First Aid
First Aid Kit
I keep a first aid kit hand for any accidents small wound or other non vet required situations that may arise. My kit consist of
Vitamin E liquid
Niacin/yeast flakes
Lice/worm treatment
Micronised Aluminium Spray
Manuka honey
There are many more things you can add to your kit to suit and as you go along will more than like end up adding to this list but this is just my essential items.
For curled feet you can purchase chick splints they come in packs pf 3 sizes and can just be secured using vet wrap
Spraddle leg, or Splayed leg, can be caused by an issue during incubation or injury during hatching, but the most common cause is a slippery floor. If a duckling cannot get proper traction on the floor, their legs will slide to one side, preventing them from developing their leg muscles. I use the same method on ducklings as I do on chicks
There may be times where your ducklings or ducks develop a limp this can be caused by a few different reasons.
1.Young ducklings between the ages or 3 weeks -12 weeks can develop a limp due to not receiving enough nicain (b3) in their diet duck need a lot more b3 than chickens do this is the reason we supplement feeds with nutritional yeast or b3 tablets dissolved in water supply. Tablets I use 2 different lots I add 2-3 of the 25mg b complex tablets to newborn water for the first few days in their small water dispenser then at a week old I sprinkle 1 tablespoon per 1 cup of feed of nutritional yeast onto crumble each day. At 3 weeks I start using the 500mg b3 tablets I add 3-4 tablets to 15 litres of water I also do this every few weeks for the adult birds.
2. The other reason young ducklings tend to go lame is feeding foods to high in protein, most commercial starter feeds are designed for kill birds to fatten then up quickly and this is not ideal for bantam breeds it makes them to heavy to quickly and their legs and feet suffer.DO NOT feed your calls starter any longer than 3 weeks I dont every even move to finisher I go straight to a low protein feed at 3 weeks. Hight protein will also cause angel wing in duckling where the wing bone grows twisted causing the wing to stick out or droop.
3. Calluses on ducks feet are also another reason you may have a lame duck, they can get them from dry hard ground as well as standing on rough surfaces. As with any cuts or abrasions I use pink spray or aluminium spray and rest them on nice clean straw for a few days .
Limping ducks
