Niacin deficiency?

[CayugaMum]

Go get the liquid b complex TSC usually carries it. It will say injectable but we use it orally 1 ml per duckling over a tasty treat so you know they are getting full dose. I hope it’s not too late for full recovery but I know the liquid b complex has helped so many over come niacin deficiency.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/niacin-deficiency-in-waterfowl.1367557/

We don't have that in Australia unfortunately, and if I order anything international it would take too long. I already have them on heaps of vitamins, including B's and yeast, which is the weird part. I will call the vet in the morning and confirm if what they have given is enough, or if they perhaps have an intramuscular option. The feed I was using was specifically for ducklings too, which makes it all the more frustrating! I have to wonder if congenital deficiency plays a significant role as well, as both batches of eggs from the same breeder have all had significant problems, and the vet said the problem was "embryonic".
In your experience, how long do the ducklings take to respond to the treatment?

 

[Miss Lydia]

How long it takes for them to respond depends on how long they had have the deficiency so If caught early can respond in a few days to a week. Since the duckling have all had problems then it’s possible it’s genetic. And sounds like you have the vitamins etc covered. Sometimes even when we feed the best feed and it’s specifically for water fowl they can still be one or more show up with a niacin deficiency.

 

[NewAtThis8]

Have you got any further updates? I'd love to know if you managed to solve the problem.
I have some Cayuga ducklings with the exact same symptoms - started as panting and sometimes diarrhoea and sometimes wobbly legs. One is getting worse and its legs wobble and it can hardly get around now. I've spent over $1500 at 3 vets (2 avian) and these poor ducklings still aren't improving, but none of the vets said niacin deficiency. They've been given antibiotics, antifungals, and now the treatment is finally vitamins, but doesn't seem to be helping the one with the wobbly legs.

I’m so sorry to hear! Mine is thriving. He’s still got a little issue with his foot which can curl under while he’s in walking in taller grass or areas that aren’t easy to get footing because he doesn’t lift it as high as his other leg. But he gets around and eats, drinks, and plays well these days. In addition to the vitamins (which I’m still giving even though he’s about 16 weeks old) swimming every day for a long period of time also really helped I think. I now give the liquid B complex in their water and the niacin (1/2 a capsule) in their food bowl every morning. I’m thinking of you and your little ones and hope they can recover too!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Pekins can need supplemental niacin all their lives many on here give it to their adults too.

 

[NewAtThis8]

Have you got any further updates? I'd love to know if you managed to solve the problem.
I have some Cayuga ducklings with the exact same symptoms - started as panting and sometimes diarrhoea and sometimes wobbly legs. One is getting worse and it's legs wobble and it can hardly get around now. I've spent over $1500 at 3 vets (2 avian) and these poor ducklings still aren't improving, but none of the vets said niacin deficiency. They've been given antibiotics, antifungals, and now the treatment is finally vitamins, but doesn't seem to be helping the one with the wobbly legs.

What’s the dosage of the b vitamins you’re giving? My vet said 60 mg of niacin per day between food and supplements, which required a bit of math and some extra for good measure since I had two eating from the same bowl…. He also said that it wasn’t just niacin but other deficiencies like thiamine which he was getting from that liquid B complex. Mine are also apparently jumbo Pekins so they required a lot more than other ducks… so the dosage may be lower for yours. I think it’s a best bet to reconvene with the vet but sorry to hear of your troubles and how much money you’ve spent already! they are worth it though.

 

[CayugaMum]

Thank you wonderful duck people! That Pekin is ridiculously adorable, I can't even cope with it's cuteness!

The vitamin packaging doesn't actually have ingredient amounts written on it because it's the vet's own brand as opposed to something store bought. Very frustrating. I just called them though and one of the staff said the 5 different bottles of vitamins I'm giving would definitely be covering their needs. They originally made me stop giving peas because ducklings are too young to digest the fibre properly, but I have to wonder if I should be giving it to them again as another food source. It's what I gave my oldest duckling when she had wobbly legs and it helped. The vet wants me to bring the ducks back in again for investigations, but I said it's the same issues, nothing is new!

I think the next step is to find a better duckling food. All the ones I've found in shops contain hard corn in them, and the vet said that's not digestible for ducklings. These ducks are hard work, but damn they're cute!

 

[NewAtThis8]

So here with a slightly troubling update- my Pekins are now just about 6 months old and look to be heading into their fall molt. Stan, the aforementioned duck with the initial deficiency made a full recovery though his legs did stay bowed out. But he walked and ran and got around fine. Now, a few things happened in the past couple weeks that I think may be contributing to a slight back slide- 1- i kept them both on liquid b complex in their water, even after he got better. But the past couple weeks i got lazy with it and refilled their water without adding the liquid b; thinking they were grown now so it didn’t matter. Clearly, it must have, so I am back to adding it right away. 2- i kept giving them niacin supplements the same. Labor Day weekend we went away and I missed some doses. 3- it’s been really bad weather so they’ve had full unrestricted access to their wading pool in their run it they have not been out to the pool much, only a couple times in the past 2-3 weeks. 4- they do seem to be molting. Has anyone experienced a back slide in their issues into adulthood? My vet said when we first treated him as a baby that we’d not have to give the supplements once fully grown and the food would be enough to maintain but thinking this might be a for life thing…. I feel horrible. Couple more things to note: they’re jumbo Pekins so he’s about 12-15 lbs. they also aren’t free range. He’s not horrible yet, but he’s limping. He can still walk and get around but I’m so scared it’ll get worse.

 

[Miss Lydia]

We have seen with Pekins this can be an ongoing thing and many who have them continue to give the b complex or Nutritional yeast [after they recover] for all of their lives.

I don't have Pekins but I still put Nutritional yeast over my flocks feed daily.

Hopefully getting them back onto the B complex will get them back where they were.

Don't beat yourself up we all make mistakes but at least this one can have a good outcome. Just get them back on the b complex asap.
and please let us know how they are doing

 

[NewAtThis8]

We have seen with Pekins this can be an ongoing thing and many who have them continue to give the b complex or Nutritional yeast [after they recover] for all of their lives.

I don't have Pekins but I still put Nutritional yeast over my flocks feed daily.

Hopefully getting them back onto the B complex will get them back where they were.

Don't beat yourself up we all make mistakes but at least this one can have a good outcome. Just get them back on the b complex asap.
and please let us know how they are doing

Thank you! I hope to have a good update in a couple weeks. Definitely learning with this poor big guy.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thank you! I hope to have a good update in a couple weeks. Definitely learning with this poor big guy.

Me too