Newborn duckling with a limp.

[Miss Lydia]

Give Painkiller

• CAUTION: Do NOT give Ibuprofin (Advil, etc.) or Acetaminophen (Tylenol, etc.) to birds! Those are harmful to them.
• Buffered aspirin (such as Bayer, etc.) can be used for a chicken to help reduce:
  • Stress, listlessness, discomfort, pain
  • Fever
  • Swelling / inflammation that is not caused by bleeding (Aspirin thins blod and keeps it from clotting as quickly as normal.)
    • Birds bruise more easily when on aspirin.
    • You should wait until internal and external injuries have begun to heal before using aspirin.
  • Note: A standard baby Aspirin is 80 mg, and a standard adult Aspirin pill is 325 mg.
  • Dose for chickens: Approx. 25 mg per pound of chicken's body weight each day.
    • Examples: For a 6-lb. Large Fowl Leghorn rooster, 2 times per day give 1/2 of a regular aspirin ( = ~300 mg total per day).
      For a Bantam 1.6-lb. Bantam Leghorn rooster, 2 times per day give 1/2 of a baby aspirin (= ~75 mg total per day).
  • To administer:
    • To give immediately or in individual administrations: Crush up and split dose up into 2 or 3 administrations per day. Sprinkle the powder on a small tasty treat such as fruit or yogurt and give to the chicken.
    • To have the chicken self-administer throughout the day: Crush up the total daily dose and dissolve in the approximate amount of water that the chicken drinks each day. Pour into chicken's drinking container.
• Never give a chicken any kind of painkiller with 'caine' in the name. These are EXTREMELY toxic to chickens.
  • Do NOT use a Triple Antibiotic Ointment with Painkiller because almost all include '-caine' ingredients.
    • Exception: Neosporin with Painkiller products usually only use Pramoxine HCl as the painkiller ingredient, and that is alright for chickens.

This is for chickens not sure if it pertains to water fowl.

 

[Miss Lydia]

http://msucares.com/poultry/diseases/solutions.html

 

[aychbe]

@Miss Lydia thanks for those links.

I ended up using the baby aspirin route. I also spoke with a few of the breeders I know and they said that with that type of swelling, I should use antibiotics just to be on the safe side. So I did and I'm seeing results.

Over the weekend, its leg began peeling as the swelling started to go down. Because of the difference in the new skin color, I noticed what appeared to be a puncture wound where I'm guessing it was a compound fracture. I never saw any blood so I'm assuming that it was minor and may not have completely pierced the skin.

I have been putting both the inside ducklings in warm water about as deep as their legs are and letting them soak. I've given up on the salt wraps as the little one was often very squirmish and I felt that may be too stressful for it.

I have no time table on when I'll attempt to reunite them with the flock but when the swelling goes completely away, I will start exercising them in water to get their leg strength up. When I think they're good, I'll run them some. When they can run, I'll see how it goes with the flock.

I'm pretty sure they'll be welcomed back because mom was friendly when I put them out briefly last week. I hatched 2/3 of my adults and they're imprinted on to me so if the babies come back with my scent on them (which I don't know if there's any truth to scent being a rejecting factor with ducks) I don't think they'll see this as a means for hostility.

 

[Miss Lydia]

@Miss Lydia thanks for those links.

I ended up using the baby aspirin route. I also spoke with a few of the breeders I know and they said that with that type of swelling, I should use antibiotics just to be on the safe side. So I did and I'm seeing results.

Over the weekend, its leg began peeling as the swelling started to go down. Because of the difference in the new skin color, I noticed what appeared to be a puncture wound where I'm guessing it was a compound fracture. I never saw any blood so I'm assuming that it was minor and may not have completely pierced the skin.

I have been putting both the inside ducklings in warm water about as deep as their legs are and letting them soak. I've given up on the salt wraps as the little one was often very squirmish and I felt that may be too stressful for it.

I have no time table on when I'll attempt to reunite them with the flock but when the swelling goes completely away, I will start exercising them in water to get their leg strength up. When I think they're good, I'll run them some. When they can run, I'll see how it goes with the flock.

I'm pretty sure they'll be welcomed back because mom was friendly when I put them out briefly last week. I hatched 2/3 of my adults and they're imprinted on to me so if the babies come back with my scent on them (which I don't know if there's any truth to scent being a rejecting factor with ducks) I don't think they'll see this as a means for hostility.

