Normally, I'd suggest you start your own thread, so we don't hijack, the OP's question, but since both of your problems are nearly the same, it may be helpful for you guys to bounce ideas off each other.
So sorry to hear Jemima has been having problems walking for so long. What breed is she (?) Basing off your profile picture I see two Pekins, and a Buff, is that correct (?) Those breeds, especially Pekins are quite heavy, so they tend to be more prone to leg problems then your lighter breeds like Indian Runners, since they grow so fast, and carry so much weight on the leg's that aren't anatomically designed to be bearing that weight for the periods we have them do so.
Most of the time, when you see wild ducks in their natural habitat, they tend to be on water. The water relieves the weight off their legs, while at the same time exercising their legs. The problems we see with ducks now, is their kept on land way too long then they're really supposed to be, so they develop, bumblefoot, strains, sprains, etc. To promote, these legs problems owners will feed diets formulated for other species like chicks, and keep them on hard compacted bare dirt.
Understanding the predisposing leg factors associated with ducks, and correcting any of them that are being incorrectly managed will greatly help in treatment, as well as prevention. So to do a quick re-cap, that would include, providing them with a deep water source that they can play in, providing them with soft grounds to walk on, and lastly, feeding them a nutritionally complete diet. If you do all of those things, which you may have already done, you will have to deal with leg problems a lot less, but on occasions, you will get a duck with a sore leg, and I'll suggest a basic treatment plan below.
If I were to see a limping duck out in the yard, I'd probably wait till they go to bed if the bird is hard to catch, and once in the coop, I'd do a thorough inspection of her feet looking for swelling of the hock area, or dermal surfaces of the footpads, any discoloration, or any warm spots. In most case's with a slight limp, it's either Bumblefoot, or some minor soft tissue damage/sprain. Since you mentioned there is no sign of bumblefoot I'll discuss what I do for minor soft tissue damage in ducks.
I tend to start off by separating the duck into a little soft padded pen area, where she can walk around a little, but not race around the yard and further damage her injury. Providing a source of water, or letting her go into a source of water to reduce any inflammation on her legs will help a lot during treatment, and if wanted, Epsom salts can be added to the mixture to help reduce even more inflammation/swelling. For pain, ideally, and what most vets will give is an NSAID like Meloxicam, but they will also use Carprofen, or Ketoprofen. If you have any of those on hand that I just mentioned, I can give you a dose, but if you don't, you only have a few options.
If you want to reduce pain, swelling, and inflammation, you can give her one 325mg tablet of aspirin and dissolve that in 250ml of water, or give her Ibuprofen, the dosage is 5-10mg/kg two-three times a day. Or if using the liquid ( 100mg per five ML/ 20mg per ml) you can administer 0.11ml per pound of bodyweight. Lastly, if you can get your hands on some DMSO gel for pets, you can dilute half of that down with water, and apply it to her leg a few times a day for additional benefits.
Just a few last things I want to mention is. One, these drugs have been used several times with birds with no problems, but its generally recommended you don't administer them for longer then the two-week mark or GI tract problems may occur. During administration always be on the lookout for any symptoms. Also not, these drugs directly interfere with their pain receptors, that said, they will think they are better even when the injury is not completely healed, So it's vital you keep them penned during treatment, so they don't further, or reinjured their leg.
If the leg or problems keep on continuing with this certain duck you may consider some sort of vertically passed on the nutritional deficiency that is causing her to develop these limps more often, such as a niacin deficiency or a calcium deficiency, and try to supplement her with both of those vitamins.
can somebody please help me thank you
