Pekin Duck Club!

[jhall6293]

Hi everyone! I'm pretty new to raising ducks. This is my second year having some. Last year I had two rescue mallards that flew off when they were old enough. I liked having them so much that I bought 3 pekin ducklings. I love them! They have so much personality and they grow so fast...like daily haha. One of them has a leg problem though. I have another thread that explains is better and has some pictures and a video. Any advice is very welcome!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/972851/my-pekin-duckling-has-a-leg-problem

Here's my crew (Gilligan is the little one then Daisy on the left and Wesley on the right)

Hey, check out the reply from Amiga on that thread - I see it was posted only about 14 minutes ago...

 

[Peekkiinn]

I posted here yesterday about my sick drake, Boots..just letting you all know he is doing okay but his head is still all watery..getting an experts oppinion today so will let you know

Boots in his prime here 1 month ago

 

[MerryPippin]

Oh that's lovely to hear! I'll enjoy this community then. I'm all about letting animals be animals! Ducks love bugs, water, mud, etc. and there isn't much of that in your home! Anyway, yes I sit with them, talk to them, pick them up and kiss them (probably shouldn't but it's hard to resist), and give them treats.

They also know I bring fresh water which they get really excited about! Good to know I'm not upsetting them and they are just excited about what I might have brought.

 

[Julie Birb]

I posted here yesterday about my sick drake, Boots..just letting you all know he is doing okay but his head is still all watery..getting an experts oppinion today so will let you know

Boots in his prime here 1 month ago

Glad he's doing better and that you are getting an expert's opinion. Looking forward to Boots' good progress.

 

[Julie Birb]

Oh that's lovely to hear! I'll enjoy this community then. I'm all about letting animals be animals! Ducks love bugs, water, mud, etc. and there isn't much of that in your home! Anyway, yes I sit with them, talk to them, pick them up and kiss them (probably shouldn't but it's hard to resist), and give them treats. They also know I bring fresh water which they get really excited about! Good to know I'm not upsetting them and they are just excited about what I might have brought.

Yay, you kiss your ducks. Nothing wrong with that. Builds immunities, too.

 

[jhall6293]

Oh that's lovely to hear! I'll enjoy this community then. I'm all about letting animals be animals! Ducks love bugs, water, mud, etc. and there isn't much of that in your home! Anyway, yes I sit with them, talk to them, pick them up and kiss them (probably shouldn't but it's hard to resist), and give them treats.

They also know I bring fresh water which they get really excited about! Good to know I'm not upsetting them and they are just excited about what I might have brought.

Yay, you kiss your ducks. Nothing wrong with that. Builds immunities, too.

See, @MerryPippin ! You're gonna fit right in!...I believe @Julie Bird just proved me right lol

 

[jhall6293]

So if I order that do I still need brewers yeast? I just want to make sure they have Althea niacin they need. Also How much did you put on the food. And would you recommend putting it in the water or food when they first hatch

Nope, if you use this stuff you won't need Brewer's yeast - it has all the niacin needed (5,000 mg per package). I would recommend using it in the water first, but it doesn't matter as long as it's getting in their systems in the correct proportions. The instructions are to use one package (4oz) in 128 gallons of water or one package per 500 lbs of food. I want to say it was something like .44 grams (almost half a gram) per 32 oz of water - I was mixing it in a Powerade bottle. It will have a dull, slightly yellow color when mixed correctly. If mixed too heavily in water, it will be fluorescent yellow and too much is not a good thing. For the ease of mixing, I would start off using it in water until you get more comfortable with it - it's just easier to tell if you've mixed it too strongly or not when in water.

One more thing that I didn't mention that I meant to mention: let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes before judging whether it is mixed too strongly or not. It takes several minutes for that fluorescent yellow color to develop. It can be slightly fluorescent yellow, but only very slightly - it should look watered down.

 

[Julie Birb]

See, @MerryPippin
!  You're gonna fit right in!...I believe @Julie Bird
 just proved me right lol    

 

Heehee, yes, she will. Thank you jhall6293.

 

[saltandpepper2]

Look at the cutie I got!!! From the first group of ducks I've ever had

 

[Julie Birb]

Look at the cutie I got!!! From the first group of ducks I've ever had

You scored!! That ducklet is so cute and I wish I could kiss him/her.