Limping duckling. No injury?

[HomesteadDucks]

One of my female ducklings (a little over 1 month) is limping today. She has no noticeable injuries. No scratch. No infection. I don't believe it is niacin defincency because all my ducks are outside full time now where they have access to grass, bugs and an endless supply of worms from the compost pile (which I have seen them pulling worms out of). I attached some pictures so if anyone has an idea of what it might be please feel free to share.

 

[Miss Lydia]

One of my female ducklings (a little over 1 month) is limping today. She has no noticeable injuries. No scratch. No infection. I don't believe it is niacin defincency because all my ducks are outside full time now where they have access to grass, bugs and an endless supply of worms from the compost pile (which I have seen them pulling worms out of). I attached some pictures so if anyone has an idea of what it might be please feel free to share.

Foot looks fine so maybe a sprain. Sometimes mine will take off running and I hold my breath hoping no one gets a sprained leg. One of my Runners was up inside her house for close to about 3 weeks last year with another Runner for company because of a sprained leg. It takes a while for them to heal so rest is the best med besides water therapy.
@HomesteadDucks

I'd still offer some Nutritional yeast sprinkled over her feed for that boost while recouping it can't hurt and may just help. 1 Tab per cup of feed.

 

[HomesteadDucks]

Thank you. I won't bother her too much. Maybe I'll set up a deeper water tub for her to swim in and maybe supplement a little more nutritional yeast from now on. Hopefully it goes away soon

 

[HomesteadDucks]

Update: It has gotten a little worse. She will still get up for food and water but she will not walk around with the other ducks. The injury is now visible. Her right (knee?) joint is clearly swollen. Is this a characteristic of a sprain?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Update: It has gotten a little worse. She will still get up for food and water but she will not walk around with the other ducks. The injury is now visible. Her right (knee?) joint is clearly swollen. Is this a characteristic of a sprain?

Could be a slipped tendon also what you need to do is put her where she can rest not where she is up trying to keep up which she must have been doing and has now made it worse. Still could be a sprain can you take her to a vet?

I'd give her some Epsom salt soaks this is where you put epsom salt and warm water into a bucket and mix well 1 cup ES to 1 gal of warm water then you sit the duck down into the bucket so she is standing with you holding on to her, put both legs in easier that way. Try and keep her soaking for at least 5 min longer if possible. Then let her rest where she can do very limited walking for now. Is the swelling front back or all over this knee area? You can also feel back of her leg for the tendon if its slipped you should be able to feel it and maybe get it back in normal place.
Info here on leg problems
https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry

FYI don't let her drink ES water it is also a laxative.

 

[HomesteadDucks]

I do have some epsom salt so I will do that now. Where exactly is the tendon supposed to be? Should I push it toward the middle of the joint if its off to the side?

 

[Miss Lydia]

I do have some epsom salt so I will do that now. Where exactly is the tendon supposed to be? Should I push it toward the middle of the joint if its off to the side?

Fix Slipped Achilles Tendon in Hock Joint

Click here to read one little chick's success story of recovery from a Slipped Tendon & Perosis.
Click here to see a video of movement patterns of one chick with Perosis. Editor's note: The video says Perosis can't be treated after 24 hours, but I have not seen any other source say this, so I don't know that is true.
Editor's note: My limited personal experiences with trying to treat Slipped Achilles Tendon have not been successful. Some other people report they have had several successes. However, from my research, it sounds as though the majority of people find that if a few manipulation attempts don't correct the problem, additional attempts only cause significant unnecessary suffering and don't help the chick. Information listed below may not be sufficiently informed. Please do additional research to ensure best treatments. [If you have a success story, photos, or treatment tips, it would be very helpful if you would Contact PoultryPedia so they can be shared to help others!]

