pekin duck hip sticks out

[polishdad]

I have a four week old pekin duckling. One hip sticks out and he has a hard time walking on that leg. This is my first duck and not sure what to do.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have a four week old pekin duckling. One hip sticks out and he has a hard time walking on that leg. This is my first duck and not sure what to do.

You might want to read through this link, scroll down to where leg problems start. https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry what kind of bedding is your duckling on? and are you givng niacin? more excellent reading http://metzerfarms.blogspot.com/2011/03/are-my-ducklings-leg-problems-due-to.html how is he in water? can he use the leg for swimming?
And

 

[polishdad]

I have two Perkins and 7 chicks all just under 4 weeks. I keep them on about 2 inches of pine shavings. I try to keep it semi dry but with the ducks it gets wet pretty quick. He is the only one with a issue. This is our first time having poultry so we are really new. They are not on niacin. I was told by the feed store that the starter chick feed was good till about 8 weeks and that was all they needed. Is his niacin okay for the chicks too? As far as swimming, I was also told they should not be in the water for the first several weeks since they actually can drown untiill the get their waterproofing. I have been trying to research a lot on line but it seems everything says something different.

 

[Amiga]

polishdad, there are alot of opinions out there. All can offer is what I know, what I have read, what I have seen.

Chick starter is okay for many ducklings, but not so much for many more. I would give niacin supplements from now till they're 10 weeks old. Use the powder from capsules at 100 to 150 mg per gallon of water. It is okay for chicks, from what I read here on the forum.

I got my runner babies into water from day two. Water the same temperature as their brooder, and only up to their bellies. It was mostly for bathing. Then after a week or so, the water was just a little higher than their bellies so they could try floating a little. They can swim for a few minutes, but you do need to watch them and get them out of the tub into a clean, dry warm brooder after five to ten minutes. They tucker out. But early swimming has been correlated with earlier preen glad functioning in one study.

So about your duckling with leg problems. See if you can get him or her to float in warm water, just to see what the paddling looks like. The niacin may help. In fact, I would get a broad spectrum poultry vitamin mix with electrolytes and probiotics, and give that to everyone once a week.

Sometimes ducklings get splay legs also called spraddle leg. You can search the archives, but the basic idea is to make a little hobble for them, taking care not to restrict blood circulation in the legs. People make braces for their ducklings, it is not uncommon. That may be something to consider. Also, if you can get a photo, it helps.