Hello and welcome to BYC 
Good luck with your duckling, your in good hands here 
Good luck with your duckling, your in good hands here 
Muscovy ducklings
- Thread starter Rummy
- Start date
There is one called Natures Made is one brand name and can be found in just about any store that carries vitamins. The best is Durvet liquid B complex TSC 1ml over a small amount of treat daily. It will say injectable but we use it orally.
Please start feeding duck or chick starter to her feed daily. Your seeing the issues from not feeding her properly. I have Muscovy and have watched for many years how mamas teach their ducklings what to eat to get the best diet. I really don't think we can copy that. But I don't let them go with just letting mama feed them I make sure they have the best diet and I have never had one duckling with splay legs or cracked skin or angel wing. I have had Muscovy since 2004. Please listen to the good info given by all duck owners. I am by no means bragging I have made mistakes along the way of poultry keeping but some things you learn by asking just as you have done here, thank goodness there are alot of well-informed members here, we all have learned by our mistakes and also by the great support we get here on BYC.
And Welcome to BYC.
Please start feeding duck or chick starter to her feed daily. Your seeing the issues from not feeding her properly. I have Muscovy and have watched for many years how mamas teach their ducklings what to eat to get the best diet. I really don't think we can copy that. But I don't let them go with just letting mama feed them I make sure they have the best diet and I have never had one duckling with splay legs or cracked skin or angel wing. I have had Muscovy since 2004. Please listen to the good info given by all duck owners. I am by no means bragging I have made mistakes along the way of poultry keeping but some things you learn by asking just as you have done here, thank goodness there are alot of well-informed members here, we all have learned by our mistakes and also by the great support we get here on BYC.
And Welcome to BYC.
Last edited:
@Rummy
Welcome to BYC. I am another muscovy Mama from NE FLorida. My muscovy are rescued from "the wild" that is they were born to feral muscovy ducks but got separated and left to die under different circumstances.
Please treat your little fluffy's niacin deficiency now: it is a ducky medical emergency and without urgent treatment, your duckling will be permanently disabled or die. Once treated we can talk about natural diets.
Please use Durvent high level liquid Vit B complex available from Tractor Supply Co or other feed suppliers. Or, as @Miss Lydia advised, use human Vit B capsules as long as it is not flushable. Please give 1 ml Durvet orally soaked into a little food daily and watch your little one eat it to be certain it gets the dose every day. The Durvet bottle says injectable but we use it orally in ducks. Please use it until your little one's gait is back to normal. Please also add brewer's yeast to the diet -- 1 teaspoon per cup of food now -- as a preventative measure.
Muscovy kept domestically are large ducks and continue to grow for 6 or more months. They have huge nutritional needs to meet their growth curve.
Now we can talk about nutrition. I am a person who doesn't buy manufactured food, I grow or buy organic vegetables and cook my family's food from scratch. That is my nutritional philosophy.
I read about muscovy duckling growth when raising my first muscovy rescued duckling. I found that the growth charts that I saw on line indicated that my muscovy was female as she grew slower than the charts for 8 weeks. But she continued to grow and by 16 weeks it was obvious that my muscovy was actualy a drake.
It dawned on me that the charts were based on barnyard ducks raised for meat and that they were getting a higher energy dense diet than my duckling to promote fast growth. Mine was raised on starter crumbles with veggies and mealworms added as treats [that is less than 10% of his diet.] I am wary of feeding my ducks just duck pellets as I don;t want artifically fast growth, and I ensure that my ducks forage during daylight hours and also get added mealworms everyday, and peas and other treats most days.
However the advantage of commercial duck crumbles/pellets is that they meet the nutritional needs for micronutrients: minerals and vitamins, which are really important for good healthy bone and neurone growth, and disease resistance. So, rather than risk my muscovies' [and one pekin's] health I ensure that they have duck pellets available every day. They get about 50% of their nutrition from foraging [I have a large enough yard with lots of weeds and leaf mold that harbors bugs to give them good foraging] and 50% from duck pellets and treats. I know they get this ratio as they eat 1 cup of pellets each per day when foraging and 2 cups of pellets each a day when confined to their coop.
If you want to try developing a natural diet for your muscovy please wait until your duckling is fully grown -- at least 6 months for a muscovy. Once fully grown and out foraging, your duck is less vulnerable to micronutrient and protein malnutrition.
Trying an unorthodox, if well intentioned, diet for rapidly growing ducklings is a huge mistake as they are so vulnerable to ill-health and even permanent deformity from nutritional deficiencies -- particularly micro-nutrient deficiency: minerals and vitamins. Healthy growth in the first 6 months is critical for lifelong good health. Your duckling might live for 15 or more years in a safe, domestic environment with good nutrition.
Your duckling has already developed niacin deficiency from its diet to date. Please do the best for little one now and feed it starter crumbles plus brewer's yeast which it will love [and a few treats on the side]. Please also when it is a little bigger and the weather is warmer, ensure it gets outside to run around in the sunshine.
