AMIGA - Need Quick Duck With Bum Leg Advice

[DianaTX]

Hi, This note is for Amiga,
I'm Diana from TX. I'm staying in an RV park where there's a pond and some ducks (6) and one of the females has injured her leg. She's been limping on it for several weeks now. Some days it seemed to get better and other days worse. This morning I noticed her regular male was with the two other females - (there is a story here: "Cotton-top", "Gimpy's" male mate, would run around trying to mate with "King Mallard's" two girls, but poor KM got run over or something mysterious happened to him that caused him to fall down dead on the side of the road, leaving the two girls and "Pierre" - (he's a lover not a fighter) hiding in the bushes on the other side of the road away from "Cotton-top" the rapist. During the course of several weeks I would not see the girls but Pierre got tired of all the shenanigans and returned home to the park's pond eventually making friends again with Cotton-top and Gimpy).

Over this period the three would come to my RV for corn feeding. If they didn't show up I would walk over to the pond and drop some feed for them and check up on them. I also would check up on the girls, try to find them and discovered a continuation of a "bayou" where they would be hiding out, "on the other side of the busy road". Turns out there was a small under road bayou passage. When they needed corn they would come home and show up a few days later.

I was worried when Gimpy didn't show up this morning for the usual feeding/foraging and got out to go find her. Thought she'd be on her nest of 6 eggs - took her awhile to go sit on them. Then I learned they won't until all eggs are laid. So no Gimpy until then I spot Pierre mounted on her and ding-dong Cotton-top allowing his mate to be mounted by of all ducks, Pierre. His own girl won't hang with him because he's such a pansy. I noticed that Gimpy really couldn't get away so she just layed there taking the mounting.

Then I started to walk over toward the three of them to give Gimpy some relief because I knew she had a bum leg. Finally Pierre runs away and Cotton-top too and she's left behind looking real bad. She's never looked so lame on her right leg and she was looking like she was in some pain. She recognized me and tried to hop on over to me. I took her some corn which she proceeded to eat hastily while in a laying position. She would limp off wobbly, barely, and then squat and rest. I feel so bad for her. She may not make it. Cotton-top has abandoned her and now the two other girls have become part of his new harem (King Mallard was the alpha male) along with Pierre. So all this time that Gimpy has been a faithful mate, she's "the odd man" out with even the lowliest member of the group (Pierre) taking advantage of her, which he NEVER got to do before because he was just spineless. Haha. Don't get me wrong - they each have their own personality and I love Pierre because he's pretty sweet and even tempered. But in the soap opera world of these here ducks, Pierre is finally getting some, but to the dismay of poor Ms. Gimpy.

I read most of what to do for Gimpy's leg from the case above (this thread) and it looks so similar to Gimpy's case. How do they even hurt themselves like this - I'm guessing from all the raping going on. Either way, I think I can try to help Gimpy. The park owner raised these ducks from babies, but he's not that fully vested by now, I'm guessing. There may be a way that I can single her out and give her some TLC. I'll need to get some kind of a kennel to keep her in and safe at night. We've got a couple ferral cats that come out at night. There's a fenced in area for small equipment and the owner mentioned one of the places he continued to raise the ducks after his wife said the bath tub was forever more off limits! Ha. So I'd sure like to see Gimpy have a chance at recovering.

So to reiterate: E.S. Compress wrapped around bum leg, Poultry Vitamins, Topical Antibiotic and possibly a stint?? Place in a quiet environment, with food and water and a little swimming pool too or no? Keep her this way for as long as she begins to show good progress. Could be several weeks, yes?

I've never done something like this before but I'm willing to give it a try. I don't know if I'll be able to catch Gimpy but by the way she's laying down so quickly and easily I might could catch her. But I should be prepared to take her to the hospital ward (the equipment area of the park) and get her taken care of. Stuff like this, dental infections, always seem to fall on a weekend when everything and everyone is closed until after the holiday weekend. Dang murphy's law!

Let me know if you got any other helpful tidbits of info that I should know about before I begin the rescue. Please tell me where I can get these healing supplies. There is a feed store in town that I could ask if they carry any of the vitamins and epsom stuff. Hope they do. Would make it much easier for me.

Thanks for your help.
Diana K - TX (I don't know if I'm supposed to do this or not but it may be quicker to get w me direct)
832 5 27 3270

 

[DianaTX]

Ok, Amiga. Got your last PM. Will try to work on those things relating to probiotics, electrolytes and vitamins because I believe I have the stuff to do it on hand.

I've reached my "daily limit of 2 private messages" for today - geez! Hope you get to see this post to my thread. Thanks again. Talk to ya tomorrow if you don't.

Yes, TX temps have been rising. Not quite 120F yet (thank God!) but I believe I can expect the heat to warm the pool. We're in the 80's right now. Have to figure out the housing for her tho, may take a little longer, and her eggs. Hmmm? We'll see.

I've seen these ducks fly but never away only away from Cotton Top and into the pond. Who knows, maybe Gimpy will welcome the respite.

Thanks again!!

 

[Amiga]

Mercy, I did not know about the 2 pm limit. Okay.

