Hello, I am not much of a forum poster, more of a stalker, but when google fails me i need the help of people with more experience and wisdom than I.
I am fairly new to ducks and this is my second time with ducklings. we have a few other ducks but most were gotten as mature ducks that we rescued from the humane society or in one case horrendous living conditions (but thats another story in itself)
anyway, we had 4 ducklings that we raised from a few days old and never had a problem with them, so when we were at tractor supply and saw that they had some ducks, we got the last 5 of them. They are pekins and the third night we had them, my wife went to check on them and one of them was lying there dead. just a little bit before they were all doing fine with nothing the matter and nearly instantly one was gone. that was really hard. we still have no idea what happened, my best guess is that they maybe choked. so after that we have been hyper vigilant and keep them under close observation.
that was about 3 weeks ago or so. now is when the bad things happen....
so last week i started to notice that the two females (that we know of, they were always the loudest peepers and now they are starting to get their quack) seemed to be getting bowlegged. i kind of dismissed this because i read that pekins grow fast and are prone to leg problems, so i just kind of figured that their legs hadn't quite caught up with the rest of them. then this friday i noticed that luna seemed to keep wanting to sit down after bath time when i was blow drying them. she would go into a corner and then just sit down. then on saturday, she what in her pen and wouldn't stand up at all. it was like her legs were dead. so then i panicked and started reading on niacin deficiency so i went to walmart an got some 500mg niacin gelcaps. so i started giving them the niacin on sunday and then on monday i realize that it was flush free and i had been wasting my time. of course that was at 9 at night and everything is closed for the holiday (our animals ALWAYS get sick on friday evenings, no vets until monday), so i found some brewers yeast tablets at walmart and powdered them up and got her to eat some.
so yesterday (tuesday) i woke up and she was lying there in her pen (we separated her from the others) with her head down and a fly was crawling on her face and she wasn't even trying to get it off. her breathing was really labored. so the minute the vet opened up, i set up an appt to get her in.
so as soon as i get her there and i get seen it is a new doc that i have never seen before. so in a nutshell she said in so many words that her prognosis was not good, not a lot is known about ducks, and i should put her down and send her to CU for a necropsy. and if i don't euthanize her, still send her to CU anyway for a necropsy.
That was really hard to listen to, i know that she is sick, but i figured that a vets job was to try and save animals instead of taking one look at them and wanting to kill them. i drove half way across the state (i live in a city of 120k and no vets will see parrots, ferrets, ducks, chickens, etc because they're "exotic", so i have to drive an hour away) and missed work, so maybe she would have seen that this wasn't some livestock, but my pet. all that to the tune of $200. in the end she ended up giving here a b-complex shot, i think more to humor me than anything else.
so yesterday, i went to the vitamin cottage and found some niacin capsules. its nicotinic acid 100mg and i gave her 25mg sprinkled over some grapes. also, some d3 drops (1 drop) 100 IU per drop last night i kept here in a carrier by my bed and when i woke up and checked on her she quaked and that was a magical sound!
right now, i have her out of the bath and dried off wrapped in a towel and im guardedly optimistic. she spends most of her time laying with her head down, but when i give her peas or grapes, she will perk up and eat them. she still has a decent appetite throughout this, so i guess that is a good sign maybe. her legs seem to be almost totally paralyzed and she won't spread her toes and when she is in the bath, she tries to use them, but not much happens and she just drifts so i give her a bath in the bathroom sink. when i touch them she starts quacking like its hurting her and they are now curled up under her a lot like someone with cerebral palsy's hands. her breathing seems to not be quite as labored, but she still seems to be struggling. they gave her an X-ray yesterday and said that her air sacks seem to be clear and there is no sign of pneumonia, liquid or fungal issues.
i know that she is really sick, and things are not promising, but i can't give up and am doing everything i can find out to do. i also don't want to overdo it and accidentally poison her either. i can't seem to find any information on dosing for niacin. the best i could come up with was on site had an rda per kilo of food, and another had an approximate intake so i reverse engineered by her age and weight and that is where i came up with 25mg. should i be doing more? if she is deficient, do i just do a recommended daily amount or does she need a stronger dose to help correct the damage? has anyone had a duck this bad recover? and if so how long before they were "out of the woods" so to speak?
sorry for insanely long post and all the stupid questions, but i am really attached to my luna its killing me to see her like this!
