Duck suddenly can’t walk!! Help!!

[animal and duck lover]

I have a pekin (or white layer, i’m not sure) duck who is not able to walk and only sometimes does and when he does is limping!! It is very swollen right above the foot on the leg but he does not have anything like bumbledfoot or a cut or scrape on it. He also only take sips of water now with his beak and won’t dunk his whole head so he looks sick and he is still eating and drinking thought. I cannot bring inside him inside or separate from the other duck or they get scared. Any advice!!

 

[azygous]

It sounds a lot like Mycoplasma synoviae. It's a respiratory illness that causes fluid to accumulate in the lower legs and feet, causing painful swelling. You can try an antibiotic and see if it helps. I suggest this one. https://www.jedds.com/shop/tylan-soluble-100-g/

 

[Isaac 0]

Could you post a few pictures of the area? If you get a video of him trying to walk, that might be helpful too.

There are a couple of conditions that could cause a swollen joint - as Azygous suggested MS is a possibility. Although the skin may appear intact, a simple fine poke into the skin can allow bacteria to penetrate inside the tissue and cause an infection. Recently, a member had a similar problem and through fine need aspiration of the swelling done by therevet, they were able to determine the swelling was due to a Pseudomonas infection.

As far now, I would try to relieve weight off of the foot. That can be achieved by letting the duck bathe in deep cool water supervised for a while each day, or by making a sling. When it's not in either one of those, the grounds should be soft to reduce the chance of pressure sores.

B vitamins are often helpful in leg problems; you may consider adding nutritional yeast to her feed or give her a 1/4 of a B complex tablet, or a few drops of Cattle B injectable Complex every few days.

If you have a vet near that's familiar with poultry, it may be best to take here there so tests can be done to determine if there is a break, or whether there is some sort of bacterial infection. C&S can be done to determine which antibiotic would be helpful in the case of a bacterial problem. Otherwise, you can treat by an elimination basis and try an antibiotic yourself such as enrofloxacin, clindamycin, etc. All can be found online in fish, or bird form.