Taking ducks to the vet

[Morgan282]

Can you show us pictures of what they are?

 

[TheAmundsons]

I have another post on here and someone recommended the liquid vitamin b complex so I tried that but my ducks don't really drink the water when I mix it in :/ any tricks on getting them to take it?? I also use niacin vitamin powder on alternate days that I try the vitamin b complex and just mix it in their food and it seemed to lift their spirits a bit but they still have trouble walking. I've only been using the vitamins and complex for 3 days now so I don't know if it might take a bit or not. It absolutely breaks my heart. I love my ducks so much. And I hate to see them like this...

How much have you been giving them? You might want to increase the dosage. I gave each duck roughly 2mL (I used just over that to account for what they spill) in a small bowl of water. I dunked their bills into the mixture so they recognize that they can drink it. The smell might throw them off.

 

[TheAmundsons]

I use the one in the brown bottle with the yellow label.

 

[casportpony]

This is "flush free", which is NOT recommended.

This is a good one:

 

[Morgan282]

How much have you been giving them? You might want to increase the dosage. I gave each duck roughly 2mL (I used just over that to account for what they spill) in a small bowl of water. I dunked their bills into the mixture so they recognize that they can drink it. The smell might throw them off.

The person who told me about it told me to get the injectable kind from tractor supply and that it's fine to use orally so I got that and they reccomended using 1ml per sick duck. I have them in little slings right now because in case the legs were injured I didn't want them to put too much pressure on them. And in front of their slings I screwed some little containers meant for goats on the front of them so that they could have access to lots of food and water while I was at work in the evenings. So I put the 1ml into that dish that I'd say is probably about a little less than half a gallon. One of them I'm not sure why but he will randomly just stop eating or drinking and press his head into the food or water until I help him move. And that's what he did when I tried to dip his bill in the water to show him it was okay to drink. And the other girl I tried to dip her bill in it but she wanted no part in that and I didn't wanna force her in fear of hurting her.

 

[Morgan282]

This is "flush free", which is NOT recommended.


This is a good one:

Oh, okay so the niacin I shouldn't be giving them? Do you have any other reccomendations??

 

[Miss Lydia]

@CayugaJana can give you info on the B complex from TSC

 

[CayugaJana]

This is "flush free", which is NOT recommended.


This is a good one:

The yellow label one is the one I would give them all the time until they are better or if you take them to the vet and it turns out to be an issue not related to their diet. Tell me, have they always had trouble walking or just lately? If they aren’t drinking it, I would put the entire 1mL in their mouth. It’s not much at al. Do you know how to unscrew the needle off the syringe? Or put the 1 mL in something you know they will eat while you are standing there. Try this everyday for a week and check back in if you have more questions. Don’t use the tablets anymore. Even for yourself, they are crap. Lol. They have binders in them that make it so the niacin isn’t bio available for your body to use either.

 

[Morgan282]

The yellow label one is the one I would give them all the time until they are better or if you take them to the vet and it turns out to be an issue not related to their diet. Tell me, have they always had trouble walking or just lately? If they aren’t drinking it, I would put the entire 1mL in their mouth. It’s not much at al. Do you know how to unscrew the needle off the syringe? Or put the 1 mL in something you know they will eat while you are standing there. Try this everyday for a week and check back in if you have more questions. Don’t use the tablets anymore. Even for yourself, they are crap. Lol. They have binders in them that make it so the niacin isn’t bio available for your body to use either.

Thank you so much! And Yupp, i bought a pack of the syringes that you can just click a needle onto so that I can use it without if needed. And well, they were fine walking when younger, they were just really clumsy. Which I figured was just part of the way they walked at first. Then I realized that the other two Pekins I have aren't clumsy at all. They continued to be clumsy and one would kind of overlap his flippers a bit while standing. And I just found it kind of weird that the two that had the issues being clumsy when they were younger are the ones that Are now in this state. They've always been smaller than the rest as well. And noticing that they were smaller I gave them a lot more treats (fruits and veggies) than the others thinking maybe they needed something extra.

 

[CayugaJana]

Thank you so much! And Yupp, i bought a pack of the syringes that you can just click a needle onto so that I can use it without if needed. And well, they were fine walking when younger, they were just really clumsy. Which I figured was just part of the way they walked at first. Then I realized that the other two Pekins I have aren't clumsy at all. They continued to be clumsy and one would kind of overlap his flippers a bit while standing. And I just found it kind of weird that the two that had the issues being clumsy when they were younger are the ones that Are now in this state. They've always been smaller than the rest as well. And noticing that they were smaller I gave them a lot more treats (fruits and veggies) than the others thinking maybe they needed something extra.

The fact that some are having issues and some are not is pretty common. Especially with Pekins. Now when I see my Pekin ducklings sit a lot at hatch, I give them b vitamins because it only gets worse. I honestly think some ducklings are nutrient deficient at hatch. And some ducks absorb nutrients less efficiently. The liquid form is the easiest and fastest form to absorb.

I used to put the liquid in their waterer, but they are so messy that I had to throw a lot out because of the sludge accumulating in the bottom. Plus they flung it everywhere and it stains things yellow pretty easily.

Then once they are healthy, you could feed them nutritional yeast in their feed as a preventative maintenance if you so choose.

I also bought brewers yeast tablets at Walmart and those are junk too. They would have to eat the whole bottle each day just to get their required daily intake. But I guess not all brewers yeast is created equal so just be aware.