Sick 4 week old white pekin duckling.

[Quatie]

The duck is doing better respiratory wise. It took a couple weeks of meds but she finally got over it. However our special needs duck has a new issue. When I got her she was 4 days old and already boeleg and extra wide hips. A friend of mine that raises birds of all kinds took a look and said hip dysplasia was probably the issue. I switched to mazuri starter feed plus vitamins and peas and veg every day. She was doing great. Till 2 days ago when she started dragging her foot. It appears to be hip related as she can't lift her leg all the way. Foot is clean no injury or infection. Very slight swelling in leg. She still eats well drinks well and tries to move around best she can. She seems happy and content so I dont think it hurts her. I started swim therapy. Warm water for at least 30 min alone 4x daily. Upped the niacin by adding brewers yeast to what I already do with no improvement so far. Is there anything else I can do for her ? Splint maybe ? Or is this just how she will be ? She is now almost 7 weeks old.

I am glad to hear your duck is doing better. I am sorry to hear you are having problems with another duck.

I don't know a lot about leg issues. Swim therapy is really the main thing I know for them. @Isaac 0 has a lot more knowledge about hip dysplasia. @Miss Lydia may know or at least will know someone with more knowledge.

If you can post some pictures and a video of her moving around, that will help others see what is going on and make suggestions on how best to help.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I hadn't heard of hip dysplasia in poultry, hip problems but never heard it called by the medical term so I looked it up.
Had to share this sweet story https://backyardfarmgals.wordpress.com/category/chicken-with-hip-problems/

If this truly is Hip dysplasia and really only way to know for sure would be Xrays, This little one my need to have a wheelchair made and be an inside duck. I'd think as she matures and puts on weight this will become painful. You could try some extra niacin to rule our niacin deficiency but the best one to use for treating when they have leg issues lameness is liquid B complex.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/niacin-deficiency-in-waterfowl.1367557/
TSC carries one of the liquids in this link and it will say injectable but we just peel off the foil and use a 1ml syringe without needle and pull out place over a tasty treat just enough treat so duckling gets the full dose. I'd say if this is niacin related she'll show some progress in maybe a week maybe longer depending on how bad her condition is. I like to start anyone seeing leg issues with this regime this way we can rule out a true niacin deficiency. She'll need this amount everyday and even if she shows progress she may need to stay on this all her life. Once you open the bottle of liquid b complex keep it in the frig.
Do you think this is something you'd try to see if it helps?
And yes a video would be great.

 

[Daizy3]

How is your duck doing? Are

I am glad to hear your duck is doing better. I am sorry to hear you are having problems with another duck.

I don't know a lot about leg issues. Swim therapy is really the main thing I know for them. @Isaac 0 has a lot more knowledge about hip dysplasia. @Miss Lydia may know or at least will know someone with more knowledge.

If you can post some pictures and a video of her moving around, that will help others see what is going on and make suggestions on how best to help.

Pictures I can do but I still am trying to figure out how to post to figure out how to post a video it's not a different duck it's the it's not a different duck it's the same duck it's been a constant problem it's been constant problems since we bought the thing trying really trying really hard to give it a good quality of life quality of life but it just seems to progressively get worse gracefully get worse I appreciate anyone that I appreciate anyone that could help with suggestions or ideas suggestions or ideas

 

[Miss Lydia]

videos have to go on youtube or Vimeo etc and then copy and paste here.

the first step would be to get her on the liquid B complex and see if it will help her.

 

[Daizy3]

Pictures I can do but I still am trying to figure out how to post to figure out how to post a video it's not a different duck it's the it's not a different duck it's the same duck it's been a constant problem it's been constant problems since we bought the thing trying really trying really hard to give it a good quality of life quality of life but it just seems to progressively get worse gracefully get worse I appreciate anyone that I appreciate anyone that could help with suggestions or ideas suggestions or ideas

videos have to go on youtube or Vimeo etc and then copy and paste here.

the first step would be to get her on the liquid B complex and see if it will help her.

She is on mazuri feed. Plus I add rooster booster vitamins. And they get vegetables everyday. Is the b complex different or not in what I use ? Swim therapy couple times a day also. Over the last couple days it has only gotten worse not better. Even splinted the leg but she refused to move with it on. She eat drinks and swims normally. She tries to walk so at least that. Back story legs have been bad since hatch or shortly after. 7 weeks I've been trying to get her to a good place. No injury no bumble foot im at a loss. She was stable till a few days ago. Now she's just going down hill despite my efforts.

 

[Miss Lydia]

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...-vitamins-and-electrolytes-with-lactobacillus

https://www.tractorsupplyrx.com/high-potency-vitamin-b-complex-injection-100ml-by-aspen-49810.html look at the difference. When a duckling is having leg issues lameness etc it is usually a niacin deficiency and the liquid B complex gets to work getting them over it much better than anything else we have found. It's the niacin content along with the rest of the B's that does it. They need at least 100 mg of niacin a day. And sometimes even when feeding the best feed there is one will still end up not be able to assimilate the niacin for some reason but giving it to them straight works most of the time. What I am saying is to me it's worth the effort to try this with your duck just to see if it will help her. You seem very concerned and caring about her. It may not help but def worth a try for a couple weeks to a month?There is always a chance it's a birth defect, but Why not give it a try.

