The Duck Thread

[AimToMisbehave]

Regarding the above post, it's much easier to just add Brewer's yeast to your feed than try to force niacin down your duck's throat multiple times a day. You should just add brewer's yeast from the beginning and then you won't have a problem. @Amiga has lots of good info on niacin deficiency and how to treat it. Swimming is not necessary to correct it.

Seconded. I get mine here; worked wonders on my super tippy duckling, but I gave it to all of them daily for the first six months or so.

 

[Welshies]

Hi does anyone or can anyone give me a quick list of the key differences between Muscovies and other ducks? Particularly on their temperament and their meat?

 

[Amiga]

Regarding the above post, it's much easier to just add Brewer's yeast to your feed than try to force niacin down your duck's throat multiple times a day. You should just add brewer's yeast from the beginning and then you won't have a problem. @Amiga has lots of good info on niacin deficiency and how to treat it. Swimming is not necessary to correct it.

Swimming - when monitored constantly with ducklings can be beneficial. They aren't fully feathered and can get too tired, or chilled - keep the temperature about brooder temperature. At least one scientific paper reported that ducklings who have a chance to get into warm water start preening sooner than ducklings that do not. And without B vitamins, swimming doesn't - as far as I know - help with the leg and other problems from B vitamin deficiency.

I think someone could do their PhD on duck nutrition. I know there are experts, but sometimes I feel there are some gaps, and maybe it has to do with genetic drift, maybe it has to do with the quality of what we are able to grow in depleted soils, I don't know. Back to the topic of B vitamins.

Here are some thoughts I wrote down that summarize what I know and feel about B vitamin supplementation.

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

 

[MandyJ]

You can also put it in their food. 1 Tb/cup of starter feed. He's right, you need to use niacin. DO NOT buy the bakers yeast in the grocery store. What you need is a vitamin supplement, usually from a health food store or on the web.
Mandy

 

[Pyxis]

You can also put it in their food. 1 Tb/cup of starter feed. He's right, you need to use niacin. DO NOT buy the bakers yeast in the grocery store. What you need is a vitamin supplement, usually from a health food store or on the web.
Mandy

Baker's yeast doesn't work but brewer's yeast, which is a nutritional supplement, is fine, as Amiga said in her post. She also said to not use baker's yeast or winemaking yeast which do not work.

 

[MandyJ]

Baker's yeast doesn't work but brewer's yeast, which is a nutritional supplement, is fine, as Amiga said in her post. She also said to not use baker's yeast or winemaking yeast which do not work.

X2

 

[MandyJ]

Hello I'm new to this website so not sure how it all works. I have a question for anyone out there. I have 12 runner ducks that are 4 and half months old. I'd like to know if I can introduce them to my flock of older runners. I've recently had a fox get into my pen and get away with a large amount of my ducks most of which were my females :-(. I now have 6 drakes and 2 hens left of my original flock, so now over breeding or bullying my current hens is my concern. I have fixed and improved my pen to keep fixes out. My ducks free range during day and get locked up at night. When do you think I could.introduce my other 12 females to the flock? Is 4 and half months old enough not to worry about problems from males trying to breed them? Any advice will help thank you.

I answered on this a few days ago. I just got a chance to get pictures of the divider. Hope this helps. It works GREAT! Each section is 5 feet long. My enclosure is 10' across so when straightened out (like in the second picture) it fits all the way across so I can cut the enclosure into 2 sections or just take a corner out of the enclosure by using it like the first picture. Say for a sick bird rather than putting it in a cage.

Mandy


My enclosure:

 

[Pyxis]

All about your duck, and feet/leg problems. I have your definite answer! So listen up, do this ASAP!.... Go to Your local drugstore, or vitamin shop, or, go online, and buy NIACIN. Call beforehand to make sure they have this VITAMIN in stock before you drive somewhere. Inturned feet and legs are not due to INBREEDING. Totally false misconception. In the Avian world, there are almost never any deformaties from family inbreeding. Your ducks are not eating flowers in your attic. BUT, all of the FORCED breeding throughout the years, ( this is NOT METZGER FARMS Related!!!) your ducks MAY have a NIACIN deficiency. This IS causing your duck PAIN and DISCOMFORT. So, go get some NIACIN, and find out the ways to give it to them!

eventually, the foot/leg being turned will or should correct itself. Make sure they have FULL LEG ROTATION ..... SWIMMING!! Nope, a little kiddy pool won't work. It has to be 2.5-3 ft deep so they can exercise a full rotation of leg and foot. I myself, for the time being, got a 2.5 deep 3 ring blow up pool for 25.00 at WAL-MART. Until I can afford to build a pond. Check YOUTUBE folks. There are tons of videos on how to build coops, ponds, and even your science fair volcano. I use a simple plunger type "syringe" to put crushed niacin mixed with water, directly into Miss Wiggles little tummy. You can ask a vet for one, they will probably give it to you for free, or close. You have to hold your duck down with your forearm and bicep, grab the head with that hand, then, lightly play with the between space of the bill. They will eventually open up. In that instant, BAM! Shoot that nasty stuff down their gullet. It's crappy business, but someone has to do it. ( get someone else to do it if you can)

