Niacin content of mazuri

[CoriM]

Also, what flooring are they on and do they have bathtub swim time each day?

 

[happycircle]

What breed of ducklings are they?

Khaki campbell, welsh harlequin, silver appleyard, saxony, all female.

 

[happycircle]

They were in a bathtub with shavings and are now outside in a shaded pen with fans and shavings. It can get hot but I’m not seeing panting or that type of lethargy, it seems more related to muscles. They have a little horse feed bath pan out there but have not been fully swimming yet. Would monitored swim sessions help?

 

[CoriM]

It would be suprising if all those breeds at the same time developed weak legs due to a niacin deficiency. Mazuri is a high quality food. Could it possibly be something else? Did it start around the time you moved them outside...even if they are afraid of things flying overhead, they might be sitting still and are scared. I have some little call ducks that will just freeze if they see a bird overhead or something that scares them. Is the pen predator-proof? Do they have a little tarp to take shelter under so if they're afraid of overhead birds they can duck under there? Maybe the heat is getting too much for them? Until my ducklings are fully feathered I only give supervised swim time. They shouldn't be wet too long as they're not able to dry themselves out yet, and also may have trouble getting in and out of water. To strengthen their legs you could let them swim in a few inches of lukewarm bathtub water for 15 minutes at a time, then dry them off and put them somewhere warm. Also, if I were in your spot I might order some liquid vitamin B complex and add it over treats and just some in a small dish of water to make sure they're getting a little extra. That stuff from durvet that says injectable, is oral, and works in emergencies. In your case I would really try to observe them closely and just make sure you know whether there might be something else going on. I have had runners that developed wobbly legs around the 3-5 week stage, where they would just look a little shakey, but then resolve. And of course the heavyweight birds might need extra niacin.

 

[happycircle]

It would be suprising if all those breeds at the same time developed weak legs due to a niacin deficiency. Mazuri is a high quality food. Could it possibly be something else? Did it start around the time you moved them outside...even if they are afraid of things flying overhead, they might be sitting still and are scared. I have some little call ducks that will just freeze if they see a bird overhead or something that scares them. Is the pen predator-proof? Do they have a little tarp to take shelter under so if they're afraid of overhead birds they can duck under there? Maybe the heat is getting too much for them? Until my ducklings are fully feathered I only give supervised swim time. They shouldn't be wet too long as they're not able to dry themselves out yet, and also may have trouble getting in and out of water. To strengthen their legs you could let them swim in a few inches of lukewarm bathtub water for 15 minutes at a time, then dry them off and put them somewhere warm. Also, if I were in your spot I might order some liquid vitamin B complex and add it over treats and just some in a small dish of water to make sure they're getting a little extra. That stuff from durvet that says injectable, is oral, and works in emergencies. In your case I would really try to observe them closely and just make sure you know whether there might be something else going on. I have had runners that developed wobbly legs around the 3-5 week stage, where they would just look a little shakey, but then resolve. And of course the heavyweight birds might need extra niacin.

Thank you! I agree it is odd, and we’re already doing the b complex but I could switch directly to oral so it’s more saturated, just don’t want to overdue do it. They’re in a fully covered pen and it’s as cool in there as it is in the bathtub which gets even more humid than the outdoor pen. They were doing this in the tub as well so it’s not pen specific. I did think they looked like they grew bigger, faster than my last set of ducklings so I’m wondering if they just need to catch up to their bodies? I just want to make sure the long term sitting doesn’t make it worse, they have lots of space to run around and are choosing not to.

Ugh. Well I think I’ll try swimming like you suggested and make sure they’re nice and dry and don’t have too much water! I appreciate the help and if you think of anything else I’m all ears!

 

[CoriM]

Let me know how it goes!