 

[Daizy3]

I hadn't heard of hip dysplasia in poultry, hip problems but never heard it called by the medical term so I looked it up.
Had to share this sweet story https://backyardfarmgals.wordpress.com/category/chicken-with-hip-problems/

If this truly is Hip dysplasia and really only way to know for sure would be Xrays, This little one my need to have a wheelchair made and be an inside duck. I'd think as she matures and puts on weight this will become painful. You could try some extra niacin to rule our niacin deficiency but the best one to use for treating when they have leg issues lameness is liquid B complex.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/niacin-deficiency-in-waterfowl.1367557/
TSC carries one of the liquids in this link and it will say injectable but we just peel off the foil and use a 1ml syringe without needle and pull out place over a tasty treat just enough treat so duckling gets the full dose. I'd say if this is niacin related she'll show some progress in maybe a week maybe longer depending on how bad her condition is. I like to start anyone seeing leg issues with this regime this way we can rule out a true niacin deficiency. She'll need this amount everyday and even if she shows progress she may need to stay on this all her life. Once you open the bottle of liquid b complex keep it in the frig.
Do you think this is something you'd try to see if it helps?
And yes a video would be great.

Yes I will try this. I really don't think niacin is the problem. She is on mazuri duck feed which has niacin plus I add rooster booster vitamins and they get lots of greens and peas daily. When they were little I used to add brewers yeast so I could add that back in. Other than that I'm not sure how much more niacin I could add. The first video is of her from last week. It shows how she has always walked. Since we got her. The second one is of how she has been walking the last 4 days.

And yes I do care very much. Shes so very special. I will definitely pick up the b complex liquid and start her on it today. I will also add the brewers yeast on top of her feed. Thank u so much. Im curios of your opinion on the video ? Does it help ?

 

[Miss Lydia]

How long have you had her? It could very well be a niacin deficiency and what your seeing in the updated video is the progression. Def worth trying the liquid B complex. If nothing else it will rule it out. The heavier they get the harder it is on their legs since they were actually only supposed to live up till around 12 weeks and then slaughter. These people who created this breed didn't take into consideration how we'd fall in love with this breed and want them for pets. @CoriM can tell you about her Pekins.

 

[CoriM]

The first video looks like niacin deficiency. I added brewer's yeast to my pekins food when they were babies and it wasn't enough, sadly, I ended up with one that had splay leg and one who had her foot turn in slightly. The vitamin B complex works miracles - it gives a quick boost and can catch their body up. I used it for a couple months and that along with hobbles corrected my ducks issue. I don't have enough experience to say if the current problem is a progression of the deficiency or something else, but if it was me, I would get her on the liquid vitamin B ASAP. You can't overdose them, so if all the ducks get it they are fine. You want to make sure the one in need gets enough though, so if she will take it over treats, or you can put her in an area with a small water and food dish that has the vitamin added, that would be great. I think they say 1 ml is the dose (you can check this on the "sticky" topic about niacin deficiency at the top of the duck forum) but I just a teaspoon or so in a small water dish and dribbled over food once or twice a day to make sure enough was consumed. At this stage you probably don't want her having to walk that way much, so maybe making a special area for her where she can see the other ducks, but is close to her food and water, would be best for the time-being, at least during the day, so she doesn't hurt herself stumbling around. I kept my ducklings on the vitamin B for a couple of months, and still occasionally give them a little bit now and then. I think you would see an improvement in a week or two, to know whether it's working. I hope the best for your duck!

 

[Daizy3]

How long have you had her? It could very well be a niacin deficiency and what your seeing in the updated video is the progression. Def worth trying the liquid B complex. If nothing else it will rule it out. The heavier they get the harder it is on their legs since they were actually only supposed to live up till around 12 weeks and then slaughter. These people who created this breed didn't take into consideration how we'd fall in love with this breed and want them for pets. @CoriM can tell you about her Pekins.

She is just shy of 7 weeks old. Got her and our male at tractor supply 4 days old. He is very healthy. She was like the first video at 4 days old. Only the second video the past 4 days. I got the b 12 and already gave her some.

How long have you had her? It could very well be a niacin deficiency and what your seeing in the updated video is the progression. Def worth trying the liquid B complex. If nothing else it will rule it out. The heavier they get the harder it is on their legs since they were actually only supposed to live up till around 12 weeks and then slaughter. These people who created this breed didn't take into consideration how we'd fall in love with this breed and want them for pets. @CoriM can tell you about her Pekins.

She is just shy of 7 weeks old. Got her already like the first video at 4 days old tractor supply. Along with our male. He is very healthy. As are the 3 females we got from Meyer hatchery. She has been like the 2cd video 4 days. I did start b12. I will also continue the vitamin in their feed as well as daily veg high in niacin. I have a massive garden so no shortage of greens. Thank u so much for the info. I will post an update in a few days.