UPDATE on runner duck with severly crooked neck

[kycklingmamma]

I wanted to give an update incase this ever happens to anybody elses ducklings.
Our runner duckling Lilly, started thursday morning( at 10 days of age) keeping her head and neck at a very weird angle, as if she was turning around but her body wasn't (?). It got so bad that she could not be in water without her head being half way submerged, and she walked in circles, very sad to see. Well, according to some research, we changed her food to a better one, finally found Mazuri waterfowl starter in our neck of the woods, supposedly our first food had gone bad,ie the vitamins had leached out, who would've known, we purchased the first food at a very wellknown farm supply store...and the food was already bad.
I also spoke to Dr Peter Brown at First State Vet (very nice and knowledgable man), and he told us to try and give her 1 400 i.u capsule vitamin E daily.
Well we changed her food yesterday midday and started her on vitamins last night. This morning no change, she had actually gotten worse. Well throughout the day we have given her the vitamins and this evening she is almost, almost straight again.,
Can you believe it. We are amazed at the stride she has taken, and hope for a full recovery.
I hope and wish this doesn't happen to enybody elses little critter but if it does, I sure hope this entry proves helpful.

Kindly, Petra

 

[carinlynchin]

so what exactly was the cause? Can it happen to chickens and geese?

 

[kycklingmamma]

Apperantly vitamin deficiancy. I was told ducks need way more niacin than chickens and they were on a chick/duck starter and therefor did not receive enough vitamin B niacin. But Dr Peter Brown told me that some chickens, especially Silkies have problems with vitamin E deficiancy and that manifests itself with crooked neck. Since my Lilly wasn't a Silkie, I was not sure what to do, but Dr Brown assured me she wouldn't be harmed if I wanted to try the vitamin E route.

I don't know for sure what is the true problem solver, but it is pretty safe to say that one way or another she wasn't getting enough vitamins. What is really interesting is that we have 2 other runner ducklings from the same hatch ( from a hatchery) and they have not had this problem.

Petra