Niacin Deficient Ducklings

[Arkhamqueen]

We were given two Pekin ducklings by the impulsive college kids (everyone was at that age) who bought them a week prior. (I posted on Craigslist that we had space if people had unwanted impulse/Easter ducklings. 13 ducklings in two weeks thus far if you want to add any more babies, but trying to cut costs or want to make sure every duck has a proper home.) Both new ducklings had slightly bowed legs from the chick feed they were on (expected). Despite nutritional yeast in their food and crushed duck feed, they got worse. I will post a video/pictures of them walking when I have them playing outside tomorrow.

Currently they are around 3 weeks old, and I have them separate from our other ducklings (no competition) with semi-crushed pellet duck food and gobs of nutritional yeast in their water. They go for a swim in the warm bathtub 3x a day for up to 30min. I make sure it is deep enough to be fully off their feet, but I sit with them to make sure neither one is water logged. I figure it is good physical therapy to get their weight off their legs for a little bit and keep some strength if they feel pain-free enough to swim much. Plus, happy is always better for any recovery. I’ve done that for three days now. One is better and one either is worse or no improvement.

Could a hobble help? I read somewhere about taping, but no clue of how or if that would help. Is there anything else at all I can be doing or try? Is a certain type of bedding better? When should I see improvement? At what age is when their bones are pretty much going to stay bent? What is the age / length of treatment, kind of no return? When should I know if they are crippled or can still improve some? After a week, weeks, months?

Getting pictures of their feed and the yeast facts now too...

 

[CoriM]

Get the liquid vitamin B complex ASAP and liberally dose their water and treats. I had a pekin duckling last spring who grew so fast she developed splay leg, even though I had added brewer's yeast to their food. I used vetwrap and made hobbles to hold her legs in the proper position. After two weeks of this regimen, she was great. I kept the vitamins going for awhile. Good luck!!

 

[Arkhamqueen]

Here is their feed.


Says 55ppm or 25mg/lb of niacin. I put some in a bag and rolled it with a rolling pin to break the pellets up better, isn’t as small as crumbles. Gotta figure something better out.

Here is the nutritional yeast.

I add 1 tablespoon (a serving) per cup water. That is: niacin 32mg and B6 7.62mg. They go through about 5 cups a day with not an insane amount of waste but... they ARE ducks, lol. Since 70mg is the target, I figure 160mg in their daily water (if they never dropped a drop) divided by 2 ducks would be 80mg niacin minus their water waste, plus their food...should be an alright amount in the good range of 50-70 daily that is recommended.

Please correct me if I’m off or wrong.

 

[Isaac 0]

Get them on some Vitamin B injectable for cattle, 1 ml a day until symptoms improve, can be put over treats or administer 1/2ml orally to both with a syringe or eyedropper. This is the brand-

 

[Arkhamqueen]

Get the liquid vitamin B complex ASAP and liberally dose their water and treats. I had a pekin duckling last spring who grew so fast she developed splay leg, even though I had added brewer's yeast to their food. I used vetwrap and made hobbles to hold her legs in the proper position. After two weeks of this regimen, she was great. I kept the vitamins going for awhile. Good luck!!

So you pretty much just drenched everything you could get in them? Any kind of supplement matter as long as it has just tons of niacin and B’s? I’m totally down with that vs the other alternatives that are awaiting them. Did you change the wraps daily or sooner than that? Did you use any padding under? My guys have horrible swollen hocks and I worry about that.

 

[Arkhamqueen]

Get them on some Vitamin B injectable for cattle, 1/2ml a day until symptoms improve, can be put over treats or administer orally with a syringe or eyedropper. This is the brand-

View attachment 2074473

Thank you!!! I really appreciate it. As do our little miserable “Potayto” and “Potahto”.

 

[Isaac 0]

So you pretty much just drenched everything you could get in them? Any kind of supplement matter as long as it has just tons of niacin and B’s? I’m totally down with that vs the other alternatives that are awaiting them. Did you change the wraps daily or sooner than that? Did you use any padding under? My guys have horrible swollen hocks and I worry about that.

I'd just go 1ml a day over treats for the both of them, or administer 1/2ml to both of them once a day. Don't want to give them too much Niacin.

 

[CoriM]

I added it to their water at least once a day. I was doing fermented whole grains, so also added it to their food, which was easy as it wasn't crumble or a pellet. I will try to post a picture of the hobbles I made. I basically took vet wrap or first aid tape - the stuff that is not adhesive but sticks to itself - and used it to position their legs in the proper alignment. I stayed on, even when I let them swim in the bathtub, but I changed it after every swim.

 

[Isaac 0]

Adding it in the water is great for preventative measures, but i think these ducklings need a accurate dose fast. The only problem adding it to their water is, ducklings sometimes will spill half of the water container, another reason being some ducklings with a niacin deficiency have a hard time with coordination and may not be able to drink properly.

 

[CoriM]

Left hobbles on a couple of weeks and dosed liberally with vitamin B complex.