Sick duck???

[henloverinmaine]

I'm not sure if my 5 month old Pekin is really sick or not. She seems weak and has difficulty walking. I do not see any wounds on her and she was fine when I let her and her coop mates out yesterday. I believe she is eating and I know she is drinking. She will sit and splash/preen in the pool they have, but when its time to get out she has a hard time. She walks as if she is top heavy. Never had ducks before....could she be egg bound? She has not even started laying yet. Not sure what to do......any thoughts?

 

[SycolinWoodsChickens]

Have you checked the bottom of her feet? Ducks with bumblefoot might swim well but avoid or have difficulty walking. Also, how is her diet? You may want to supplement her with vitamins/electrolytes until you can figure out what is wrong with her.

Good luck.

 

[henloverinmaine]

I have checked her feet and they look great.....
Thank you for that thought though...

 

[dumb_cluck]

How many male ducks do you have? If she is the only female, they may be abusing her.

 

[katharinad]

Are they getting enough niacin in their diet? That it usually the fist thing to look into, because 90% of the time it is the culprit. It's easy to check if it is the issue. Just add nicacin to the diet and the duck should be better within 2 days. Niacin, vitamin b3, can be found in the vitamin isle at walmart. You will need to mix 100mg per one gallon of water. Give it to all of your birds, because they can use it too. Commercial feed is usually not high enough in niacin for ducks.

 

[henloverinmaine]

Thank you....
I have only 1 male Kahki duck and he is a lot smaller than the female. I feed a game bird food which is what they have been on since hatching. So is the niacin in a liquid form? What would be the cause of the deficiency because none of the other birds are acting like this?

 

[katharinad]

Ducks need a lot more niacin then other birds. There is some in the food, but it is usually not enough for ducks. The other ducks may also be deficient and is just not showing symptoms. Niacin comes in a tablet or capsule form and should dissolve in water without a problem. It's a good idea to add it to their diet once per month. For now I would serve it up for 10 days, and it is ok for other birds to have it too. It is a good idea to get a vitamin mineral additive for the birds to be added to their water once per month. I like this product:
https://www.gqfmfg.com/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=231
It comes in a powder form, stores well, and last for over a year. With that you never have to worry about any deficiencies.