EMERGENCY SICK DUCKLINGS

[Emma234]

And they said in one of their posts that they were feeding them chicken feed, which lacks the Niacin the ducklings need to operate correctly. It helps with growing as well as organ function in ducks.

I only found out later about the niacin deficiency later, and now I use brewers yeast as i said in the initial post. The stores i went to didn't have have any niacin pills or drops. Is the brewers yeast enough? Is a leg recovery possible at this point? One of her legs is highly twisted inwards and even her hips look deformed. Olso how will the ducks life look if she ll never be able to walk again? It it cruel to put her to sleep or is it more cruel to let her live like this?

 

[nao57]

What I would suggest is that you make a somewhat runny mix of scrambled eggs with SUGAR in it it, and some vitamin C to get their strength up.

Also have 2 water sources... 1 will be normal water (also replace and make sure its clean). And the second water source to have sugar and electrolyte solution in it.

If you are desperate you can even feed them whisked runny yolk with a bit of sugar in it, but you don't want to do that very much without cooking it.

Treating for niacin deficiency is necessary also at this point also. You could also try to see how they react to live worms, like for fishing bait that are still alive until they get better. Or ground beef, or tuna.

A lot of places are having problems with their feed, such as milled feed, etc. If they think something is wrong with it there probably is. How does the bulk of your unused feed smell? Proceed to check and act is if more than just 1 problem is in play until you have eliminated other options.

Even if the problem is niacian deficiency, their bodies are under a lot of stress and breaking down. So these other tools suggested will help to get them through the stress forces on their bodies, and deal with malnutrition in general. (Malnutrition can mean not only niacin deficiency.) Also in animals, sometimes more than 1 nutrient controls how another bonds with the body. Example; people have found people who don't eat meat, have trouble getting calcium to bond with their bodies, even if they have enough calcium. So addressing malnutrition overall will help the niacin treatments to work.

....

Some ducklings will recover from niacin deficiency. Especially if you are at the 3 week old mark. Prior to the 3 weeks old mark the mortality rate is much higher.

 

[Emma234]

How are they doing today?

Do you have them with a heat source?

They only ate a bit from their feed and sometimes their poop looks normal and sometimes it goes back to being very watery. One of them can barely stand up and I am very scared she might not recover.

At night I use hot bottles of water to keep them warm but here the temperatures are naturally high during the day.

 

[GlicksChicks]

I only found out later about the niacin deficiency later, and now I use brewers yeast as i said in the initial post. The stores i went to didn't have have any niacin pills or drops. Is the brewers yeast enough? Is a leg recovery possible at this point? One of her legs is highly twisted inwards and even her hips look deformed. Olso how will the ducks life look if she ll never be able to walk again? It it cruel to put her to sleep or is it more cruel to let her live like this?

How big are the ducklings? Depending on how much growing the duckling has left, a splint could help.

Deformed joints/legs are a sign of Niacin deficiency. It could be good to look on Amazon for the Niacin supplements.

The Brewers yeast would probably be good if they were eating duckling feed with it. People give that as a supplement with their duck feed as well I believe. I don't think the yeast on it's own for the Niacin does enough.

 

[Emma234]

How big are the ducklings? Depending on how much growing the duckling has left, a splint could help.

Deformed joints/legs are a sign of Niacin deficiency. It could be good to look on Amazon for the Niacin supplements.

The Brewers yeast would probably be good if they were eating duckling feed with it. People give that as a supplement with their duck feed as well I believe. I don't think the yeast on it's own for the Niacin does enough

They are around 3 weeks. But they look a lot smaller than what I think it's normal for this age. Also only one of them has leg problems even if they eat the same things. Why is just one of them being affected by this?
Also I don't see how the splint would help. Do you suggest I apply it to one leg only or the ones that are attached to both legs? Also can this be done at home? There are no vets specialized in poltry in my town and they don't seem to repond very well to my calls.

 

[nuthatched]

Is it layer feed or grower?

 

[Emma234]

Is it layer feed or grower?

It's grower feed for baby chicks with 20% protein.

 

[nao57]

They are around 3 weeks. But they look a lot smaller than what I think it's normal for this age. Also only one of them has leg problems even if they eat the same things. Why is just one of them being affected by this?
Also I don't see how the splint would help. Do you suggest I apply it to one leg only or the ones that are attached to both legs? Also can this be done at home? There are no vets specialized in poltry in my town and they don't seem to repond very well to my calls.

There is a thread on this site of how to splint the legs of a duckling being treated for niacin deficiency. You don't have to have a veterinarian do this. And many of them don't actually have much education in poultry, because there's not a lot of money in it. Sometimes it just happens. Its likely also that the one that does have the niacin problems is not actually genetically related to the others. Sometimes certain genetic strains are more prone to problems than others. Like Pekings sometimes get leg problems. And crested ducklings also are prone to nerve problems. Its nothing you caused.

 

[GlicksChicks]

They are around 3 weeks. But they look a lot smaller than what I think it's normal for this age. Also only one of them has leg problems even if they eat the same things. Why is just one of them being affected by this?
Also I don't see how the splint would help. Do you suggest I apply it to one leg only or the ones that are attached to both legs? Also can this be done at home? There are no vets specialized in poltry in my town and they don't seem to repond very well to my calls.

Can I see a picture of what the duckling's legs look like?

Some show different signs, and some none at all. There is a chance that the duckling gets less of the yeast than the others. Peas also provide Niacin.

 

[Emma234]

Can I see a picture of what the duckling's legs look like?

Some show different signs, and some none at all. There is a chance that the duckling gets less of the yeast than the others. Peas also provide Niacin.

He can barely stand or walk. As soon as I stop holing him he sits back down.