Crippled duckling - is there anything I can do?

[Newtoniamommy]

We got a duckling from orchlens (something like that anyways) - the ducklings had just arrived in the mail a few hours earlier and had not started eating yet. Transit time was from saturday (idiots) to wednesday when we picked him up. He came from Estes hatchery. Basically no matter what I did he would not eat until yesterday late afternoon. He would watch Jack (our cayuga duckling) eat but not do so himself. He(or she) drank readily but when I dissolved food in water or sugar would not touch the stuff. Not gatorade either. So now his right foot will not flatten out- it is pliable but he seems to have no control over it and uses it like a crutch instead of a foot and hobbles everywhere. His legs are not splayed. I was told malnutrition when I called the feed store and that I should have gotten him eating (like I can force him) and that I just need to cull him and they will replace him with the next batch. I do not want another duckling I want this one (blue and white crested) we named him/ her evie and my kids are in love, Jack is in love and the chickens even like the little tyke. Jack is alot bigger at 6 weeks and lifts her up and puts her on her feet alot but she still cannot stretch out her webbing. Any ideas on what to do to help him or her? She loves to sleep in our arms and chases Jack or a human indiscriminately though she falls all over herself doing so. I have never seen this before and do not know how to help. (the duckling sleeps under jacks wing/feathering every night it is so funny watching him try to wriggle under such a tiny wing)

 

[Newtoniamommy]

*note- he did start eating last afternoon to evening*thursday*, there is a bit of sugar water, some fresh water and ground starter 20 percent protein no medications.

 

[WalkingWolf]

tape the foot flat and add avian vitamins to his water.

 

[Newtoniamommy]

How do you tape a foot flat- by that I mean what type of tape and what do I tape it to? Thank you very much.

 

[DuckLady]

Get an old credit card (or other stiff material) and trace around his flattened foot. Then cut out the card so it makes a duck foot shaped shoe bottom. Using vet wrap, or that easy off bandage tape, tape the foot flat onto the shoe bottom, snugly so it won't come off, but not so it cuts off circulation.

I have done this many times with rescue ducklings. After a few days to a week, the foot was fine. The duckling will have trouble walking at first and might trip over the shoe, but leave it on anyway. Rebandage as needed as the duckling grows.

Good luck!

 

[Newtoniamommy]

Thank you so much! That really helps, it is just such a nice little duck! Is the larger duckling a danger to her? Jack seems to think evie is his baby, he snuggles her and grooms her and makes her try to walk but we were lucky to find this duckling at this time of year, no one else has any near us (let alone ordering 10 from a hatchery when we only want one more) and the place we got her is sold out for 2 weeks now. She is so lonely by herself (we originally planned to put them in rabbit hutches next to each other each night but jack learned how to open the door on the two cages with his bill and let her in the first night) She stays far away from the heat lamp because jack does not like it so we keep them in the bathroom and keep the room about 80 degrees or so. We plan on hitting the swap meets this spring for a runner duck or something else possibly but for now I do not know of any in the area till april.