Niacin Dosage Question

[askjcm2005]

I was told ducks need to be supplemented with niacin because chicken food doesnt provide enough for ducks. I never have and never had any issues and my older ducks are now 8 months old. Just this week our silkies hatched our first batch of pekin ducklings. We went to the feed store and the owner suggested we supplement with niacin for a week then stop and maybe do it every 6 months if we feel we need to. We bought a vitamin and electrolyte "plus" mixture that has niacin in it. Only problem it says to use the whole 4 ounces in 128 gallons of water. Any idea how much we would use for 1 gallon?? & how much we should use it for the babies and the adults??Do chickens need any??

 

[DuckLover179]

Regular niacin is supposed to be 100mg per gallon. I'm not sure if chickens need niacin... Never had any.

 

[The Duck ABC's]

Metzer just had a blog about this
http://metzerfarms.blogspot.com/2011/03/mixing-medicine-for-small-flocks-of.html
Some of those packs are a pain when it comes to dosing, because they are designed for large flock, and I mean really large. You can figure it you from there.

Here is my recommendation for giving this to duckling.
First 10 days, this should be the only kind of drinking water. After that they get it once per week until 12 weeks old.
After that once per month, or twice per month when they are laying eggs. Weekly if you are aiming for hatching eggs.