@aychbe thanks for the update, poor lil one has been through alot in it's short life . I am glad to hear swelling is going down and your seeing improvement. What do you mean by running them? ducks don't run so good so maybe just letting them have exercise in your house would be enough plus the water therapy to build the legs up. Anyway hope the lil one continues to make progress and they can be happily accepted back in the flock when the time comes. What antibiotic was recommended in case someone else comes in with a problem like this?

 

[aychbe]

@aychbe
    thanks for the update, poor lil one has been through alot in it's short life . I am glad to hear swelling is going down and your seeing improvement. What do you mean by running them? ducks don't run so good so maybe just letting them have exercise in your house would be enough plus the water therapy to build the legs up. Anyway hope the lil one continues to make progress and they can be happily accepted back in the flock when the time comes. What antibiotic was recommended in case someone else comes in with a problem like this?

I spoke with 2 breeders. One said Penicillin, the other said duramycin. I had duramycin so I went with that.

By running, I meant having their legs touch the ground and support their body weight, not actually running. There's a lot of potential hazards in the yard that can hang them up (rocks, branches, uneven ground, etc) and I need them to be able to handle those.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I spoke with 2 breeders. One said Penicillin, the other said duramycin. I had duramycin so I went with that.

By running, I meant having their legs touch the ground and support their body weight, not actually running. There's a lot of potential hazards in the yard that can hang them up (rocks, branches, uneven ground, etc) and I need them to be able to handle those.

Hows the little one doing? Since you started the duramycin?

 

[aychbe]

Hows the little one doing? Since you started the  duramycin? 

A lot better. For the first time since I brought them in, I saw it standing instead of just laying around. There is still swelling but it's minimal at this point. When I soak them later, I may let them swim a little to see how it does. They're getting big and starting to consume enough food and make enough of a mess that I'm hoping that I can get them back outside sooner than later... it's not much fun for them either having to spend all day in a 100 gallon storage container, especially when the outside ducklings get to swim in the pond and eat bugs!

 

[Miss Lydia]

A lot better. For the first time since I brought them in, I saw it standing instead of just laying around. There is still swelling but it's minimal at this point. When I soak them later, I may let them swim a little to see how it does. They're getting big and starting to consume enough food and make enough of a mess that I'm hoping that I can get them back outside sooner than later... it's not much fun for them either having to spend all day in a 100 gallon storage container, especially when the outside ducklings get to swim in the pond and eat bugs!

I know it would be nice to have them out but be careful you don't want ot have to bring them back in again.. I bet they will love being able to swim great way to build those leg muscles too. Great news the lil one is doing so well @aychbe

 

[aychbe]

Today was the day. I had been exercising them and the injured one was showing no signs of distress. I put the outside to see how they'd handle being in the yard and they took off running to their mother. I watched them for a few hours and it was doing fine. Both the ducks I had inside were a little wobbly at first but they seemed to be doing fine. Their mother accepted them. The other ducklings pecked at them some but I assume they're feeling each other out. The other female chased all the ducklings a little bit but didn't focus directly on the 2 I had kept inside. The drake only nudged them to their mother, which I observed him doing with the 2 that had been outside the whole time as well. I felt comfortable enough to leave them out when I left for work. Hopefully all is well when I return.

I have someone interested in buying some of them so I figured that it's best for me to reintroduce them now because if 2 of them are gone the flock may not accept them back so easily.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Today was the day. I had been exercising them and the injured one was showing no signs of distress. I put the outside to see how they'd handle being in the yard and they took off running to their mother. I watched them for a few hours and it was doing fine. Both the ducks I had inside were a little wobbly at first but they seemed to be doing fine. Their mother accepted them. The other ducklings pecked at them some but I assume they're feeling each other out. The other female chased all the ducklings a little bit but didn't focus directly on the 2 I had kept inside. The drake only nudged them to their mother, which I observed him doing with the 2 that had been outside the whole time as well. I felt comfortable enough to leave them out when I left for work. Hopefully all is well when I return.

I have someone interested in buying some of them so I figured that it's best for me to reintroduce them now because if 2 of them are gone the flock may not accept them back so easily.

I hope you find everything good when you get home @aychbe .