Limping Female Pekin Duck - what should I do to heal her?

[DuckyDonna]

I order off Amazon but if you want go to TSC and pick up liquid BComplex and start her on it. It’s like liquid gold for waterfowl that are having leg problems. It’s in the cattle dept. it will say injectable but just peel off the foil use a dropper pull out a couple ml and put it over something yummy. Then you can order the Nutritional yeast it’s not Nutritional brewers yeast I buy NOW brand because I can get it in bulk.

I just ordered some off of amazon and it's "NOW" brand @Miss Lydia, correct me if I'm wrong, but it should be "fortified" right? I think that is the whole point. I just got 10lbs of it too and I've been putting it in soup, popcorn and everyday in the duck bucket food.

I'd still get the liquid B-complex first and start that right away. I think it's a miracle supplement.

 

[tayjamieson]

I'm so sorry, I thought I didn't have any new notifications and then I went to read this thread and noticed there is new comments.

I saw that someone mentioned she looks too fat, is that true? I don't personally know other people with ducks so all I know is my own experience and what I learn on here. I did read that Pekin's were initially bred for meat so they naturally tend to be on the heavier side and it can lead to foot/leg issues. I do not personally intend to eat/slaughter any of my flock and my top priority is keeping them healthy and happy, so I'd love to know how you guys feed and manage your flock's diet! I put some info below about how I currently feed my flock in case anyone wants to know before giving advice.

- 22 various breeds of hens and 1 silkie rooster
- 4 female and 2 male Pekin Duck's

Currently I have 3 feeders for their food. The last couple of months I keep my Male Pekin Duck's in a separate pen with one of the female's that for some reason they do not pick on, so they have 1 food feeder for them and then the other 2 feeders go in the yard for the chickens and other female ducks.

7:00 am 1-2 scoops of layer crumble in each feeder.
12:00 pm 1 scoop of layer crumble again in each feeder
3:00-5:00 pm 1/2 scoop or 1 full scoop if the feeders are empty.
( sorry the measurement is in "scoops" I'm going to start measuring out their feed with a measuring cup to figure out my feeding situation)

In the morning time they all act is if they haven't ben fed in weeks, the chickens storm the feeders and the duck's don't want to fight so they usually forage until the chickens start to leave. By noon all feeders are empty so that's why I do another refill, and if they are empty again by 3:00-5:00 I'll give them a tiny bit more. I do offer scratch feed or sunflower seeds as a treat 1-2 times a week, and if we have food scraps from dinner that are safe for them we give them to the flock but that isn't very frequent. Oyster shell supplement is in a small feeder that hangs on the fence so they can eat it as they please.

I often struggle with getting food or treats solely to one of the ducks or chickens because the chickens are relentless. They run over and crowd around my feet or they hop over the fences and will eat out of the other feeders, so I worry that one of the chickens or ducks won't get enough because of that behavior within the flock.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I feed the same way I always make sure everyone gets to eat late afternoon so the go to bed with a full crop. And mine are the same act like they haven’t eaten in a week when I let them out in the morning. @casportpony has a chart so you can tell by breast bone I believe if your birds is over weight hopefully she’ll share. I personally don’t think she is. But I am not there to see in person. Hard yo judge by a picture.

 

[tayjamieson]

I feed the same way I always make sure everyone gets to eat late afternoon so the go to bed with a full crop. And mine are the same act like they haven’t eaten in a week when I let them out in the morning. @casportpony has a chart so you can tell by breast bone I believe if your birds is over weight hopefully she’ll share. I personally don’t think she is. But I am not there to see in person. Hard yo judge by a picture.

That is so good to hear that you feed them at night too. I started doing that in winter mostly to ensure they kept warm during the night so I wanted them to have a full belly for bedtime. I will have to check out that chart! It's tricky with poultry, unlike dog's and cat's who have feeding guidelines on their bag of food lol!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Yes I have always made sure everyone eats all they want before bedtime. I don't put food and water inside so They go all night with out eating.

Here is the link to the chart on how to tell if your duck is over weight.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...nd-supportive-care-updated-5-14-2018.1048620/ Just scroll down a ways you'll see it.

@onaharley just heard her Pekin is overweight from her vet and has a pic that may help you determine also. Hopefully she'll see this tag. She can maybe help advise what she is doing.

 

[Miss Lydia]

How’s your Pekin?

 

[CoriM]

@tayjamieson - did your pekin recover? Did you do anything special other than vitamins? How long did it take to recover? Mine just started limping and I'm wondering.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have a limping gander going on 2nd week of rest and small area to recoup.

 

[CoriM]

Thanks - did you wrap the leg or anything like that? This is Puddles - the one I've been showing photos of with hobbles. My duck Penny has had a limp two times and gotten over it all on her own, so I'm hoping the same here. She sits down all the time and is just resting. She will go to food and water - maybe walking 6 feet or so, but she's very good about just resting. Do you think I need to confine her to an even smaller space?

 

[Miss Lydia]

I had to confine my goose and gander to a small flat area, he was following his mate all over the rocks and hills so that was the only things I have done. Just to keep him for over doing. Hes walking better today so i think another week should do it. I thought of wrapping but knowing him he'd have it chewed off in 10 minutes.