Pekin duck walking on hocks

[shawnskii]

I have a pekin duck named daisy and she started out walking pigeon toed when she was about a month old, it got worse and now she can only get around walking on her hocks and i have no idea how to fix her. Ive taken her to the vet and he thought it was a riboflavin deficiency and attempted to treat it with shots of vitamin B. After 5 shots they said theres nothing more they could do. Has anyone else had this issue and is there anything i can do?

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[Free Spirit]

Niacin, Niacin, Niacin.

Was your vet giving shots of B3 specifically? or another form of vitamin B (Riboflavin is B2)? It should have been B3. I'm sorry but I think your vet is wrong.

Start giving her Niacin. Make sure her feed contains it. Give her some "Sav-A-Chick" electrolyte (from Tractor Supply) added to her water that has it. Get some Brewers Yeast (not bread yeast) to sprinkle on her feed (contains Niacin). If you can't seem to find Brewers Yeast check with your local health food store or a place that sells beer making ingredients.

 

[Free Spirit]

Sorry I almost forgot

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[Orca5094]

That looks like slipped tendons, possibly. This kind of thing might not be possible to fix completely at this age, but it's always worth a try! Like Free Spirit said up there, Niacin is extremely important for ducklings to get. A niacin deficiency can cause leg and neurological problems, so I'd start giving her that right away.

Then, read through this page about slipped Achilles tendons (scroll down a bit; it's a chicken site, but everything applies to ducklings as well):

https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry

 

[Free Spirit]

here's another site to look at:

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

 

[shawnskii]

Thank you guys for the feedback! The shots the vet gave her were B12. I did a lot if research before taking her to the vet and i actually tried to supplement her food and water with niacin but it didnt do anything and the vet said it wouldnt help so i stopped giving it to her. Is there a soecific kind if niacin i should give her?

 

[Free Spirit]

Niacin is just that niacin (B3).

The electrolyte packets from Tractor Supply have it in the ingredients but it may not be enough. To give as a supplement in their feed you want to get Brewers Yeast (not to be confused with bread yeast or active dry as these are NOT the same). If you're having trouble finding brewers yeast in your area then look at Health Food stores where they sell herbal supplies/medicines or a place that sells supplies/equipment for making beer. You're looking for powder or flakes (not tablets). If tablets is all you can find then dissolve in water, mash it up, then add it to feed.

 

[jducour]

Poor little thing. You have been given great advice so far. Work on the niacin, it is very important. I'm afraid you need to fire your vet. Does he have experience with ducks? It sounds like he means well, but doesn't know what he's doing here! It is so hard to find a vet that is willing to help a duck, and even harder to find one that actually knows how to treat them! Please update, this is just so sad.

 

[Kroelies]

Would swimming be good? No one has mentioned it so far, but ducklings love it and sometimes it helps with leg and feet injuries.

I hope Daisy feels better soon !

 

[Amiga]

Swimming can help get the weight off the legs and strengthen muscles.