Welcome to BYC. I am another muscovy Mama from NE FLorida. My muscovy are rescued from "the wild" that is they were born to feral muscovy ducks but got separated and left to die under different circumstances.
Please treat your little fluffy's niacin deficiency now: it is a ducky medical emergency and without urgent treatment, your duckling will be permanently disabled or die. Once treated we can talk about natural diets.
Please use Durvent high level liquid Vit B complex available from Tractor Supply Co or other feed suppliers. Or, as @Miss Lydia advised, use human Vit B capsules as long as it is not flushable. Please give 1 ml Durvet orally soaked into a little food daily and watch your little one eat it to be certain it gets the dose every day. The Durvet bottle says injectable but we use it orally in ducks. Please use it until your little one's gait is back to normal. Please also add brewer's yeast to the diet -- 1 teaspoon per cup of food now -- as a preventative measure.
Muscovy kept domestically are large ducks and continue to grow for 6 or more months. They have huge nutritional needs to meet their growth curve.
Now we can talk about nutrition. I am a person who doesn't buy manufactured food, I grow or buy organic vegetables and cook my family's food from scratch. That is my nutritional philosophy.
I read about muscovy duckling growth when raising my first muscovy rescued duckling. I found that the growth charts that I saw on line indicated that my muscovy was female as she grew slower than the charts for 8 weeks. But she continued to grow and by 16 weeks it was obvious that my muscovy was actualy a drake.
It dawned on me that the charts were based on barnyard ducks raised for meat and that they were getting a higher energy dense diet than my duckling to promote fast growth. Mine was raised on starter crumbles with veggies and mealworms added as treats [that is less than 10% of his diet.] I am wary of feeding my ducks just duck pellets as I don;t want artifically fast growth, and I ensure that my ducks forage during daylight hours and also get added mealworms everyday, and peas and other treats most days.
However the advantage of commercial duck crumbles/pellets is that they meet the nutritional needs for micronutrients: minerals and vitamins, which are really important for good healthy bone and neurone growth, and disease resistance. So, rather than risk my muscovies' [and one pekin's] health I ensure that they have duck pellets available every day. They get about 50% of their nutrition from foraging [I have a large enough yard with lots of weeds and leaf mold that harbors bugs to give them good foraging] and 50% from duck pellets and treats. I know they get this ratio as they eat 1 cup of pellets each per day when foraging and 2 cups of pellets each a day when confined to their coop.
If you want to try developing a natural diet for your muscovy please wait until your duckling is fully grown -- at least 6 months for a muscovy. Once fully grown and out foraging, your duck is less vulnerable to micronutrient and protein malnutrition.
Trying an unorthodox, if well intentioned, diet for rapidly growing ducklings is a huge mistake as they are so vulnerable to ill-health and even permanent deformity from nutritional deficiencies -- particularly micro-nutrient deficiency: minerals and vitamins. Healthy growth in the first 6 months is critical for lifelong good health. Your duckling might live for 15 or more years in a safe, domestic environment with good nutrition.
Your duckling has already developed niacin deficiency from its diet to date. Please do the best for little one now and feed it starter crumbles plus brewer's yeast which it will love [and a few treats on the side]. Please also when it is a little bigger and the weather is warmer, ensure it gets outside to run around in the sunshine.
Last edited:
Welcome to BYC!!
@Rummy, how is your little duckling doing? Has the gait corrected?
Is s/he eating well and growing, now?
Is s/he eating well and growing, now?
- Thread starter
- #36
Glad to know she is doing much better.
Let her swim for a short time each day, supervised by you, in a washing up bowl of luke warm water -- or in your bath if you like. Swimming is easier than walking and will get those muscles strengthening, to help with her gait!
The photo is of my first rescued muscovy, swimming in my washing up bowl. We did this every morning!
Attachments
- Thread starter
- #38
- Thread starter
- #39
Ever since she was able to walk she was put into water but she doesn't like it she won't stay in the water long enough to bath in it and it's somewhat shallow to where she's not floating yet but she doesn't seem to like the water I give her things to do in the water but she's actually afraid of the water I've come to the conclusion that she's not a water bird I also have a water bin for her that she can hop in and out but she don't go into it so I guess she's not fond of the water
I'm just seeing your thread now and you've gotten lots of good advice. Sounds like you have her on a good duckling feed. It's really important for domestic ducks and formulated to give them everything they need. I hope you're doing the liquid vitamin B complex too - that will be essential to undoing the damage already done and bringing strength to her legs. I had a pekin with splay leg - pekins tend to grow so fast and need extra niacin, so even though I was supplementing with brewer's yeast, it wasn't enough. The liquid vitamin B worked miracles, and I also used vet wrap to hobble her legs into the proper position until she was able to keep them there on her own. Attached is a video and photo.
Similar threads
New posts New threads Active threads
-
Latest threads
-
7 week old silkie chickens. What sex are they?- Started by Sammiiee0_o
- Replies: 0
-
Poop Board Design for New Hampshire Type Meat Birds - Recommendations?- Started by FunClucks
- Replies: 0
-
-
-
-
-
Threads with more replies in the last 15 days
-
