So, it didn’t really phase me all that much when the ducks – especially the mallard – wasn’t standing and running about quite as much as they had been previously. The ducks gain grow and gain weight extremely rapidly {as has already been mentioned about a bazillion times} and niacin is key for bone growth, development, and strength. A day or so had passed and, when I stopped in to check on the the little ones, the mallard seemed to be struggling to remain standing. You can add brewerโs yeast to โฆ However, finding the answers to the following questions proved a bit more difficult: After quite a bit of searching, this is what I discovered: So, the following morning {and after an apparently relatively sleepless night filled with duck worry} Krista went in search of niacin and/or brewers yeast. Consequently, overdose on this drug can harm the young ducklings. As they continued to grow – which, by the way, appears to occur at a MUCH greater rate than the chicks – and as the days got nicer, they progressed to a portable, outdoor dog kennel and a wading pool. There's good evidence that it helps reduce atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries in some people. Failing to do this may result in niacin deficiencies. Ducklings and goslings need more niacin than many commercial chick starter feeds provide, so be on the lookout for niacin deficiency: weak or bowed legs, stunted growth, and enlarged hocks. Because of how small the amount is, it is easy to think you can give your birds too much. They donโt need it, and since they eat more than chickens they can actually overdose on the medication. You can โฆ However, the doctor said he doesn't have a problem with his patients using Emergen-C โ as long as they understand the risks (as well as the seemingly barely-there benefits). Something kept bugging me, though – I couldn’t put my finger on it right away and it was just a little nagging sensation, but it kept with me. I feed them food specially made for waterfowl, and apparently chickens and waterfowl have the same nutritional needs, except waterfowl need more niacin. Anyhow, this is what I discovered – because of the incredibly rapid growth, ducks have a much higher need for niacin {aka, B3} than the chicks do. The medication is for coccidiosis, which ducks are pretty resistant to, by the way. Once we got the whole niacin debacle figured out and the ducks started standing and walking like normal ducks again, we got them outside to swim! Getting them out of the kennel and back into the shop office was a relatively…interesting…endeavor the first time or two. I tried getting everyone to run around the tank, which they were all happy to do…except for the ducks. Scary, huh? You can get the niacin at a drugstore, a health food store, or Amazon {hint…Amazon is way easier}. So, steer clear of the medicated feed bags and youโll be good. Ducklings have a higher need for niacin for health than baby chicks do. Care and Keeping of Chickens. A deficiency can cause leg problems while they are growing. I don't find my current flock hard to care for at all. Baby ducks can eat the same starter feed that chicks do, but they need more niacin than chickens. In the niacin-deficient hen, weight loss, reduced egg production, and a marked decrease in hatchability can result. For example, in about a week, your body will โget used toโ 50 mg once per day, and you will no longer experience flushing. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! I never found a discrete answer to the whole “can the ducks OD on niacin”, which automatically ruled out brewers yeast for me because I would ALWAYS be worried that I was either sprinkling “too much” or “too little” on their food/in their water. Yes, the chickens can have extra niacin. In fact, they seemed downright…weak in the knees. Niacin has other benefits. Where {again, at a total loss for what to do} we dosed them with the flush free niacin. Log in. So, we would let them swim for a bit and then pat them dry and put them back in the brooder. And, they had been getting more niacin {unbeknownst to any of us} at the very beginning because we had been supplementing their water with probiotics and electrolytes to help them through the stressful transition of being relocated, etc. Yes, the chickens can have extra niacin. Niacin is a B vitamin that's made and used by your body to turn food into energy. Down the road they do it themselves but, in the beginning, it’s all mama all the time. A great, readily available and fairy cheap, solution for niacin is brewerโs yeast. Unless you can find duck starter/grower, chick feed is going to be the answer to your needs. You can feed niacin by adding brewerโs yeast to their feed, at a rate of about 1/2 cup of brewerโs yeast per 10 pounds of feed. Now there are a lot of people who say that you can raise ducks and geese on chick starter. For meat ducks, you will want breeds like: Pekin Ducks; Moulards; Or raise Muscovy ducks. Is it safe to give the chickens extra niacin? Yes, adult ducks need niacin. It helps keep your nervous system, digestive system and skin healthy.Niacin (vitamin B-3) is often part of a daily multivitamin, but most people get enough niacin from the food they eat. niacin supplements to the ducklings’ water, http://metzerfarms.blogspot.com/2011/03/are-my-ducklings-leg-problems-due-to.html. They eat a lot more than chicks and can easily overdose on the medication. Now that we’ve got them outside in the coop, we’re trying to figure out an ingenious way to attach the portable kennel to the temporary run…more on that to come, I’m sure. Apparently, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing and, unfortunately, Emergen-C's tasty flavor makes it all too easy to overdose on the stuff. The niacin can be given in the form of brewers yeast {which is a natural source of niacin, apparently} being sprinkled on their food or water OR as a crushed/ground tablet or capsule of niacin being mixed with water. In the beginning they had been really into following the chickens or just wandering around in the brooder {aka, horse tank}. In addition, niacin is an FDA-approved treatment for pellagra, a rare condition that develops from niacin deโฆ At ~2 wk of age, the tongue, oral cavity, and esophagus become distinctly inflamed. Without the proper levels of Niacin, your ducklings may develop leg issues such as bowing or splaying. 30 ($0.11/Count) But, once we discovered that, in duck world, frozen peas are the BEST THING EVER* training them to go where we wanted was pretty easy.