Smaller duckling, sits a lot

[meyerc06]

Hello all! I'm new to this community, so thank you in advance for any help! I have 4 new baby Pekin ducklings that are just about 2 weeks old (3 girls and 1 drake). It's our first time with ducks, and I'm really trying to do everything right. One of the girls (Annie) isn't growing as quickly as the others, and she seems like she sits a lot... she'll walk around, but often plops down when she gets there, while she's eating/drinking/etc., and spends more time under the EcoGlow than the others. When she's getting ready to stand up, she seems to balance more on her knees but then is a little wobbly/pigeon-toed when she finally pops all the way up on her feet. Any idea what could be going on? She previously was getting some poop on her butt, but it seems to have corrected itself after a little extra attention and a little apple cider vinegar added to their water.

I thought maybe it was a niacin deficiency, but I have been feeding them all Manna Pro Duckling/Gosling starter/grower crumbles, which have 55mg niacin. I started adding some brewer's yeast to supplement and just this morning started feeding Annie a separate bowl of food with 1/4 tsp of Durvet High Level B Complex mixed in. I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing and am also a little worried about overdosing her with niacin. Any ideas / advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!

 

[CrazyCrttr75]

Hello all! I'm new to this community, so thank you in advance for any help! I have 4 new baby Pekin ducklings that are just about 2 weeks old (3 girls and 1 drake). It's our first time with ducks, and I'm really trying to do everything right. One of the girls (Annie) isn't growing as quickly as the others, and she seems like she sits a lot... she'll walk around, but often plops down when she gets there, while she's eating/drinking/etc., and spends more time under the EcoGlow than the others. When she's getting ready to stand up, she seems to balance more on her knees but then is a little wobbly/pigeon-toed when she finally pops all the way up on her feet. Any idea what could be going on? She previously was getting some poop on her butt, but it seems to have corrected itself after a little extra attention and a little apple cider vinegar added to their water.

I thought maybe it was a niacin deficiency, but I have been feeding them all Manna Pro Duckling/Gosling starter/grower crumbles, which have 55mg niacin. I started adding some brewer's yeast to supplement and just this morning started feeding Annie a separate bowl of food with 1/4 tsp of Durvet High Level B Complex mixed in. I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing and am also a little worried about overdosing her with niacin. Any ideas / advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!

Sounds like you are doing all of the right things to me. Pekins, and ducks in general, eat a lot and grow REALLY fast. It's a lot of work being a growing duckling. As long as it isn't being picked on and is eating, drinking and pooping etc... I'd just keep offering her the extra attention and see if that helps. Give her a little time but keep an eye on her.

 

[meyerc06]

Thank you so much for your reassurance! She doesn't seem to be getting picked on at all - actually the drake is growing faster than anyone, and the two of them seem to have paired off a bit, so he kind of watches out for her. I've noticed that she's a little more shy about eating/drinking where the others are more assertive, so I've been trying to give her a bit of time alone with food to make sure she's getting enough. Hopefully she catches up soon! I can't believe how fast they grow - I knew it would be quick, but had no idea it would be this fast! Here are a few pics from the first couple of weeks.

 

[CrazyCrttr75]

Omgosh they are so cute! I love webbies! I have 7 ducks myself. And 16 chickens. I love my birds. They make me smile daily.

 

[Isaac 0]

Hello all! I'm new to this community, so thank you in advance for any help! I have 4 new baby Pekin ducklings that are just about 2 weeks old (3 girls and 1 drake). It's our first time with ducks, and I'm really trying to do everything right. One of the girls (Annie) isn't growing as quickly as the others, and she seems like she sits a lot... she'll walk around, but often plops down when she gets there, while she's eating/drinking/etc., and spends more time under the EcoGlow than the others. When she's getting ready to stand up, she seems to balance more on her knees but then is a little wobbly/pigeon-toed when she finally pops all the way up on her feet. Any idea what could be going on? She previously was getting some poop on her butt, but it seems to have corrected itself after a little extra attention and a little apple cider vinegar added to their water.

I thought maybe it was a niacin deficiency, but I have been feeding them all Manna Pro Duckling/Gosling starter/grower crumbles, which have 55mg niacin. I started adding some brewer's yeast to supplement and just this morning started feeding Annie a separate bowl of food with 1/4 tsp of Durvet High Level B Complex mixed in. I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing and am also a little worried about overdosing her with niacin. Any ideas / advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!

Research shows that Pekins require around 70mg per kilo of feed, therefore I would continue to supplement with niacin until they are of laying age where then the daily niacin requirement drops down to 50mg.

Niacin is quite hard to overdose.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/niacin-deficiency-in-waterfowl.1367557/

 

[DucklingLover232]

Lol so cute she sounds like she’s just the runt (no problem) she also just sounds a little lazy haha goodluck with your duckies

 

[meyerc06]

Omgosh they are so cute! I love webbies! I have 7 ducks myself. And 16 chickens. I love my birds. They make me smile daily.

I'm a bit of a crazy bird woman myself. I've had a little parrot for the last 16 years, and my husband and I started with 3 chickens about 6 years ago. We now have 15 chickens, whom I love dearly, and now these new 4 ducklings! I'm a completely overprotective, worried new duck mom... I think at some point I have to just relax and let them do their thing - but it's so hard! I'm constantly terrified that I'm doing something wrong, and they're so adorable. I just want them to be happy and thrive.

 

[meyerc06]

Research shows that Pekins require around 70mg per kilo of feed, therefore I would continue to supplement with niacin until they are of laying age where then the daily niacin requirement drops down to 50mg.

Niacin is quite hard to overdose.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/niacin-deficiency-in-waterfowl.1367557/

Thank you so much for the advice and linked info!

 

[meyerc06]

I’m such a worry-wart and I think maybe I’m overanalyzing everything they do. If I only ever feed them waterfowl-specific starter/grower food, then how much do I need to be worried about niacin deficiencies?

The food I have says it has 35mg per lb of niacin, which should equate to 77ppm - more than required. Everytime they walk weird I start panicking but I’m starting to think that maybe I’m just being a helicopter mom.

 

[meyerc06]

Here they are now at 2 1/2 weeks - growing so fast that they’ve had to upgrade to their third home!