Niacin deficiency???

[ducksinvt]

My largest peking(Rhonda) has started having issues the last cpl days, seems like a stiff neck when she gets out of the pool, and has a hard time walking towards the middle of the daY, falls down, and just lay there until i pick her up, @Isaac 0, i have read your niacin post about a million times, but I could not locate where it says if individual members of a flock can be niacin deficient or it just effects the whole flock, is it because she is a giant peking??? also, does niacin deficiency cause stiffness, and she has also started making a very sad sounding squeak!!! Any help is greatly appreciated!! I started her on durvet vit b complex 2 days, she was letting me give it to her orally, .5mg, but today she's being a little more Fiesty about it and will not!!! The food I use has a pretty high niacin content, specs attached below, thanks in advance!!!

 

[Gallinarium]

@Isaac 0
@Miss Lydia

 

[ducksinvt]

**** .5ml twice a day is what i have been giving her, not .5 mg!!

 

[HalfWayUpAMountain]

My experience is absolutely it can effect one duck out of many - their own physiology is a factor.

I would absolutely keep up with the b complex as well as adding in an ACE vit - selenium.

I hope Rhonda recovers soon - she's a beauty !

 

[ducksinvt]

My experience is absolutely it can effect one duck out of many - their own physiology is a factor.

I would absolutely keep up with the b complex as well as adding in an ACE vit - selenium.

I hope Rhonda recovers soon - she's a beauty !

I cant get selenium atm around where I live, but I did get poultry nutri-drench, and I will order selenium, will this work for now???

 

[HalfWayUpAMountain]

You can only do what you can with what you have

Deffo keep up with the nutri drench - consistency is really important.

Pls keep us updated !

 

[Isaac 0]

Sorry, I'm only now seeing that I got tagged in this thread.

It sounds like she having some problems, but I'm not too sure this would be niacin related, and I say that for two reasons, her age, and the onset of the problems. For the most part, you're most likely to see a duck showing niacin deficient problems when they're young around the three-week mark, as they age they can develop problems but its unlikely unless the diet has been changed significantly. We also have to consider the onset of her problems and realize a deficiency is most likely not going to occur over a day or two, that's not to say you didn't notice the symptoms at first, however.

But to answer your question, it is very common to only see one bird affected by a niacin deficient diet, the contributing factors haven't been studied much, but the general consensus is that it is most related to genetics, and how each individual bird converts niacin from tryptophan.

For more info, you can read the bottom of this post,

https://metzerfarms.blogspot.com/2011/03/are-my-ducklings-leg-problems-due-to.html


If you do believe something is wrong with her that needs to be addressed, your best bet would be to take her to an avian vet in your area.

If not, we can help the best we can, and we'll need to start off with a nice anamnesis, and we'll need you do do a quick physical examination.

Would you be able to answer the following questions?

How old is Rhonda?

What is her setup like, do you have any pictures of what you keep her in?

Where did you acquire her?

What is she being fed?

Have you had any problems with her in the past, any recent scares?

Has she eaten anything unusual recently?

Does she get good exercise and water bathing time each day?

Could you a picture of her feces next time she poops?



Would you be able to bring her inside the house and do a thorough physical examination on her?

Check both eyes for signs of redness, inflammation. Also, perform a menace reaction which consists of moving your hand slowly towards her eye, there should be a reaction of sorts.

Check both ears for signs of infection/gunk (ears are a small hole behind the eye)

Check her mouth for any sores, abrasions, etc ( A flashlight can be used if needed)

Check under her feathers for any sign of ectoparasites, a flashlight can be used if needed.

Feel both of her legs for swelling or warm spots, also lookout for signs of Bumblefoot on her footpads, and swollen hocks.

Lastly check around her vent area for signs of vent gleet, flies, etc.

 

[ducksinvt]

I can get pics of her setup tomorrow. I got all my girls from metzer farms, she is about 11weeks,and she is definitely the biggest out of all of them, she seems to be doing a lot better today, actually running and playing for a bit, and seemed way perkier than she has been, and she was actually able to preen herself after her playful swim today, which she hasn't been able to do in two days, they did have an incident the day before this happened where the met my horse for the first time and got scared and flew down the bank, everyone seemed fine after, but maybe the next day she was feeling it. They swim and free range all day, so she is exercising alot, and they are eating mazuri waterfowl maintenance feed.

 

[Isaac 0]

It might be possible she tweaked a few bones during the encounter with your horse. Continue to update us on her condition!

 

[ducksinvt]

Should I continue the b complex??? For whatever reason, everytine after she has it, about 30mins after I can tell that she is feeling slightly better, not sure if that is just me being hopeful, or not, lol, but it seems that way!!