8 week old Rouen can't walk

[Itty-bitty-duck]

Hi there
I work at a feed store and one of our customers came in yesterday with a female 8 week old Rouen who cannot walk, has louder hen normal breathing and discoloured patches on her feet that are flakey.
I took the little girl home and named her Bug. She can't walk properly, when she tries to step which isn't often and is usually when I walk out of the room she steps on her knees and feet, she can't stand on just her feet alone, the knee must be on the ground.
She seems fine in water and will stand normally, and I have given her a water soluble vitamin mix and I put vitamin E cream on her feet.
She is a sweet little girl and I don't know what else I can do for her. Does anyone have any thoughts? Her beak also gets quite warm. We have medication for poultry at our store that has penicillin in it but I don't know if she can have that.
She was being fed an organic feed and I now have her on duck grower as that is what my anconas are on
Someone help?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hi there
I work at a feed store and one of our customers came in yesterday with a female 8 week old Rouen who cannot walk, has louder hen normal breathing and discoloured patches on her feet that are flakey.
I took the little girl home and named her Bug. She can't walk properly, when she tries to step which isn't often and is usually when I walk out of the room she steps on her knees and feet, she can't stand on just her feet alone, the knee must be on the ground.
She seems fine in water and will stand normally, and I have given her a water soluble vitamin mix and I put vitamin E cream on her feet.
She is a sweet little girl and I don't know what else I can do for her. Does anyone have any thoughts? Her beak also gets quite warm. We have medication for poultry at our store that has penicillin in it but I don't know if she can have that.
She was being fed an organic feed and I now have her on duck grower as that is what my anconas are on
Someone help?

So sweet of you to take her i n and try to help her. giving her as much water therapy as possible may help, that takes alot of pressure off the legs and back and helps them build muscle moving around in the water. also the vitamins will help too, I'd also look and see how much niacin is in these vitamins. already having ducks you are probably aware that some ducklings no matter what you do can still get a deficiency in this vitamin so making sure these vitamins have an adequate amount of the B vits especially niacin will help also, you can also use brewers yeast sprinkled over the feed. Do you think the duck may have been dropped or injured? and Welcome to BYC.

 

[Itty-bitty-duck]

My ducks are my babies, I raised my 2 anconas as day olds and they still consider me mom, even taught them to give kisses for peas. The new litte Rouen has been sleeping in my arms for 3 nights now, she freaks if I leave the room. I've started her on niacin and a multivitamin. She didn't eat today so I had to force feed but she took it like a champ. Her beak is still warm but the water has been good. She's even started taking the odd step and has stood up to get the water off her chest after I take her out of the tub. Should she be given anything for the warm beak?

 

[Miss Lydia]

My ducks are my babies, I raised my 2 anconas as day olds and they still consider me mom, even taught them to give kisses for peas. The new litte Rouen has been sleeping in my arms for 3 nights now, she freaks if I leave the room. I've started her on niacin and a multivitamin. She didn't eat today so I had to force feed but she took it like a champ. Her beak is still warm but the water has been good. She's even started taking the odd step and has stood up to get the water off her chest after I take her out of the tub. Should she be given anything for the warm beak?

If you feel she may have an infection then you might want to try an oral antibiotic but they can cause harm also so be sure first. before using one. warm bill like meaning you think she is running a fever? Because of the leg? Does the leg look infected, hot to touch, swollen? I think she couldn't be in better hands, and hopefully with your TLC she'll make a recovery, being 8 weeks old and not knowing how long she has been this way might make her recovery more difficult but lets hope for the best and she'll be up walking soon. Keep us updated.

 

[Itty-bitty-duck]

Im not entirely sure if she is running a fever her beak just gets very hot. There is no mark on her leg, I dont think it was an injury I think this is a deficiency or something she was born with. She took a few steps in the kitchen this morning so she could move to sit on my feet. Its a bit of an improvement, I think the multivitamin and the niacin is helping. I worry that I have had to resort to forcefeeding. I left her for a day and she didnt eat, she would drink however. But I didnt want her going without food.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Im not entirely sure if she is running a fever her beak just gets very hot. There is no mark on her leg, I dont think it was an injury I think this is a deficiency or something she was born with. She took a few steps in the kitchen this morning so she could move to sit on my feet. Its a bit of an improvement, I think the multivitamin and the niacin is helping. I worry that I have had to resort to forcefeeding. I left her for a day and she didnt eat, she would drink however. But I didnt want her going without food.

I know a member on here that can give you good info on force feeding, unless your already experienced in it. casportpony she is awesome with advice and experienced. Might want to give her a PM. So glad to hear of improvements. even small ones to me are big.

 

[Itty-bitty-duck]

Handfeeding hasnt been a problem, she take it like a champ and thats how im getting the niacin and multivitamin into her. My worry is her not eating on her own. The diet that she was being fed by her previous owner is organic and I switched her to the duck grower that my 2 anconas Boo and Binx are eating. The duck grower, as it turns out, has more niacin. I just dont want to ahve to focefeed for the rest of her life.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Handfeeding hasnt been a problem, she take it like a champ and thats how im getting the niacin and multivitamin into her. My worry is her not eating on her own. The diet that she was being fed by her previous owner is organic and I switched her to the duck grower that my 2 anconas Boo and Binx are eating. The duck grower, as it turns out, has more niacin. I just dont want to ahve to focefeed for the rest of her life.

Hopefully not, maybe try wetting her feed some, try a small amount using warm water with a tad of Apple Cider vinegar over top, ACV is a good tonic and will keep the wet feed from molding. and mine love their feed moistened. not sopping just moistened.kinda like how cornmeal looks when making corn bread.

 

[Amiga]

Jumping in here, my first impression is she is malnourished. I wonder if she was given food with water 24/7 or not.

Miss Lydia is giving good advice. It is difficult sometimes to know if there is a systemic infection. Ducks can get a little warm when stressed, seems to me. But watch for that - how is her poop?