Why does my duck's neck waggle and wobble?

[Jenn H]

3 month old Pekin, wobbly and bobs her head back and forth, even when standing still, sometimes stumbles and seems off-balance. We've supplemented niacin since week 2 due to both Pekins having cross feet, that seemed to do the trick. Our vet doesn't do ducks so we found one that did but isn't taking new patients, after describing behavior and showing him video and he agreed it's probably some sort of vitamin deficiency (maybe something besides niacin?) and we now are giving Vitamin B injections. Once a week. This is 2 weeks in (2 more injections to go) and it's hard to tell if she's getting better. Still waggles her head back and forth when she walks and runs, head still bobs and weaves when she's just standing there, but eating and drinking fine and our other ducks don't do this. Do you agree this is a vitamin deficiency? Or is it something else? Let me know if this link works. If it doesn't I can try youtube.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XkfHyU7GAVxes80g7Ved8jlK8pU6j3xt/view?usp=sharing

 

[Wyorp Rock]

@Isaac 0 @DuckyDonna any ideas?

 

[chrissynemetz]

I can't get it to play

 

[Wicked Storm]

3 month old Pekin, wobbly and bobs her head back and forth, even when standing still, sometimes stumbles and seems off-balance. We've supplemented niacin since week 2 due to both Pekins having cross feet, that seemed to do the trick. Our vet doesn't do ducks so we found one that did but isn't taking new patients, after describing behavior and showing him video and he agreed it's probably some sort of vitamin deficiency (maybe something besides niacin?) and we now are giving Vitamin B injections. Once a week. This is 2 weeks in (2 more injections to go) and it's hard to tell if she's getting better. Still waggles her head back and forth when she walks and runs, head still bobs and weaves when she's just standing there, but eating and drinking fine and our other ducks don't do this. Do you agree this is a vitamin deficiency? Or is it something else? Let me know if this link works. If it doesn't I can try youtube.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XkfHyU7GAVxes80g7Ved8jlK8pU6j3xt/view?usp=sharing

The link worked for me. This is indeed very strange.. I've never seen anything like this
@Miss Lydia any ideas?

 

[Isaac 0]

I'm not a vet, but I have seen that "type" of walking with two of my older Pekins before, and I was pretty confident it was due to a niacin deficiency, the problem is, while two weeks of treatment may seem enough to us, these birds most likely have been dealing with this for a quite a while and as birds age their bones tend to become more set in place and less willing to go back to normal after vitamin therapy, that said, it may be a few full months before you see some good changes with them.

Maybe the head bobbing is related, I'm not sure. I would definitely keep administering the vitamins, and hopefully, you see some improvement soon.

You may find this link helpful,

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/niacin-deficiency-in-waterfowl.1367557/

 

[Jenn H]

Thanks that is very helpful, and reassuring that my suspicions are supported. At 5 weeks, we started feeding a mix 1/3 Purina duck pellets, 1/3 chicken feed, 1/3 cracked corn with niacin supplement mixed in. I have since switched to just the duck pellets and the niacin. Green peas as a treat every other day or so. 2 more injections to go, see if things improve. I was worried about over-doing niacin but sounds like that’s not much of a worry. Vet said who knows maybe it’s a different B vitamin that’s lacking (thiamin or ???... don’t know my B vitamins very well
The injections are inexpensive, maybe if we see improvement we’ll do another (once a week for 4 weeks) round of those. Crazy it presented in one Pekin but not the other.
Thanks again for your help and the link, it’s hard to find dosage info just for ducks and now I have other ideas we can try.

 

[alypearce]

@Jenn H Just watched your video and I have a 5 month old pekin drake that bobs his head the exact same way. He also has trouble walking and loses his balance a lot. He seems to have good walking days and bad. I have supplemented him with B complex orally for a couple months but haven't seen improvement. I took him to a vet last week and was told it was most likely a neurological issue which would be costly to diagnose.

Have you seen improvement with your duck after the round of shots? Have you tried any other treatments?

 

[Jenn H]

I'm so glad you reached out. YES my duck is doing SO MUCH BETTER. I'm almost ready to say COMPLETELY CURED!!!! Vet gave us vitamin B complex that we administer via injections. Super cheap, like $8 for a lifetime supply since you only need to inject .05mL once a week right into the breast muscle. We did that for 4 weeks and saw vast improvement (by week 2 she could balance and walk). She still has a slight back and forth swing in her neck, but almost undetectable. Balance is back and she's not flopping all over. If you are close by I have more than enough medicine and syringes (ordered a huge box of them on Amazon) to share. I am in the Green Bay, Wisconsin area so if by some strange twist of luck you are close by, let me know. Otherwise I will attach a picture of the vitaminB complex and maybe you can ask your vet if they are willing to try it. Good luck and please keep me posted!

 

[Isaac 0]

Any of these brands will work.

Durvet High-Level B Complex

Aspen VITA-JEC B Complex

Vitamin B Complex Generic Brand

Vitamin B Complex HP by Vet One