Niacin Deficiency

[Ronnie_]

Any advice wanted!
I have 3 ducklings (currently 3.5 weeks old). They are eating a 20% protein Duck starter right now, and in the last week I noticed 1 out of the 3 seems to have more swollen hock joints than the other 2, and is often sitting down/ staggers when walking. I am concerned she is niacin deficient (the feed contains 35mg/lb) I started supplementing 1 Tbsp Nutrional yeast into every cup of food to try to bump it up more and adding my electrolyte poult-starter back into their water to help. There's plenty of available B-6 in their diet as the other 2 ducklings show no signs of deficiency.
This duckling is also the largest out of all 3 (also the most nervous and flighty) but the last to come for treats (chopped kale/herbs/peas) and seems to not be as interested in the food as the other 2. Spends a lot of time sitting under the brooder heat plate compared to the others being more curious/foraging/exploring..etc.
Is there a chance the other 2 ducklings are crowding her out of opportunities to eat? Any advice on how to make sure she's okay and doesn't have any issues? We are going to start implementing some hydrotherapy today as well.

 

[bhaugh]

Are you sure it’s a girl? I find that the issue you mentioned comes from fast growth and weight on bones not able to support the birds and usually from drakeletts because they are heavier than duckletts

 

[Ronnie_]

I haven’t seen me the drake curl feather on the tail come in yet. I did specifically order only females from Metzer farms. But this duckling also seems to vocalize different than the others, when by herself she does a low honk noise I haven’t heard the others make. (Although when she does cheep/peep when scared - which is almost anytime we handle her- it sounds like the others). I’m hoping I didn’t get a drake by mistake now - do you find it usually sorts itself out? I was planning on cutting their proteindown to 18% in another couple weeks.

 

[Ronnie_]

Are you sure it’s a girl? I find that the issue you mentioned comes from fast growth and weight on bones not able to support the birds and usually from drakeletts because they are heavier than duckletts

Is there a recommended way to check their sex? I’m not very expierenced with vent checking. There’s no drake curl feather coming in yet. But based off your suggestion a lot of the behavior is matching drakelett behavior…I order only females so this is quite shocking but if it’s not a health concern I feel a lot better

 

[DuneDucks]

It takes a couple months for drakes to get their curl feather, but if your duckling is honking then it's a girl.

What breed are your ducklings? Certain breeds, and even individual ducklings within said breed, sometimes require extra niacin. Your feeding regimen sounds pretty good overall though. How often do you feed them treats? And do you leave grit out for them?

I don't think it'd be too uncommon for the larger duckling to be a little more inactive as they grow, but you should be seeing them eat just as often as the others though. Is there space on your feeder for all 3 to eat comfortably at the same time? It probably wouldn't be my first guess but it's possible she's getting pushed out like you suggested.

If it's something that continues I would look into getting some Vitamin B complex. If you're in the US and have a Tractor supply or other farm/ranch store nearby you might be able to find some locally. Durvet (pictured below) is the brand a lot of us use on here. The bottle says injectable, but you can just put 1 mL over their favorite treat and feed it to them orally. You'll want to do that on a daily basis for a bit until you start seeing improvement.

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

This can happen that only one shows signs
Do 1tbs nutritional yeast to 1cup feed for 12 weeks
After that I stop measuring but sprinkle it in the feed a few times a week
In winter I gave it daily and my birds are 10 months to 2 years
These are only preventing but once there is signs you need to do more
Getting durvet vitamin B complex
1ml over a small treat or directly through syringe ( don’t add to the water as they won’t get the full stronger dose ) every day
Do this for 2-4 weeks
Once you see duck is back to normal continue for one more week
It says injectable for cattle but in birds it’s oral
Can be bought at TS or online
I also switch my birds at 2 weeks from starter to grower feed
Takes just over a week for the switch
Every 3 days
3/4-1/4 ..1/2-1/2…1/4-3/4 then full

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

At 3 weeks you won’t see a drake curl
I think my boys were closer to 4 months for that
Voice changing sometimes as early as 5 weeks but usually by 7-8 weeks

 

[DuneDucks]

Is there a recommended way to check their sex? I’m not very expierenced with vent checking. There’s no drake curl feather coming in yet. But based off your suggestion a lot of the behavior is matching drakelett behavior…I order only females so this is quite shocking but if it’s not a health concern I feel a lot better

Certain breeds have colorings in the beak, feather, feet, etc that can be used to determine a duckling's sex. Somes times that requires you to know the genetics (parents) of the duckling too though.

The easiest/recommended way is by voice. Girls will make the typical honk/quack you expect from a duck while boys sound a lot more raspier.

 

[Ronnie_]

It takes a couple months for drakes to get their curl feather, but if your duckling is honking then it's a girl.

What breed are your ducklings? Certain breeds, and even individual ducklings within said breed, sometimes require extra niacin. Your feeding regimen sounds pretty good overall though. How often do you feed them treats? And do you leave grit out for them?

I don't think it'd be too uncommon for the larger duckling to be a little more inactive as they grow, but you should be seeing them eat just as often as the others though. Is there space on your feeder for all 3 to eat comfortably at the same time? It probably wouldn't be my first guess but it's possible she's getting pushed out like you suggested.

If it's something that continues I would look into getting some Vitamin B complex. If you're in the US and have a Tractor supply or other farm/ranch store nearby you might be able to find some locally. Durvet (pictured below) is the brand a lot of us use on here. The bottle says injectable, but you can just put 1 mL over their favorite treat and feed it to them orally. You'll want to do that on a daily basis for a bit until you start seeing improvement.

View attachment 3458520

I have 2 Khaki Campbells and 1 Cayuga. The one in question is one of the Khaki Campbells. It is larger and less active than the other. I have a round feeder with a bunch of access points for them. I am thinking of placing another in the brooder. We just upgraded the brooder to a larger one earlier this week.
They are getting free access to chick grit for the last week (starting at 2 weeks old). We didn't start giving treats until they started the grit. But they get maybe 1/2 cup of chopped greens 2x a day (morning & night) and they get small bits of dried mealworms occasionally during the day (mostly as a training treat to ease them into being handled). I try to give more greens than those though as I don't want to overdo the protein.

If she is a girl (like ordered) than maybe she is getting pushed out by the other 2. Since they are almost 4 weeks i'm not sure vent checking will be easy (especially as this one doesn't like being handled).

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

I have 2 Khaki Campbells and 1 Cayuga. The one in question is one of the Khaki Campbells. It is larger and less active than the other. I have a round feeder with a bunch of access points for them. I am thinking of placing another in the brooder. We just upgraded the brooder to a larger one earlier this week.
They are getting free access to chick grit for the last week (starting at 2 weeks old). We didn't start giving treats until they started the grit. But they get maybe 1/2 cup of chopped greens 2x a day (morning & night) and they get small bits of dried mealworms occasionally during the day (mostly as a training treat to ease them into being handled). I try to give more greens than those though as I don't want to overdo the protein.

If she is a girl (like ordered) than maybe she is getting pushed out by the other 2. Since they are almost 4 weeks i'm not sure vent checking will be easy (especially as this one doesn't like being handled).

I would cut down on treats a bit
Could you add 2 feeding bowls ? In case there is some pushing