Update: Sick duckling, flopping on back, looks like Pasteurella

[Kim65]

I've been reading on niacin deficiency but have so little experience, these are my first ducklings.

They were hatched mid April. They've been outside for two weeks. Here in the Pacific NW it is muddy and damp, and the ducklings are always snurfling in the mud.

Literally ten minutes ago, I go out and find my little gal flapping helplessly on her back, covered with mud. The other two seem fine. She is next to me now, sitting quietly on the bed. Her neck is straight (not folded back). She was in with hens and her two duckling sibs and so no one attacked her.

Is this niacin deficiency? I've not supplemented them at all

They are eating grass and bugs and 17% all purpose poultry feed.

Thanks for any advice in advance

I just love these little guys . . .

*****my update in most recent post*******

 

[katharinad]

I had one duck fall on its back and it was screaming and flapping, but it was only 2 weeks old when that happened. Regardless it sometimes hard for a duck to flip back over into the right position. It is always a good idea to give ducks electrolytes/vitamin mixes into their water one a regular basis. My newborns get only this type of water for the first week. After that once per week until 10 weeks old. After that once per month. I like to use this product , but you can find something similar in your feed store. This one smells like vanilla and also contains probiotics. My ducks love it. One pack goes a long way. You only need like 1/2 teaspoon per gallon. It contains the niacin and other important minerals. A lack of electrolytes can cause flips. Add 1/2 teaspoon of regular table salt into one gallon of water. This is only temporary until you get the right stuff.
Katharina

 

[Kim65]

thank you SO MUCH. I got a 1 ml of baby vitamins down her and am off to the drug/feed store for some niacin capsules and brewers yeast. I will run back and forth as many times as needed, my ducklings are so precious

The other two look GREAT, but they'll get the same treatment. THis little gal looked fine last night. She's covered with mud now and real quiet, so she knows something is wrong

 

[katharinad]

I would give her a nice warm supervised bath so the feathers will fluff back up and keep her warm. Just a couple of minutes. Put her under the brooder or warm lamp for drying.
Katharina

 

[Kim65]

lol before I checked for more responses I got the warm bath running

Got the niacin capsules as well. I'm gonna give her a dose mixed in water and let her bathe.

 

[Kim65]

I do have a vitamin and electrolyte mix for general poultry. I also took a 500mg niacin capsule and dissolved the powder in a small babyfood jar full of warm water. I gave her perhaps 100mg of the niacin water, then stuck her in a warm bath. She immediately began bathing (thank GOD) and is now preening in my room with a heater going. She does not seem to be stumbling or uncoordinated

in her preening. Maybe she was just having a clumsy moment? Anyway all of them will be getting this supplement in their feed for the next few days to tank them up and them I'll go to just electrolyte water once a week.

I am going to order this product you suggested, reading about it sounds like a great thing to have on hand and supportive of general healthiness. Thanks again, hopefully I can put her back out with her sister and brother later on today.

 

[Kim65]

One other thing she's doing is twitching her wings a lot, like hitching them up. The feathers are about 3/4 in, and they all hitched their wings a lot when the blood feathers were brand new, but have stopped doing that. She's a little quiet, so I'm leaning more to her actually having something wrong.

 

[katharinad]

My guess is the electrolytes. They control muscle movement and nerves. A lack of it will cause twitching. I hope she will recover soon. BTW I store the pack I suggested in a small mason jar and mix on at needed. I've just checked one pack is for 32 gallons, or 1 teaspoon per gallon. So I kind of goofed when I've said 1/2 teaspoon. Turns out that I mix in 1/2 gallon container of water, and that's why 1/2 for me. So there you can see it really does go along way. My ducks really love it, because they drink it up like no tomorrow.
Katharina

 

[Kim65]

I have Durvet electrolytes/vitamins on hand. It says to mix the whole 8 oz in 110 gallons

So lets see . . . 0.072 oz in one gallon

and 0.072 Ounces = 0.432 Teaspoons. So a little less than half a teaspoon in a gallon of water. Sheesh. At least it will get us going.

Now that I've calmed down and read about niacin deficiency it doesn't sound like what she has. She is feathered well, the same size as the others and doesn't show the other typical signs as described.

 

[Kim65]

I let her out with the other two for the day. She followed them, nibbled a little in the grass but I did not see her eat or drink much. When I went out to put them in the pen, she had one wing pulled around her neck and couldn't get it back in position. I thought oh heck no, and brought her in for the night. A while ago, she made a loud grunting sound and started having a seizure type thing, her neck back and flopping around groaning.

I googled this symptom and got Backyardchickens posts like crazy. Even a YouTube video of a little fawn runner doing the same "seizure" activity, neck back and flopping on it's side

I read them all . . . could be an electrolyte imbalance (I haven't supplemented them like an idiot) OR it sounds like pasteurella, esp because she is not eating and drinking. No eye discharge or respiratory issues. The other ducklings are fine.

I have regular Pen and DuraPen. I have electrolyte water and infant vitamin drops and even food grade Vit E oil. I'm gonna give it all to her

and hope for the best.