Maggots on duck

[JacinLarkwell]

Pekins are meat ducks, amd brcause they grow larger faster than other ducks, they need more niacin.

No, ducks do not have their legs turn inwards until they break unless there is something wrong.

Most ducks are lucky to make it past 5 or 6. 10-15 Is practically impossible unless you have an absolute perfect animal in perfect conditions

Dogfood is not duck food. They need proper feed, especially lemons because again, they're meat ducks and they grow larger and faster than other ducks.

Cravings are not what is needed, they are what is wanted. Sure, you might crave healthier things, but here I am, eating out of a bag of jellybeans as my literal breakfast because I wanted some candy. And I have several birds that would fill up on moths and fly pupa before looking at their feed if they had a choice. I don't give them that choice though because I know it's unhealthy

 

[SittinDuck]

A dog will pick treats and human food over kibble every time. A horse will pick apples over hay every time.

You need to give then what they need, and not what they "crave".

It's becoming clear to me that you're not interested in taking proper care of your animals, so I'm walking away from this one. I wish you and your poor duck the best.

I don't agree that animals are incapable of knowing what's best for them and will always tend toward self-destruction when given the opportunity. I also don't agree that humans can arrogantly presuppose they know more than nature.

What's considered "healthy" has never been a settled science.

You're welcome to try to convince me, but if not then I thank you for your opinions.

 

[SittinDuck]

Agreed. My chickens definitely prefer mealworms. Doesn't mean its the best for them. Its part of being a responsible owner.

If you fed them exclusively mealworms they would eventually seek out something different.

Part of being a responsible pet owner is listening to the pet, not presupposing what the pet needs.

I have several chickens that are as old as your duck. They are doing just fine and do not have leg issues.

I have 4 rouens and 4 geese that do not have leg issues.

@SittinDuck I do not get why you stand by your way of feeding even though your duck is clearly unwell.

Because I have 8 other birds that are old and are models of health and vitality.

Whatever it is, it's specific to the pekin breed, not the diet.

As I said, I concede that they could benefit from B vitamins, but I'm not conceding that B vitamins would have definitely prevented the leg problem because there is no controlled study indicating such and 8 other birds do not have that issue.

 

[Painted Calls]

I don't agree that animals are incapable of knowing what's best for them and will always tend toward self-destruction when given the opportunity. I also don't agree that humans can arrogantly presuppose they know more than nature.

What's considered "healthy" has never been a settled science.

You're welcome to try to convince me, but if not then I thank you for your opinions.

These are domesticated animals. Not wild animals. Nature has nothing to do with it. It has been proven over and over and over that domesticated animals need different care. Why? Through decades and decades of selective breeding. By us. Letting a domesticated animal (a meat breed at that) "choose their own way" will hurt them more than help them. There are most definitely scientific studies done to prove everything I'm saying. I believe @Kiki and @U_Stormcrow can speak more on the diet end of those things.

You cannot choose the "natural" argument when you're feeding things that in a natural setting - those animals would never have available to them. The point is moot anyway though as these are domestic animals.

 

[SittinDuck]

Pekins are meat ducks, amd brcause they grow larger faster than other ducks, they need more niacin.

That makes sense. Live and learn. No one told me this before.

Most ducks are lucky to make it past 5 or 6. 10-15 Is practically impossible unless you have an absolute perfect animal in perfect conditions

My duck is 7.5 years and in good health other than the leg. She should make it to 10 without a doubt unless a predator interferes. Therefore the feed must be more than adequate since I've accomplished the impossible.

No, ducks do not have their legs turn inwards until they break unless there is something wrong.

Perhaps living too long is what is wrong.

As I said, for the first few years the legs were straight, then they gradually start turning inward year after year until they break.

And it's only with the pekins, not the rouens or geese.

The rouens and geese walk and run much more than the pekins that usually just sit, so maybe it's the sitting that causes the deformities (ie lack of stimulation of the bones).

Dogfood is not duck food.

I wouldn't describe it as dogfood either.

They need proper feed, especially lemons because again, they're meat ducks and they grow larger and faster than other ducks.

Lemons?

Cravings are not what is needed, they are what is wanted. Sure, you might crave healthier things, but here I am, eating out of a bag of jellybeans as my literal breakfast because I wanted some candy. And I have several birds that would fill up on moths and fly pupa before looking at their feed if they had a choice. I don't give them that choice though because I know it's unhealthy

How long could you eat jellybeans before you refuse to eat anymore and start craving something more substantial?

Every fall I crave salmon because it's the only food with significant vitamin D. My body knows what it needs.

William Albrecht devoted his life to the study of this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Albrecht

"I might say the cow is smart enough to be a better chemist than we are, even with
our finest of laboratories. She was a chemical assaying agent measuring the quality of feeds long before we were. " https://www.verdeterreprod.fr/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Lets_Live_1952.pdf

The foremost authority on the relation of soil fertility to human health with four degrees from the University of Illinois and emeritus professor of soils at the University of Missouri said a cow is smarter than he is.

 

[SittinDuck]

These are domesticated animals. Not wild animals. Nature has nothing to do with it. It has been proven over and over and over that domesticated animals need different care. Why? Through decades and decades of selective breeding. By us.

I agree that is sensible.

So, what have humans been feeding those meat ducks? It's hard to imagine it was anything more than an impoverish farmer could supply over the course of centuries. And likely meat ducks didn't live longer than it took them to get big enough to eat, so there is no proper way because they were never intended to live this long.

You cannot choose the "natural" argument when you're feeding things that in a natural setting - those animals would never have available to them. The point is moot anyway though as these are domestic animals.

The duck is neither natural nor artificial so there is no best way. The duck is the creation of humans but not entirely an artificial machine either. It's purpose is to be food.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Lemons

Pekins. Apologies, phone decided it thought it knew better than me

 

[JacinLarkwell]

My duck is 7.5 years and in good health other than the leg. She should make it to 10 without a doubt unless a predator interferes.

Unless the leg is what should end her. Animals live through the most amazing things sometimes (Just read about a bull elk who had a tire over his neck for two years) but at the same times, basic things can easily take them down (had a cockerel in his own free will fly and clothesline himself on a route he's done dozens of times before)

 

[WVduckchick]

Wow, this thread sure spiraled!
I admit, I skimmed a couple of the pages though.
@SittinDuck have you tried ivermectin on the duck in question?

 

[Crazy Maizie]

So I can't give too much? I was worried about that. I shaved off some of a tablet last night into her water but I doubt she consumed much of it. The pills I have are time released so it's not dissolving in water very well.

Is it flush free? That won't work for ducks as it would pass too fast thru their system. I had the non flush free capsules and sprinkled them on the food. They will eat it and there's no taste.
You can't give too much, it will be expelled from their body.