Rescued baby mallard with bad legs. NEED HELP!

[Amiga]

Actually, if you post over in the duck forum, there are many people there with duckling leg problem experience.

 

[drumstick diva]

I hope the little guy will be all better soon. I have heard of niacin deficiency often in regard to ducklings , so it's very likely this is what he has.

 

[gander007]

That is why a hard boiled egg is important as there is plenty of protein vitamin B-3 & niacin ....

 

[chooks4life]

That is why a hard boiled egg is important as there is plenty of protein vitamin B-3 & niacin ....

Theoretically, yes, there should be enough niacin, but I wonder about some storebought eggs... Just to be on the safer side, personally I wouldn't buy cage-laid eggs for the duckling.

The chickens they come from are all too often deficient themselves, and even when they're given enough to keep themselves alive and producing, it still means a whole host of things from illness to vaccinations could temporarily deprive them of having enough of several nutrients for the eggs as well as themselves.

The eggs should still help the duckling, surely it's unlikely they wouldn't have enough niacin etc, but storebought eggs are often terrible imitations of healthy eggs, so I wouldn't be overly surprised if they failed to do the job. This is assuming they're cage or barn kept chickens, fed commercial layer rations like so many on this site which seem to have a very high incidence of leg problems solved by additional nutrition, specifically B vitamins, which ought not to be happening if their layer rations are sufficient.

In my understanding a chick under a week old already spraddling due to lack of niacin would surely have to come by that deficiency due to a lack in the mother's feed and body, or both.

Best wishes.