The Duck Thread

[Pyxis]

It's impressive in the eyes of the ducks! That's what counts, right?   I should build something similar if I need another coop for next year's ducks. It looks easier to build than the duck coop I have was.
Are you going to add a floor, or do you not have to worry too much about digging predators where you are?

No wood floor - there will be a tarp and welded wire laid on the ground to keep diggers out

There's been a change of plans. For some reason, 1 by 6 boards are twice as expensive as 2 by six boards. Yes, twice as expensive for half the lumber! So I could go with 2 by 6 boards, but then this thing would be ridiculously heavy. So now the walls will be plywood, lol. Luckily Home Depot will cut for you, so I'll have them cut the pieces to the correct measurements because I have a table saw but I suck at cutting straight with it.

 

[Amiga]

Anyone they really need to know what to do for it or they are going to put it down to end its suffering. They would take it to the vet but they don't have the money right now to afford it.

I would not euthanize the little guy. If the duckling is eating, drinking, pooping, getting around, I would keep it safe, feed it the best food possible, let it play in water the temperature of the brooder and just up to the belly (always supervised, never alone in water).

I would start vitamin supplementation. Once a week, poultry multivitamin with probiotics and electrolytes in water, and then daily, supplement with B vitamins. Here is my writeup on B supplementation.

People often get confused about what to use, so please stick with me here

.

You have some options.

I would go with brewer's yeast. Forgive me for using capital letters, but for anyone else who may casually look over this thread, NOT baking yeast, NOT winemaking yeast. Brewer's yeast is a nutritional supplement and it provides niacin and a few other vitamins.

Generally, folks who supplement with brewer’s yeast use a tablespoon per cup of food.

Ducklings need about three times the niacin chicks do. And some ducklings get leg problems or seizures if they don't have enough niacin.

If you cannot find the brewer's yeast, or if you happen to have (here come the capital letters again, please forgive me) PLAIN niacin - NOT no-flush, NOT timed release, then dissolve 150 mg niacin per gallon of water for the duckling’s drinking water.

Another approach is to use B Complex capsules, and use the B3 - niacin - levels as a guide. Again, 150 mg B3 per gallon of drinking water.


Keep the little one on the supplements for about 8 weeks.

Sometimes it only takes a few days to see improvement.

You can also see how it went for Qwackers and Bentley from these threads.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/857143/treating-wry-neck-in-crested-duckling-edited-title

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/761308/peking-duckling-with-crooked-neck-help

 

[tracyjg]

I not a good cutter or builder either. That's my partners number one job building coops

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

O and it's a full grown duck so but ya it gets around bit and it heads down to e stream but the other ducks go after it and try to drown it she said they stand on its back and push its head up the water. U can see where feathers are missing on its head where they are grabbing ahold of him. They separated him gave him food and water. But before they separated him he would hide back in a corner of there house to get away from them. Thanks I took a screen shot of ur post and I will send it to them thanks

 

[Ren2014]

There must be something in the air. I too have a limping duck. I've kept him confined and yesterday he was doing much better but then tonight he's limping again. I'm going to try to soak his legs in some epsom salt tomorrow. Any suggestions on where/how to soak a Muscovy drake? He's too big for our outdoor sink and I'm not sure how to make him stay in a pool. He's not going to like whatever I decide to do.

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

Soak some vetrap in warm water and Epsom salt and rap it on its leg hope this helps.

 

[Ren2014]

Soak some vetrap in warm water and Epsom salt and rap it on its leg hope this helps.

Good idea, thanks!

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

Anytime glad I could help

 

[Lamaremybabies]

Well something has happened. All of my pekins are broody, even the drake xD he's not actually but because the only hen I had that wasn't broody went broody today he's sitting in the house with them. Poor boy must be bored out of his mind.

So one of my girls has been on her nest for almost three weeks and I was wondering if when her eggs hatch if both of them will be their mother and stop sitting on the other eggs?

 

[DuckGirl77]

When I started the ducks and chickens and rabbits I didn't know if it would work for my son. Dr said he went from 50% to 70% in a year on his leg. So I want to do more with them to increase my sons skills. He said keep the hard work with the farm life up no restrictions.its has improved all of us so much.

Aw, that's cool. I can see how the animals would help; I know I personally have had so much fun with my ducks and the chickens. I can't imagine life without them! Lots of animals is the way to go, right?

No wood floor - there will be a tarp and welded wire laid on the ground to keep diggers out

There's been a change of plans. For some reason, 1 by 6 boards are twice as expensive as 2 by six boards. Yes, twice as expensive for half the lumber! So I could go with 2 by 6 boards, but then this thing would be ridiculously heavy. So now the walls will be plywood, lol. Luckily Home Depot will cut for you, so I'll have them cut the pieces to the correct measurements because I have a table saw but I suck at cutting straight with it.

Oh, I hadn't thought of that. Sounds easier to clean than a regular wood floor. If you don't mind, I might steal your idea if I need to build another coop next spring!

Half the lumber, twice the price? I mean, really, what gives?! My duck's coop has plywood walls, too. It really could use insulation along with that, but I'm hoping a heat lamp will do the trick this coming winter. Boards would have been more work, plus the coop is already heavy enough! I think that plywood is easier, anyhow, except the cutting

- I'm not a construction person!

O and it's a full grown duck so but ya it gets around bit and it heads down to e stream but the other ducks go after it and try to drown it she said they stand on its back and push its head up the water. U can see where feathers are missing on its head where they are grabbing ahold of him. They separated him gave him food and water. But before they separated him he would hide back in a corner of there house to get away from them. Thanks I took a screen shot of ur post and I will send it to them thanks

Are the other ones drakes and are they trying to mate with it? The injured duck's behavior sounds kind of like when I had too many roosters and my hens would hide up on the roosts. (I knew next to nothing about chickens back then, can you tell?

) Anyways, that's just a thought. Hope the poor duck gets better!