, and let us know if this helps. Hopefully, you'll get other input too--there are many others on here with much more experience than I have.

 

[allanimals21]

Good to know. I kinda wondered about the care they were recieving. I got a steal of a deal on these guys. It wasn't the greatest situation for them. The owner was pretty much broke and was overrun by ducks and rabbits and was telling me how it was hard to take care of them. So I "adopted" these 8 for $30. I just want to make sure I am doing the right thing. I will cut off there corn and make sure they eat more of their pellets while I start the hunt for the brewers yeast. Now if I do just the niacin in the water is that ok for other birds and they cats? lol We have alot of mingling going on here.

 

[FenDruadin]

Hmmmm... I guess I would worry about the niacin in water that other critters are drinking. It's not a vitamin you want to overdose on. So in your case, I would definitely go for the brewer's yeast, which will be safe for everyone (for some reason, when the niacin comes in the form of yeast, it's hard to overdose--but in chemical form, it can be dangerous--I don't understand it, but it's true).

Good luck, and congrats on your rescues. I have a couple girls (well, *had*--one was eaten--alas!) who came from a bad situation too, and it's definitely rewarding. Nice to see them plumped up and in good feather condition. Hopefully, you'll get to see the same wonderful transformation in your guys.

 

[allanimals21]

Thanks for the help. I will keep ya posted!

 

[Duck Keeper]

It's good you're taking them off the corn! Corn is a 'hot' food, which means it produces heat while being digested. It's good for winter when it's freezing and snowy out, but could you imagine heating up in the summer while wearing a DOWN coat?

 

[Wifezilla]

Corn is just sugar really. Think of it as candy. Once in a while is no big deal, but every day all the time....well you are seeing the problem with that already.

 

[Duck Keeper]

Yeah, it's like giving scratch grains to chickens.

They love it so much they might go off their regular feed, so obviously it can cause problems unless you're just giving it as a treat.