Duck Weakness in Legs and Foamy Eyes

[Chockie12]

Hey y’all!

I have a duck that I cannot for the life of me figure out. She is a 1.5yr old Pekin and since late July her legs have progressively gotten worse. She started limping and we found some bumble foot on her pad which we healed up, but after that she started tripping over her feet when she walked. We have had to put padding on her breastbone and the edges of her wings as she falls so much that those areas have become raw. However, there is nothing apparently wrong with her legs - we can push on them and move all the joints around with no issue, both on our end and on her end with pain. When we let the other ducks free range she no longer makes the effort to join them in their little clique - Lately she does not seem to want to move around very much at all, although she is still eating and drinking fine. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Last month, her eyes also started foaming up and we were able to treat it using an antibiotic eye cream. It has recently come back, though, but she has no breathing issues accompanying it. Due to her lameness one of our chickens has been consistently bullying her, particularly scratching at her head; is it possible this is where the eye infection is coming from?

 

[Emelyn]

Hey y’all!

I have a duck that I cannot for the life of me figure out. She is a 1.5yr old Pekin and since late July her legs have progressively gotten worse. She started limping and we found some bumble foot on her pad which we healed up, but after that she started tripping over her feet when she walked. We have had to put padding on her breastbone and the edges of her wings as she falls so much that those areas have become raw. However, there is nothing apparently wrong with her legs - we can push on them and move all the joints around with no issue, both on our end and on her end with pain. When we let the other ducks free range she no longer makes the effort to join them in their little clique - Lately she does not seem to want to move around very much at all, although she is still eating and drinking fine. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Last month, her eyes also started foaming up and we were able to treat it using an antibiotic eye cream. It has recently come back, though, but she has no breathing issues accompanying it. Due to her lameness one of our chickens has been consistently bullying her, particularly scratching at her head; is it possible this is where the eye infection is coming from?

Maybe she's overweight? Pekins are known to be prone to more diseases and leg problems from their weight. You can feed her VetRX for the respiratory infection (you can order it online or get it from TSC or other farm store). You have to feed her at least half a cap full and rub it also under her wings. It should help with her eye infection (most likely caused by a respiratory infection you don't see) . Here's a picture of the medicine just in case.

 

[Eggcessive]

Do you give extra riboflavin or B complex? That is a common cause of leg problems in ducks. Does she have clean water all day to dunk her head into to keep her eyes clean? Eye bubbles can sometimes be a sign of mycoplasma or MG, a respiratory disease. I would clean the eyes twice a day and apply Terramycin eye ointment into the eyes. You can also post on the Duck forum under the Forum heading above.

 

[Quatie]

Pekins are terrible at cleaning themselves even in the best of condition. If she is having any leg issues, she is likely not cleaning herself properly. I would give her like warm baths to help her properly clean her nares and eyes. If you make it a deep bath it is good therapy to help heal the leg.

If she is not moving much, I would seperate her out so you can better monitor her intake and keeps her movement restricted. Too much movement can lead to easy reinjury, and she needs rest, even when she starts to move again. Leg injuries can take time to heal. During that time, some start eating less. All of the severe leg injuries I have dealt with have needed to be tube feed. They eat some, but no where near enough. If notice light green poop, this a sign she needs tube feeding.

I would also look for inflammation on the joint. The leg will feel warm if it is inflamed. Epsom salt compress can help with any inflammation and pain. NSAIDs can also be used to help with this as well.

I would also look for a slipped tendon. It can happen at any age. But it could just be a small fracture, or pulled muscle. Any which would be easy to reinjure.

 

[Quatie]

How is your duck doing?

 

[Crazy Maizie]

What feed is she on?
Does she have fresh clean water deep enough to dip her entire head in?
Ducks are prone to foamy eye due to not dipping their head in water whether it's available or not. Foamy eye is not always a respiratory issue in ducks. If she has water and is using it like shes supposed to, try teramycin for the eye issue.
As for the lameness if she's not getting extra niacin, I would starting adding that either with the super b complex or nutritional yeast. Most pekins need more niacin even when on duck feed. They are actually considered meat birds and are not bred to live past a certain age. So, since a lot of people keep them as pets they are prone to leg issues as well as other issues as they age.