We can chat publicly through this thread.

If you're in the 80's already, then a black concrete mixing pan should keep the water nice and warm. And at the same time, the water can get scuzzy quickly. Well, it's always something.

In case anyone is interested in this case, we are trying to help a duck who needs care over a holiday weekend. Anyone been there??? So the alternatives for vitamins, electrolytes, probiotics, etc.

And I'll put in a plug for having a duck medicine chest set up with some items to have on hand in case it's a night, weekend, holiday, snowstorm, power outage, personal budget crisis, etc.

 

[DianaTX]

Yea, sorry to any helpful members out there. Didn't mean to exclude but just read another member's dilemma with a lame duck and found Amiga's input helpful. I welcome any and all input. This forum is pretty neat and loving the quick helpers very much.

PS: Don't know if the 2 PM limit is due to me being a "new egg" here. Could be. ?

 

[Amiga]

Yea, sorry to any helpful members out there. Didn't mean to exclude but just read another member's dilemma with a lame duck and found Amiga's input helpful. I welcome any and all input. This forum is pretty neat and loving the quick helpers very much.

PS: Don't know if the 2 PM limit is due to me being a "new egg" here. Could be. ?

I am thinking that's the case. I seem to recall a hold on photo uploads until someone had x number of posts on the forum. Cannot imagine some of the interesting bots that try to crash the party.

 

[DianaTX]

Aureomycin by Manna Pro


Is this a good one to use in the case of Gimpy? Wonder if the feed places have antibiotics.

 

[Amiga]

Some feed places do. The trick is using the right one for the problem. At this point I might stick with topical (is that one a topic or oral?), but if your gut says to give her oral antibiotic, you may want to go with that. There are pro's and con's, as you know.

 

[DianaTX]

Well, today Gimpy is continuing laying on her nest. I have not been able to do anything because she's finally sitting on her nest. All this other time she's been running around or napping under a tree way over there. So I have been somewhat concerned because she's been on her nest now for 3 days straight. She's loosing feathers. I don't think she's eaten or drank anything - she hasnt moved from the nest. Today, just now I took her over some peas, she nibbled at them but seems kind of puney. But she got scared and flaired up a couple times and I didn't want to startle her. She's not eating much. I don't know what I should do. I ordered some layer pellets and another type of feed and should get it by Friday (Amazon). The local place here didn't have much unfortunately. When they nest do they sit on them until they hatch with no eating. What's the process. Is she withering away and just using the nest as a place to recuperate or is she just doing double duty - nesting and healing? What would you do?

 

[Amiga]

Well, today Gimpy is continuing laying on her nest. I have not been able to do anything because she's finally sitting on her nest. All this other time she's been running around or napping under a tree way over there. So I have been somewhat concerned because she's been on her nest now for 3 days straight. She's loosing feathers. I don't think she's eaten or drank anything - she hasnt moved from the nest. Today, just now I took her over some peas, she nibbled at them but seems kind of puney. But she got scared and flaired up a couple times and I didn't want to startle her. She's not eating much. I don't know what I should do. I ordered some layer pellets and another type of feed and should get it by Friday (Amazon). The local place here didn't have much unfortunately. When they nest do they sit on them until they hatch with no eating. What's the process. Is she withering away and just using the nest as a place to recuperate or is she just doing double duty - nesting and healing? What would you do?

I would be tempted to get her off the nest and get over being broody, but I would think long and hard about it, because whatever approach you take, there is going to be stress.

Forgive me, I lose track of how everything is located. Is her nest in a safe place? If not, move it, eggs and her, and if that breaks her broody, so be it. There will, Lord willing, be other opportunities for her to brood. If it is in a safe place, get fresh water with nutri-drench or other poultry vitamins, and food near her.

Some ducks go into intense broody mode, not eating much, losing body condition. I would put poultry nutri-drench in her water and once a week vitamin-electrolyte-probiotic mix. Some ducks dash off the nest two or three times a day to poop, eat, and drink, then back onto the nest.

 

[DianaTX]

Her nest is sitting in dead reeds on the pond's edge. I could take one big step and reach over to her albeit very muddy and slippery. The pond is a quarter of a football field if that. And along one side there are reeds which had recently been dead and clumping at the pond's edge forming areas for the female ducks to create nests for laying eggs. But the green reeds have now grown full and tall so that's where she's been "brooding". Safe? I suppose anything could get to her but that would only be ferral cats, maybe a snake. Everyone keeps their dogs away and most others know she's in there so they watch and I don't see what would bother her there.

I am thinking hard about what to do. I would have to build a pen for her, nothing fancy but just having the basic things for her would be much easier to care for her. Right now, getting a bowl of water or feed for that matter is tricky from where her nest is. There's not really a good place to situate feeding bowls of food and water. This leads me to believe that the pen is a better place to care for her. But on the other hand, if I tried hard ignoring her flair ups I could probably make a place for the food and such, but then again what comes to mind is having the food out...what else would it attract?? Uuugh. So, back to the pen idea. I'm sorry to sound so wishy washy about making a move. I just want to be prepared to do the right thing. It would be a small undertaking and time is of the essence I guess.