My Duck Story so far... Help Needed

[GeoGreyWolf]

Hello all I am new to the site. Figured I would tell my luck on raising ducks.
About three years ago, my wife and I got 2 Peking ducks to raise (she has raised ducks prior, me never). We had a success with them and let them free range in our backyard, one night something dug under the fence and took off their heads, leaving the bodies.
Now after about 3 years (daughter now 5 almost 6) of asking for ducks again, I finally broke down and got her some. Bought 3 Pekings from Rural King and 1 Swedish from a breeder. The 3 Pekings seemed to be suffering from Niacin Deficiency. Did not experience this with the two ducks prior. So I used this site and read up on how to treat, 2 bounced back and 1 unfortunately developed breathing problems and passed away at a wildlife reserve who was trying to treat her. Now I am noticing one of the other ducks is limping bad, reading possibly bumble foot. Any advice on how to treat it, seeing about soaking in epson salt and warm bath, and a mix of different type of ointments and medications. What seems to work best?
One lesson I have learned from this however is not to buy from Rural King. The first 2 Pekings I bought were from Tractor Supply. Wondering if it was because it is summer, or if the store breeds were the possible issue?
Other than the ailments of my young ducks, who are now fully feathered, I am trying to gender one duck who hardly quacks but does not have the curled middle tail feather, and I am currently working at building a bigger house for them, since the one I ordered is poorly made and to small.
Any and all advice is appreciated.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Welcome to BYC can you get pics of your ducks feet and that way we can say for sure it's bumble foot?

I soaked in warm Epsom salt water then applied clear iodine over the bumble on my hens feet, after 3-5 days the scabs will usually peel off then you can use sterile tweezers to pull out the infection of core. Clear iodine can be found at most drug stores and Walmart it helps bring the bumble to the surface.

This thread might help
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/bumblefoot.1200346/

 

[GeoGreyWolf]

I did try iodine (was not the clear type) and got the very small scab off after an epson bath soak. After that i bandaged the foot up. My Peking is still walking weird, she is hardly walking and her foot is turned inward, when I get home i will try and get pictures of her

 

[Miss Lydia]

Sounds like a niacin deficiency to go along with this bumble.

http://metzerfarms.blogspot.com/2011/03/are-my-ducklings-leg-problems-due-to.html

Did you see just a hole after you got the scab off was what did you see under the scab? Very important you get the infection out.

 

[GeoGreyWolf]

Hello Everyone, Sorry about the late responses back and all. Finally getting around to updates and some pictures. The one with the bumble foot, not sure it was really, did not see any sign of infection. Thinking the niacin deficiency led to a dis formed leg. She eats, drinks and moves around mostly alright, she is just slower and walks with a limp.

 

[GeoGreyWolf]

We also wanted a male, and went to a breeder who had some adult ones. Ended up with two males. 1 Runner and 1 Swedish, since they always stayed together per the breeder. After this I went ahead and built a new house for them and attached to the old house. Still working on modifications, after the pictures I added a duck garden to help with flies and added in pea gravel inside the house.

 

[Miss Lydia]

3 females to 2 drakes?

Very pretty ducks. The house looks good you just want to make sure they have good ventilation inside ammonia can build up fast and can cause respiratory issues. Vent up top will help with moisture too. They create a lot of moisture. Windows on the south and east side with hardware cloth will give them good air flow.

Are you treating for niacin def? that place on the foot with the small hole looks like could have been bumble.

 

[GeoGreyWolf]

3 females to 2 drakes?

Very pretty ducks. The house looks good you just want to make sure they have good ventilation inside ammonia can build up fast and can cause respiratory issues. Vent up top will help with moisture too. They create a lot of moisture. Windows on the south and east side with hardware cloth will give them good air flow.

Are you treating for niacin def? that place on the foot with the small hole looks like could have been bumble.

The house is made from fencing that came down from hurricane Irma, went around neighborhood and collected and created that way, there are gaps in between like a normal fence would have with some pieces missing, the inside I put the mesh chicken wire to keep predators out, the top is at a slant so there is some space up there as well. Every day I give them Niacin, use a flush free gel capsule and break it open into their fresh waterier. So 500 mg in a 4 gallon waterier, i have been doing this since the niacin deficiency was noticed (ducklings), so for awhile it seems with no improvement on the leg, this hen did however not develop the breathing conditions the other did. I did learn one thing with this, not to buy ducks from a store and stick to breeders/home farms.

 

[GeoGreyWolf]

So I have a cheap incubator and it has horrible reviews, some people say they still get successful hatching from it, so I will give it a try once my ducks start laying. My question would be when do each breed of duck start laying? I have 2 female Pekins and 1 female Swedish. When I bought the Swedish from Rural King they told me they were 6 weeks. Which means they should be approximately 18 weeks now. My Swedish should be approximately 13-14 weeks. Here are also some updated pictures;

 

[chickens really]

Still babies....Wait till spring....Ducks usually lay at around 5 to 6 months old...I don't use first eggs in my Breeding program...I wait a few weeks...learned the hard way with Duck eggs ....Nutrition in Ducks needs balance and proper amounts of protein, vitamins and minerals or they start failing.....