month old duckling help

[luvmypekin]

Have a ducking who yesterday started having trouble getting around . The other three are good. Getting ready to head to the store for a vitamin B complex with niacin. And was wondering about the brewers yeast I've heard that is good for birds too. What kind of brewers yeast do I need and where do I get it ? Have a brewing company close by. Duckling looks as tho his hip are turned out more then the others. No noticeable injury's. any help is welcome.

 

[Tevyes Dad]

You can get brewer's yeast in the vitamins/supplements section of any place that has such a thing. You can add that to the food, or niacin to the water - when we brooded our lot, we added niacin (from capsules) to their water since we were also adding an electrolyte/probiotic mix. From your handle I am guessing you have Pekins - they especially need the extra support. Ducks grow much faster than chickens and Pekins grow much faster than most ducks. Even with the extra fortification, our Pekin from the beginning of week 3 to the beginning of week 5 had to rest frequently because her legs couldn't deal with the huge weight gain every single day (she went from just over 1lb to just over 4 lbs in those two weeks. Once her weight semi-stablized around 6 lbs, it got much better. She was still growing, but her legs could catch up / keep up and her endurance increased. She is now 11 lbs for what it is worth

 

[Tevyes Dad]

Definately keep up the niacin in either form and keep an eye on those hips. My girl could walk, but tired quickly during that couple weeks time. If they can't get up and walk short distances easily, it could be something else.

 

[Amiga]

gentila, do you think hydrotherapy would help? Strengthen the legs, get the weight off, increase circulation? I am talking warmish water deep enough to paddle in (with supervision).

 

[Tevyes Dad]

Definitely! Well if it doesn't help it won't hurt and it is always fun. One of my runners was real weak legged so we put her in the bathtub and threw peas one at a time to the opposite side of the bathtub so she would swim back and forth. After three days she was much stronger. For ducklings we kept the water between 90 and 100 degrees and all ours self preened right away when we put them under the heat lamp, but if they don't of course they need to get dried off. But as always 100% supervision!!!

 

[seashoreduck]

gentila, do you think hydrotherapy would help? Strengthen the legs, get the weight off, increase circulation? I am talking warmish water deep enough to paddle in (with supervision).

This worked for my 6week old when he went lame. Plus a multivitamin

 

[Tevyes Dad]

How's your lame duckling doing today?

 

[BarrerasDucks]

Luvmypekin,

You need to be sure you are feeding your girl the right feed. Some say chick starter is ok but some people argue McDonald's is ok! I feed my guys Purina flock raiser. It's available all over if you can't find it look online. It has all the right protein and niacin that birds like turkeys, geese and ducks need. Also at month old (not trying to start an argument) unless she gets regular exercise reduce the 24 hour availability of food. Watch the kind of and frequency of treats (yellow find tuna EXCELLENT treat). I agree with the others let her swim in the tub for a while. Hope she gets well soon!