. .. I actually get into her swimming pool and hold her breast from her going forward, she swims excitedly, but you don't hurt her like you might holding her down on a solid surface. I hold her breast with my forearm, and her head lightly with my hand. With the other hand, you want to play with her bill FROM THE SIDE, but angled diagonally towards her throat. When they open up a bit (they will eventually, they remember this from mommy at birth), push the injector stick in. Do this 1 -2 times a day. Hey! I even have a recommended dosage for you!!!! 100 mg a day. Don't stop once it's corrected itself, do it for a couple of weeks after, then stop and see if it comes back. If it does,, search for natural foods that are high in niacin content. Waterfowl Maintenence pellets are sometimes not enough. I want to tell everyone that thinks that they shouldn't buy from Metzger farms, read up. They are a great, small family farm. If you email them and ask for help, they will answer promptly and nicely, and they will usually have a link to help your problem. That family is more qualified than almost any vet when it comes to any kind of fowl....think about it.., plus, they aren't some huge corporation bent on screwing you over and making money. It's a freaking FARM people. This is NOT AT&T or you crappy cable company. These people are, like, real good people. So if you bought chicks from them and think that something is wrong with them because of Metzger, re-think, read up, educate yourself, and call them -email them. By the way, I am no way affiliated with Metzger. Hope this helps with your ducks twisted feet and leg problem.. I'm out. - dumbusername

After rereading this I wanted to correct a few more things. Niacin deficiency isn't caused by forced breeding of ducks (can you really even force ducks to breed? Drakes are gonna go for the females on their own, no forcing from humans needed), it's caused by, well, a deficiency of niacin in the feed.

As was already stated, swimming is good for ducklings in some ways as long as you can monitor them and keep them from getting chilled, but it is not at all necessary to fix a niacin deficiency. Correcting the deficit of niacin in their diet takes care of that all on its own.

As far as getting them to open their mouths, they may eventually if you play with the corner long enough, but it has nothing to do with them remembering their mother doing something similar. At no point do mother ducks have their babies open their mouths for them. They do not feed them as other bird species do. Plus, most ducklings these days are hatched in an incubator, as would be the duck the OP is talking about since it seems like they got it from Metzer Farms, so how would they be having flashbacks to their mothers?

And finally, forcing a syringe to the back of the duck's throat and forcefully squirting liquid in is a very bad idea if you don't know what you're doing. You could easily shoot the liquid into the trachea instead of the esophagus and cause the duck to aspirate, which is a serious problem that can cause pneumonia, among other things. Please do not do this without guidance from a veterinarian. If you want to open the bill and place the syringe at the very front and squirt it in and then release them so they can swallow (or not) on their own, that's a different story. But it's much easier to just put the niacin in the proper dosages in the food or water and let them eat it on their own.

I know the OP is unlikely to see this as they said they will not be checking back here often, but I wanted to put this out there so there's no spread of misinformation.

 

[MandyJ]

After rereading this I wanted to correct a few more things. Niacin deficiency isn't caused by forced breeding of ducks (can you really even force ducks to breed? Drakes are gonna go for the females on their own, no forcing from humans needed), it's caused by, well, a deficiency of niacin in the feed.

As was already stated, swimming is good for ducklings in some ways as long as you can monitor them and keep them from getting chilled, but it is not at all necessary to fix a niacin deficiency. Correcting the deficit of niacin in their diet takes care of that all on its own.

As far as getting them to open their mouths, they may eventually if you play with the corner long enough, but it has nothing to do with them remembering their mother doing something similar. At no point do mother ducks have their babies open their mouths for them. They do not feed them as other bird species do. Plus, most ducklings these days are hatched in an incubator, as would be the duck the OP is talking about since it seems like they got it from Metzer Farms, so how would they be having flashbacks to their mothers?

And finally, forcing a syringe to the back of the duck's throat and forcefully squirting liquid in is a very bad idea if you don't know what you're doing. You could easily shoot the liquid into the trachea instead of the esophagus and cause the duck to aspirate, which is a serious problem that can cause pneumonia, among other things. Please do not do this without guidance from a veterinarian. If you want to open the bill and place the syringe at the very front and squirt it in and then release them so they can swallow (or not) on their own, that's a different story. But it's much easier to just put the niacin in the proper dosages in the food or water and let them eat it on their own.

I know the OP is unlikely to see this as they said they will not be checking back here often, but I wanted to put this out there so there's no spread of misinformation.

Thanks! I wondered about a few things. But I am not an expert, I certainly don't know enough to correct someone who appears to know what they are talking about!

Again...thanks!
Mandy

 

[Pyxis]

Thanks! I wondered about a few things. But I am not an expert, I certainly don't know enough to correct someone who appears to know what they are talking about!

Again...thanks!
Mandy

You're welcome! That's why I wanted to clear all that up, so that people don't end up misinformed