My duckling won’t stop shaking his head!

[Danni043]

My duckling has been shaking his head, itching, chirping, walking in circles, stumbling over all day! He won’t rest usually when I hold him in my hand he falls asleep but he’s not doing it now he tries but he can’t ! No diarrhea, he’s drinking and eating. Well he tries to drink it looks like his head keeps shaking when he does. Please help!

 

[AzraelRedeemed]

This is a lemon duck... Auto correct must be hungry... This is a Pekin Duckling at 4 weeks and a few days, fairly certain it is a female has she is very chatty & displays some kinda attributes of such based on what I've read. She is still having the horse sounding weeze w/ a pattern or beat similar to a dogs whimpering but auditorily sounds like the neighing of a horse mixed w/ some duckling peep/chirp/quacking ... Too descriptive? My fear is it is aspergillosis possibly, but it also may just be my over worrying along w/ the nutritional deficiencies from my lack of knowledge at the start & continued. No matter how much I spend hours read or watching videos in the subject, there seems to always be another conflicting source or a disclaiming caveat of sorts based on breeds, location etc... I can't be responsible for another loss of life, it's too beautiful a gift to not do my best, I almost feel like this was a Devine happening & maybe through the lessons learned giving this duck a good healthy life, I may receive my redemption & through that... My salvation? Amazing, the duck, these "Angels of the Pond" are teaching me so much & offering me opportunity to have & experience feelings I've not felt since before the war. Hey sorry for my most likely unwanted info, if I'm over stepping just ban or what admins feel right, I mean no harm just for some reason am able to open up here & I thank all for that

 

[shawluvsbirds]

Ducklings outgrow those little chic waters really fast.

do something like this instead.

 

[AzraelRedeemed]

So based on some reading & such, I decided to administer 1 ml(20mg of niacin containing) using the dropper & was expecting a struggle . But swear Duckee knew that stuff would help her cause she basically grabbed the dropper from me. That seems to almost perk her up instantly. The remaining amount I added to water. I found that ducklings should intake about 100-125 mg of niacin daily, so this. Meant up to 5 droppers of this supplement which was I'm sure not even totally consumed to to water waste & supplement degradation once in the waterer. She seemed to rather enjoy the taste & preferred that waterer over the other with just plain water. A nap & another meal later I gain found myself w/ tears in my eyes & warmth in my heart(both things I hadn't had in a very long time) I was down the hall trying to do some cleaning & heard her peep/quacking and then running down the hall at me in that cute funny duck waddle way, she got to my legs looked up & started I swear scalding me least that's what it felt like! I was over filled w/ actual positive stuff inside which is rare... When lady got home she was just has happy to see an improvement. I'm sure she is not fully out of the woods but start.

 

[Danni043]

Cou

Could he have a bad case of mites?

He’s only 1 week old and his duckling mate is perfectly fine !

 

[shawluvsbirds]

This is the first time owning ducks I just tried this stuff

Ok. That is ok to feed your ducklings but It does not have enough niacin. You need to find some brewers yeast or nutritional yeast and mix one tablespoon per cup of feed.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

That's good that's it's not medicated feed I heard it can kill ducklings!

Actually that has been debunked. The stuff they used to use years ago was bad for ducks but it is fine now. .
But nothing wrong with un medicated
Just to be on the safe side.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/the-ultimate-list-of-duck-treats-and-supplements.242460/
Here is some good reading material for ya!

 

[CayugaJana]

What country do you live in? Most of the time this is because a vitamin deficiency either at birth or along the way. What kind of feed are you using? Some duck breeds are large and need more niacin than what’s in their feed and some just aren’t as good absorbing it. Niacin helps with brain development, thus walking, and strength in their legs. This is an easy solution and should clear up in about a week depending on severity. Here we can go to Walmart and get a liquid niacin like this.......

Or you can go to a feed store like tractor supply and get this kind. It’s really concentrated so it will work faster. Plus these liquids will give you faster absorption.

The bad thing about the yeast is it has a very limited amount of niacin in it. So when you are already having these problems, you need something more. Then once they are better, you can go back to a simple option of adding the brewers yeast in the feed. This is a lot of information so don’t hesitate to ask! Someone should know the answer.

 

[Danni043]

Awesome thank y’all SOO much !!!! I’ll let you know if it did the trick!