Niacin deficiency?

[Puddle Foot Farm]

Hey everyone,

I took my four two week old ducklings out for their second swim today. It was a bit cold, so I put them in for about two minutes before taking them out. They don't really like swimming much anyways.

SO, as soon as we took the last one out, it started seizing. Wings out, feet out, paralyzed seizing. My first reaction was that he needed immediate warmth and drying. We got them all upstairs and into the brooder with the heat lamp on to dry out. We had him in a towel snuggled up with us. He was lively and peeping, so once he was dry, we put him back in. IMMEDIATE seizure again. My second guess was niacin deficiency. We have been supplementing them, but I don't know the last time they had their supplement. I added brewer's yeast immediately to their water, added some to their food, and gave this little duckling some with a dropper. After a few minutes, I tried putting it down to see if it would seize again. It did not, but it immediately started eating and drinking.

Now, they all look pretty okay. The one that was seizing is panting though, and another one keeps twitching its wings. They are all sitting under the heat lamp, but I pulled the brooder almost completely out of it. I suppose it could just be hot, but what is up with the wing twitching duck?! Is that another niacin thing that will right itself?

Thanks,
Chelsea

 

[dot n'dave]

BUMP!

(sorry that's scary! Hopefully someone can answer this!)

 

[Puddle Foot Farm]

Thanks for bumping. They are all alive and well today.. Twitchy wing is no longer twitching. I'm watching them like a hawk, but I'm still wondering if it was actually niacin deficiency or if it was something else.

I will take pictures of them later.