• Slipped Achilles Tendon is a condition that results when tendon that runs down through the groove on the back of a bird's hock has slipped out of place off to the side.
• This problem causes a serious form of Splayed Leg that cannot be corrected until the Achilles Tendon is put back in place. It may also lead to Twisted Leg and other problems if not treated soon enough.
• This problem frequently occurs in conjunction with Chondrodystrophy / Achondroplasia & Perosis, conditions in which nutritional deficiencies in parent bird's diet keep chick's bones from developing properly to hold tendon.
  • See "Ensure adequate nutrition to prevent Perosis" section on this page to be sure that your chick feed has appropriate amounts of essential nutrients, and try supplementing in extra if your chick is showing a problem.

• Symptoms:
  • The back of the hock will look flat (Compare to other legs to double-check).
  • The bird won't be able to fully straighten its leg by itself.
  • The bird will likely exhibit pain at least the first few days after injury. Birds may peep or cry repeatedly.
  • The joint will become swollen after a while.
  • Hold the joint between your thumb & finger and roll it back and forth. If the tendon has slipped, you will feel it snap back into place (and back out again, if the bone is not sufficiently developed). If you don't feel the tendon pop in, your bird may instead have a rotated femur, which requires surgery.
  • One leg may rotate out to the side or twist underneath the bird (showing Splayed Leg), depending on whether the tendon has slipped to the outside or inside of the leg.
  • If the tendons are slipped in both legs, the bird will stand & walk hunched down / squatting on its hocks ("elbows"), and may use its wings for balance.
• Treat this problem as soon as possible, so the joint doesn't swell as much (making healing more difficult) and the tendon does not end up shortened or deformed.
  • If the tendon has been out of place more than a few days, it may be unbearably painful to the bird to try to fix it or may cause damage. You could try gradually stretching the leg the leg a number of times a few days to lengthen the tendon, & then try correcting the placement.
    • This is especially true of young chicks because their legs are growing so quickly. Various bones, tendons & muscles will have done a lot of growing in just a couple of days and may have become too short, long or twisted so they can't allow the Achilles tendon to be back in the correct location.
      
• To reposition the tendon into the correct place: Gently pull the upper part of bird's leg a bit behind normal position and then carefully straighten the leg as though bird were stretching its leg back in a pretty normal stretching motion. Press gently against the side of the tendon if needed, and it should pop back into place pretty easily and cause little if any pain. Gently release the leg and it should return to a normal bent position.
  • Some sources recommend pushing the tendon back in place just by pressing with your finger. However, stretching the leg back is a much less painful method.
    
• Sometimes a tendon has a hard time staying in place. It may have been out of place for too long or a chick's hock groove may not yet have developed enough to hold the tendon well (Be sure to provide very good nutrition to support optimal bone growth at this time. Do NOT give Calcium or other nutrients in excessive amounts, however--that could cause other problems.).
  • You can repeat the repositioning of the tendon additional times. This may help the tendon gradually lengthen & shape correctly, while the bone is also growing enough to hold the tendon better.
  • You can put the tendon in place & then ***wrap the joint area with sports tape*** or other tape to help hold it there. Use a thin strip of tape wrapped several times around the joint. Change the tape after a few days to ensure it doesn't restrict circulation too much.
  • It will also help if you put the bird in a Chick / Chicken Sling or Chair and/or put its leg in a cast (such as one made from a bendable drinking straw) for a few days (~5) while re-alignment stabilizes.
    • (Note: There is some debate on whether it is better for feet to not touch the ground--as recommended below-- or to touch the ground a little. Please research further when making the choice.)
    • It is important for the legs not be able to reach the ground. The bird needs to be suspended with its legs just hanging freely or in not-too-tight casts shaped in normal bent angle. In this position, the chick won't try to use its legs as much. Its legs need relaxed rest in their normal position until the tendon(s) have stretched and adjusted back to the right place and shape.
• Even after the tendon is back in place, the bird may continue to have some problems walking for a few days. If so, use a Hock Cushion(s) to protect its hock(s) from chafing & bruising during recovery. Limber the leg by gently stretching the leg several times a day, as you did when repositioning the tendon (Check to make sure the tendon stays in place.). If the chick struggles to figure out correct movements, Physical Therapy or short sessions in a Chick Cup (More info to be added.) may help.

