New Duck Owner

[dbeacher]

My husband and I have two Pekin ducks. One of the ducks is very sick and not able to stand up. They are not very old and we are unsure what is wrong. Any ideas on what we can do to save it? We have it enclosed with only water at this time. Neither ducks like the water or will swim in our pond, which we are not sure why either. Please help!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Maybe a niacin deficiency It happen quite often in young ducklings and very often in Pekins they grow so fast and the feed [chick] feed most of us have to use doesn't have near enough niacin for water fowl so we have to supplement I suggest you go to TSC and get the B Complex liquid there it is in the cattle section or to Walmart or equivalent and get human B Complex in the vit section start asap with your duck 1ML daily it really is life saving if it's a deficiency.

Can you give us ideas on your set up what you feed, snacks and bedding too do they have access to large are or are they penned?
Very good information with pics of the Vitamin B complex you need.

 

[BirdGirl2004]

I agree with Miss Lydia, make sure that your ducklings have plenty of niacin. I'm not really sure what else to do, except for keeping its enclosure clean and make sure they have plenty of food and water at all times. On another note, welcome to Backyard Chickens! I hope you enjoy this site as much as the rest of us do! Good luck with your ducklings!

 

[dbeacher]

We have it in water now but gets out of it immediately. We are feeding it All Flock 18% pellet food. We had them near our pond but it won’t go in the water at all and won’t drink either.

 

[Miss Lydia]

You mean your keeping the duck in water all the time? why may I ask? If your duck is sick having it in water can cause it to chill.

Fresh water pond/ have you checked for snapping turtles? they prey on water fowl and eat them.

Your 18% protein has nothing to do with niacin. Niacin deficiency can cause lameness, neurological issue and death if not treated and it's an easy fix.

 

[Miss Lydia]

How long has your duck been like this?

 

[dbeacher]

My husband bought the ducks to swim on our pond. We tried to introduce them to water but never liked it. We kept them under our dock so they would have sccess to water all the time. It hasn’t been walking right for maybe a couple of weeks. Someone thought it may have gout we weren’t sure. 18% flock is the only type of food around us. What kind of food should we give it? Tonight, we just started giving it niacin liquid and he has started sipping it. How long will it take to see a difference if it has a deficiency? I greatly appreciate you giving me advice as we are new to ducks and farm life! I love animals and to see them suffering is heartbreaking.

 

[llombardo]

How old are they? I'm thinking of real small they should not be swimming in a pond yet.

 

[dbeacher]

They aren’t small. I would say they are 4-6 months old.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Ducks do like water but not all the time and domestic ducks don't live on water like their wild cousins will. They are really land and water ducks. How do you keep them safe from predators?
The feed is fine no problem with it it's just that it doesn't have enough niacin for your duck some just need more or they don't metabolize it like others but what ever the reason hopefully this is what is the problem. You can feed the B complex over some kind of treat too a lot of ducks love thawed peas the little green round ones and dried meal worms you can just give him a small amount of treat and mix the b complex into it. Or if he'll sip it that is great too. This could be an injury also but here is some info on niacin deficiency to give you an idea http://metzerfarms.blogspot.com/2011/03/are-my-ducklings-leg-problems-due-to.html If an injury then rest is a good way to help healing, and warm water therapy where the duck can swim around or float but the water is taking pressure off the legs. preferably inside in a tub.