Niacin for adult ducks

[Rubestmar]

Hi all,
up until a few months ago all 3 of our 2 year old White Campbell ducks were all laying well. They had a 2 week break over winter. Now we're only getting one egg daily.
Ruby hatched with a deformed beak and recently started laying soft shelled eggs, a couple I helped her to part with. Then there was no membrane just yolk & albumen, now nothing.
Then we found a couple more soft shelled eggs whilst Ruby was laying hers.
During this time they were getting grit & oyster shell combined which we changed to mainly oyster shell. We also roasted used eggshells and gave them back to them. They were fed on layers pellets and recently changed to layers mash. They also get lots of greens, fresh herbs & dried mealworms.
I've recently learned that ducks need more niacin than hens so bought wholewheat which we covered a scoop full with water overnight, added more grit & shell and gave it to them as well as their usual feed.
Now it's been suggested we add brewers yeast to their feed. They've got their 2nd teaspoon full on their mash today.
Any advice & suggestions would be really helpful, thankyou!

 

[Miss Lydia]

At 2 yrs old your going to notice a slow down in laying anyway. Looks like you have covered all the bases as far as feed and supplements.

Soft shell eggs can come from finishing up a laying cycle to starting one back up to not having enough calcium in the diet. Brewers yeast is for neurological and leg issues so Maybe take the brewers yeast off for now and add some calcium citrate to their diet I buy it in capsules open and add to their drinking bucket. Fresh kale is another way to get calcium in their diet.

 

[Rubestmar]

They've only just started the brewers yeast and I also learned that ducks need more niacin in their diet than hens do. We've only got 200mgs and are giving them a teaspoon full a day on their feed. It can't hurt and it may give them a boost of sorts

 

[Miss Lydia]

I give Nutritional yeast to my birds but if your ducks/ducks are laying soft shelled eggs or shell less eggs they need calcium or their body will leach it out of their bones.

 

[Rubestmar]

They have crushed oyster shell in their feed.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Some females just need more at times. I keep oyster shell out year round and sometimes mine will lay soft shell and if it becomes a pattern they get calcium citrate for a while in their water.

 

[cheezenkwackers]

I had one do something similar about a month ago. It made me wonder if I got a bad bag of feed. Like you I give mine old eggshells and oyster shell. My solution was for several days I gave them chopped tomatoes at the same time as the egg shells. Calcium carbonate can't be absorbed by the body unless it is dissolved in ion form. Acids help do that. I would think apple cider vinegar in their water might help as well. I do give mine Brewer's yeast but not for their eggshells. My girl is now laying nice, big, shelled eggs again.

 

[Rubestmar]

Ours had ACV in their drinking water last week for a week. Interesting you mention tomatoes as we grow our own and recently they've eaten a few we chopped for them. I suppose it's continue with everything we're doing and hopefully now it's just a waiting game.
Incidently, for the first time in the last few weeks, Ruby our cross beaked duck, ran to her feed and tucked in! We must be doing something right!

 

[Rubestmar]

Monday this week we had no duck eggs,
Tuesday we got 1 again.
Wednesday we got 2 ducks eggs for the first time since June!
Thursday we got 1 duck egg again,
and today we got 2 again!
Wonder if we'll ever get 3 again!
Remember they were 2 years old mid June

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have 11 female ducks today I got 4 eggs yesterday 3 day before 2 it's slow here also but I don't worry they need breaks . I have 4 over 5 yrs old and they lay in season these are my Muscovy girls. My Runners and Buffs just turned a year this past May and they laid like crazy up until a few months ago, I was actually glad to see them slow down and take a break then molt came along. Just feed them good, do you plan on keeping them after egg laying is over for good? I'd say they still have a few years left of laying probably not like at the first though.

I actually have 1 female Muscovy who is going on 10yrs now and quite a few hens who don't lay any longer They are my retirement group. lol