• You can try taking the bird to a veterinarian for Surgery for a tendon that won't go into place or won't stay in place, along with other treatments. Click here to read one little chick's success story.
  
• If there is swelling on hock:

• If infection is part of what is causing joint to swell, there will be pus in the area, though it may be hard to definitely identify beneath the skin. In this case, recovery is usually not possible, and would be EXTREMELY difficult. In almost all cases the bird should be put down to avoid additional suffering.
• If swelling was just caused by displacement that has now been fixed, swelling will go down in 2-4 days.
• If there is non-infected swelling & initial attempts to put the tendon back in place aren't successful, you may try putting the bird in a Chick Chair for a day or two while giving nutritional supplements. This can allow swelling to go down before trying again, and possibly allow the groove to more fully develop correctly. Be sure to regularly stretch/extend the leg during this time to help the tendon lengthen.
  • *Be aware that Chick Chair treatment requires a lot of work, and it may not be successful and may only prolong suffering.

read the above it will explain what your looking for and feeling for. Also check for heat in her leg.

Went out this afternoon to give my flock their treats and one of my Runner females is limping same one that was injured last year, I checked her legs out no swelling or heat so she and one of her sisters will have a small area tomorrow and until she not limping.

 

[HomesteadDucks]

I gave her an Epsom Salt bath for about 20 minutes. She was calm and comfortable (but she kept trying to drink the salt water). I have a small area of the duck coop fenced off for her. This way she can still be with all of the other ducks and have the protection of their coop but she doesn't have to walk around. I just put them inside for the night and while doing so I pulled her leg back into the stretching position and felt around for the tendon. She had no negative reaction to this so I don't think it hurt her too much. I did manage to find the tendon and the good news is that it is in place. It was NOT slipped. The bad news is that her swollen joint is slightly warmer than the other. The swelling is mainly on the inside of the joint based on the fact that I could easily feel the tendon on the back. I could be wrong but I'd imagine this means some sort of infection (though I can't figure out how she possibly got and infection there of all places). Hopefully the Epsom salt helped her with that and I will continue giving her baths and plenty of rest. Any other recommendations or thoughts?

 

[Miss Lydia]

I gave her an Epsom Salt bath for about 20 minutes. She was calm and comfortable (but she kept trying to drink the salt water). I have a small area of the duck coop fenced off for her. This way she can still be with all of the other ducks and have the protection of their coop but she doesn't have to walk around. I just put them inside for the night and while doing so I pulled her leg back into the stretching position and felt around for the tendon. She had no negative reaction to this so I don't think it hurt her too much. I did manage to find the tendon and the good news is that it is in place. It was NOT slipped. The bad news is that her swollen joint is slightly warmer than the other. The swelling is mainly on the inside of the joint based on the fact that I could easily feel the tendon on the back. I could be wrong but I'd imagine this means some sort of infection (though I can't figure out how she possibly got and infection there of all places). Hopefully the Epsom salt helped her with that and I will continue giving her baths and plenty of rest. Any other recommendations or thoughts?

See how it looks at end of day tomorrow with ES soaks and rest. Then post and let me know Instead of putting it in her pool and to keep her from drinking the water use a bucket.

Great to hear the tendon is good. Hopefully with rest and soaks good feed and fresh water she'll recoup quick. When you looked at her leg you couldn't see any place where she could have cut herself on something? That can also be a way for infection to set in.

 

[HomesteadDucks]

Okay sounds good! I'll update tomorrow. And no, I checked for cuts or anything and saw no signs of anything. If it is actually infected there must be a cut that I completely overlooked or maybe its internal??? I know that in humans at least, my injuries will get warm even without an infection. Perhaps its just increased blood flow to aid healing. I'll just take it one step at a time. As it progresses I'm sure our questions will answer themselves.