Shaky Leg duckling.. maybe too much protein?

[kennysquackers]

I have 6 ducklings. They were born 3/3 so they are exactly 3 weeks old today. I’ve been feeding them Mazuri starter as everyone says you don’t need anything else as far as supplements.

Issue: one of my girls legs started shaking while standing. Not all the time. But seems like when she’s trying to eat or standing still.

I live in southern Indiana so it still gets pretty cold during the day sometimes. However, if we don’t get to go outside for the day and explore and swim, I let them out in the house to swim and get their legs moving.

Brooder setup: they are in a big inflatable pool with access to a heat source on one side with the other side where it’s completely cool. They have access to their water that’s deep enough to dip their bills and eyes. Really they can dunk their whole head because they are smart little things haha! And have access to their Mazuri starter feed.

Could it possibly be she’s grown so fast with the 22% protein Mazuri has and I need to start going lower? All my ducks are relatively the same size (2 Indian runners, 2 cayugas, 1 khaki Campbell and 1 blue Swedish) but I have only noticed one legs shaky. They all get the same diet. She’s actively eating and drinking. Actively explores and swims when we get out. Also, she is my first duck who started “honking” at first and has the most actual feathers coming in. Could it also be maybe part of her adjusting to getting bigger? I was planning on switching to Kalmbach duck and goose feed. Since I’ve ready conflicting things on when to switch from Mazuri starter based on age.

I’m new to ducks, but I’ve been raising animals my whole life and try to research all avenues before posting asking for opinions/advice.

I appreciate any and all input! I’ve seen how nice this community is so I wanted to come here before any other platform!

*I can get a video later if needed, I’m just currently not home but will be back in a couple hours!

 

[kennysquackers]

I have 6 ducklings. They were born 3/3 so they are exactly 3 weeks old today. I’ve been feeding them Mazuri starter as everyone says you don’t need anything else as far as supplements.

Issue: one of my girls legs started shaking while standing. Not all the time. But seems like when she’s trying to eat or standing still.

I live in southern Indiana so it still gets pretty cold during the day sometimes. However, if we don’t get to go outside for the day and explore and swim, I let them out in the house to swim and get their legs moving.

Brooder setup: they are in a big inflatable pool with access to a heat source on one side with the other side where it’s completely cool. They have access to their water that’s deep enough to dip their bills and eyes. Really they can dunk their whole head because they are smart little things haha! And have access to their Mazuri starter feed.

Could it possibly be she’s grown so fast with the 22% protein Mazuri has and I need to start going lower? All my ducks are relatively the same size (2 Indian runners, 2 cayugas, 1 khaki Campbell and 1 blue Swedish) but I have only noticed one legs shaky. They all get the same diet. She’s actively eating and drinking. Actively explores and swims when we get out. Also, she is my first duck who started “honking” at first and has the most actual feathers coming in. Could it also be maybe part of her adjusting to getting bigger? I was planning on switching to Kalmbach duck and goose feed. Since I’ve ready conflicting things on when to switch from Mazuri starter based on age.

I’m new to ducks, but I’ve been raising animals my whole life and try to research all avenues before posting asking for opinions/advice.

I appreciate any and all input! I’ve seen how nice this community is so I wanted to come here before any other platform!

*I can get a video later if needed, I’m just currently not home but will be back in a couple hours!

Oops meant 20%

 

[cheezenkwackers]

I have had this before. I think she is just growing faster than her leg muscles can handle. It won’t hurt to up her niacin. Duvet vitamin B complex is the easiest way to do that. Just withdraw a mL and squirt it over a treat like mealworms.

She also needs to exercise those legs. Are they swimming? If not, they need to be to strengthen those legs. You can start with water they can stand in such as a couple inches in the tub, for 5-10 minutes. Repeat a couple times a day going for longer periods of time and making the water deeper so she will swim. They should be supervised and not allowed to get soaking wet. Towel them off when finished but do NOT blow them dry.

 

[kennysquackers]

I have had this before. I think she is just growing faster than her leg muscles can handle. It won’t hurt to up her niacin. Duvet vitamin B complex is the easiest way to do that. Just withdraw a mL and squirt it over a treat like mealworms.

She also needs to exercise those legs. Are they swimming? If not, they need to be to strengthen those legs. You can start with water they can stand in such as a couple inches in the tub, for 5-10 minutes. Repeat a couple times a day going for longer periods of time and making the water deeper so she will swim. They should be supervised and not allowed to get soaking wet. Towel them off when finished but do NOT blow them dry.

Thank you!! I did pick up some Durvet today and was searching how to administer haha! So this helps a lot!

Yes! We do supervised swims and have for about 1 1/2 weeks or 2 weeks. She actually jumped in the hole of a waterer I made out of a gallon jug. And was just hanging out like it was made as a personal tub haha! So we make sure they get swimming time at least once a day whether it’s inside or outside depending on the weather!

I plan on getting mealworms tomorrow and I’ll put the extra vitamins on it to get that going! I noticed my other runner doing it too. But all the other girls are fine. Thank you so much!

 

[kennysquackers]

I have had this before. I think she is just growing faster than her leg muscles can handle. It won’t hurt to up her niacin. Duvet vitamin B complex is the easiest way to do that. Just withdraw a mL and squirt it over a treat like mealworms.

She also needs to exercise those legs. Are they swimming? If not, they need to be to strengthen those legs. You can start with water they can stand in such as a couple inches in the tub, for 5-10 minutes. Repeat a couple times a day going for longer periods of time and making the water deeper so she will swim. They should be supervised and not allowed to get soaking wet. Towel them off when finished but do NOT blow them dry.

Just wanted to follow up. I did the durvet on mealworms and wasn’t seeing too much of a difference even though they loved the mealworms.

I switched them over to a lower protein (mixed to transition at first) and started adding a powder niacin to their water. And I have seen VAST improvement! Thanks for you help! I feel like sometimes I second guess what I’m doing since these are the first ducks I’ve owned no matter how much research I do haha!