thanks in advance for your knowledge and wisdom,
-dexter
I am fairly new to ducks and this is my second time with ducklings. we have a few other ducks but most were gotten as mature ducks that we rescued from the humane society or in one case horrendous living conditions (but thats another story in itself)
anyway, we had 4 ducklings that we raised from a few days old and never had a problem with them, so when we were at tractor supply and saw that they had some ducks, we got the last 5 of them. They are pekins and the third night we had them, my wife went to check on them and one of them was lying there dead. just a little bit before they were all doing fine with nothing the matter and nearly instantly one was gone. that was really hard. we still have no idea what happened, my best guess is that they maybe choked. so after that we have been hyper vigilant and keep them under close observation.
that was about 3 weeks ago or so. now is when the bad things happen....
so last week i started to notice that the two females (that we know of, they were always the loudest peepers and now they are starting to get their quack) seemed to be getting bowlegged. i kind of dismissed this because i read that pekins grow fast and are prone to leg problems, so i just kind of figured that their legs hadn't quite caught up with the rest of them. then this friday i noticed that luna seemed to keep wanting to sit down after bath time when i was blow drying them. she would go into a corner and then just sit down. then on saturday, she what in her pen and wouldn't stand up at all. it was like her legs were dead. so then i panicked and started reading on niacin deficiency so i went to walmart an got some 500mg niacin gelcaps. so i started giving them the niacin on sunday and then on monday i realize that it was flush free and i had been wasting my time. of course that was at 9 at night and everything is closed for the holiday (our animals ALWAYS get sick on friday evenings, no vets until monday), so i found some brewers yeast tablets at walmart and powdered them up and got her to eat some.
so yesterday (tuesday) i woke up and she was lying there in her pen (we separated her from the others) with her head down and a fly was crawling on her face and she wasn't even trying to get it off. her breathing was really labored. so the minute the vet opened up, i set up an appt to get her in.
so as soon as i get her there and i get seen it is a new doc that i have never seen before. so in a nutshell she said in so many words that her prognosis was not good, not a lot is known about ducks, and i should put her down and send her to CU for a necropsy. and if i don't euthanize her, still send her to CU anyway for a necropsy.
That was really hard to listen to, i know that she is sick, but i figured that a vets job was to try and save animals instead of taking one look at them and wanting to kill them. i drove half way across the state (i live in a city of 120k and no vets will see parrots, ferrets, ducks, chickens, etc because they're "exotic", so i have to drive an hour away) and missed work, so maybe she would have seen that this wasn't some livestock, but my pet. all that to the tune of $200. in the end she ended up giving here a b-complex shot, i think more to humor me than anything else.
so yesterday, i went to the vitamin cottage and found some niacin capsules. its nicotinic acid 100mg and i gave her 25mg sprinkled over some grapes. also, some d3 drops (1 drop) 100 IU per drop last night i kept here in a carrier by my bed and when i woke up and checked on her she quaked and that was a magical sound!
right now, i have her out of the bath and dried off wrapped in a towel and im guardedly optimistic. she spends most of her time laying with her head down, but when i give her peas or grapes, she will perk up and eat them. she still has a decent appetite throughout this, so i guess that is a good sign maybe. her legs seem to be almost totally paralyzed and she won't spread her toes and when she is in the bath, she tries to use them, but not much happens and she just drifts so i give her a bath in the bathroom sink. when i touch them she starts quacking like its hurting her and they are now curled up under her a lot like someone with cerebral palsy's hands. her breathing seems to not be quite as labored, but she still seems to be struggling. they gave her an X-ray yesterday and said that her air sacks seem to be clear and there is no sign of pneumonia, liquid or fungal issues.
i know that she is really sick, and things are not promising, but i can't give up and am doing everything i can find out to do. i also don't want to overdo it and accidentally poison her either. i can't seem to find any information on dosing for niacin. the best i could come up with was on site had an rda per kilo of food, and another had an approximate intake so i reverse engineered by her age and weight and that is where i came up with 25mg. should i be doing more? if she is deficient, do i just do a recommended daily amount or does she need a stronger dose to help correct the damage? has anyone had a duck this bad recover? and if so how long before they were "out of the woods" so to speak?
sorry for insanely long post and all the stupid questions, but i am really attached to my luna its killing me to see her like this!
thanks in advance for your knowledge and wisdom,
-dexter
