Baby Duck with leg problems

[tbitt]

My friend has a few baby ducklings (from my flock) and one is having leg issues.
My flock is fed fresh veggies and fruits, they are fed a waterfowel feed and can free range so the starting flock is pretty darn healthy....

The babies are being fed a waterfowel feed, she is also supplimenting them with Brewers yeast AND she has taken this duck to a vet (the vet is not an aviain vet, but something is better then nothing).

The vet administered special vitamines and applied a splint, the splint ended up hurting the duckling (digging into her, and she could not move, causing her to fall on her face over and over again) so it was removed.

BUT this duckling NEEDS splints. Has anyone else done this? Can anyone help us research it and post pics and links?

We need your help!!!

Thanks all

 

[Wynette]

OH my word - it looks like the leg is broken or malformed. I can't help you, but thought I'd help by bumping...

ETA - it's great that you posted such good pictures - that should help tremendously in getting good feedback!

 

[Oregon Blues]

If a splint doesn't work, sometimes, with bones that small, just wrapping a couple of layers of adhesive bandage tape around it will give enough support to make a difference.

It would have to be removed and replaced often, because ducks grow fast.

Sometimes ducks aren't meant to make it. If you try everything you can think of and it doesn't work, then you evaluate what sort of quality of life the bird would have. If it is tendon damage, that doesn't heal. Even surgical intervention often fails, and seriously, nobody should spend that sort of money on a duck, no matter how well loved it is.

Ducks have weak legs. That is the nature of the animal.

 

[Wynette]

If a splint doesn't work, sometimes, with bones that small, just wrapping a couple of layers of adhesive bandage tape around it will give enough support to make a difference.

It would have to be removed and replaced often, because ducks grow fast.

Sometimes ducks aren't meant to make it. If you try everything you can think of and it doesn't work, then you evaluate what sort of quality of life the bird would have. If it is tendon damage, that doesn't heal. Even surgical intervention often fails, and seriously, nobody should spend that sort of money on a duck, no matter how well loved it is.

Ducks have weak legs. That is the nature of the animal.

This sounds exactly right - though I'm a newbie with ducks (however, I would say the same thing if it was a chick, and I'm very experienced with chicks).

Try some Vet Wrap maybe - it's easy to work with, and sticks to itself but but not the skin. You can get it at feed stores, grain mills (usually) and any Tractor Supply or Family Farm & Home.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I would try vet wrap. my mama henb hurt her leg, now thinking she broke a bone in it, but anyway she needed help since she is taking care of chicks, I used vet wrap I wrapped it loosely just to give her leg the support it needed then i took a piece of paper tape and put it around the vet wrap to help keep it on. She got fresh wrap every 3 days. she is now walking without the wrap and doing great, i know this isn't even close to the same thing, but maybe just the extra support along with brewers yeast maybe enough to help it till it can stand straight on it's own. she wore the vet wrap almost 3 weeks. Like OB says they grow so fast it would have to be changed often but hey maybe worth a try.

 

[tbitt]

You know Wynette, when I first saw the pics I also thought it might be broken. But she just took it ot a vet yesterday. Wouldn't the vet have noticed if it was broke?

I wonder how quickly a baby duck's legs start to re-knitt (is that even a word or spelt wright?) after a break? Would it get hard and unmoveable so quickly?

Organ Blues, I hear what you are saying. Sometimes there is just not anything we can do.... we are kinds of desperate to find something to see if it does help. I'd be heartbroken if it can't be helped!

Thanks for the replies so far!


Anyone else have suggestions? (I like the Vet wrap idea.... that stuff is very kind on skin/fur)

 

[Amiga]

I also like the vet wrap and tape idea, if you are one who considers herbal treatments in addition to the usual, look into comfrey applied externally.

It is supposed to help healing.

 

[croddey19]

I know this post is from 2012 but one of the ducks that I have recently rescued has this SAME issue and I haven't been able to find anything. We're you able to find out either what was wrong or did you find something that helped?

 

[Rowsdower]

I know this post is from 2012 but one of the ducks that I have recently rescued has this SAME issue and I haven't been able to find anything. We're you able to find out either what was wrong or did you find something that helped?

I'm not the OP, but I've dealt with this issue in the past. It appears to be a slipped tendon from the pics. I had some babies a couple of years back with the same problem. My sister, who is a veterinarian, took them home and actually ended up putting teeny pins in their legs and nursing them for about 3-4 weeks. The pins were removed and there was no improvement. After all of that work and suffering on their part and hers, she ended up euthanizing them. I know that some people have had some success. But in my experience, it is a lost cause.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I know this post is from 2012 but one of the ducks that I have recently rescued has this SAME issue and I haven't been able to find anything. We're you able to find out either what was wrong or did you find something that helped?

Have you tried giving niacin or brewers yeast some duckling just need it more than others. plain niacin 100 megs for 2 weeks and under crushed up and added to their drinking water or 1 tab of nutritional or brewers yeast sprinkled over top of 1 cup of feed either or need to be given daily till 10 weeks old. Not baking yeast.