Duck with Broken Foot

[mskupcake]

So I'm in need of help and/or advice.
I have a 3 month old muscovy female duck & Monday of this week we found her across the road at my neighbors unable to walk. We picked her up & there was lots of blood. Freaking out I took her to the vet & he concluded her foot had been crushed...... The joint on her lower leg has tiny broken bones, there is nothing they can do. All they said was to keep her confined & hope for the best.
She can't stand (well she can for a minute or 2 on her good leg but she is wobbly)
Has anyone had something similar happen?
Please I need good news! I love her so much!

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[Amiga]

@Miss Lydia
@casportpony
@Orca5094
@sourland

Ducks can rebound from awful injuries, that I know.

I don't know if it would be a good idea, exactly, but I wonder if the foot could be amputated. Did the vet say anything about that? There are now duck foot prosthetics available.

One risk is infection - did the vet provide any antibiotic?

Perhaps you can make a cast or a splint to hold the foot together properly for it to heal.

Giving her time floating in lukewarm water may help - also, you might try setting up a hammock or sling to keep the weight off her foot.

Good nutrition, including poultry vitamins in her water once a week, is always a good idea.

And comfrey is an herb you can put on the foot - it is said to help accelerate healing (there was a study done and it does stimulate healthy cell reproduction).

 

[mskupcake]

Ducks can rebound from awful injuries, that I know.

I don't know if it would be a good idea, exactly, but I wonder if the foot could be amputated.  Did the vet say anything about that?  There are now duck foot prosthetics available.

One risk is infection - did the vet provide any antibiotic?

Perhaps you can make a cast or a splint to hold the foot together properly for it to heal.

Giving her time floating in lukewarm water may help - also, you might try setting up a hammock or sling to keep the weight off her foot.

Good nutrition, including poultry vitamins in her water once a week, is always a good idea.

And comfrey is an herb you can put on the foot - it is said to help accelerate healing (there was a study done and it does stimulate healthy cell reproduction).


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The vet put a sort of splint on for 4 days..... Being it is broke where it is there is no way to splint it really & he said if we keep it bandaged up he is afraid of the foot & webbing would rot.
There are no open wounds really anymore. Vet didn't see any sign of infection so he didn't give her any antibiotics.
Even though I live in a very country area & my vet is country as well he still doesn't really deal with ducks or any birds really.
More horses, cows, cats & dogs. I have called vets all over my state & had no luck with any being experienced with ducks. Even the wildlife places around here.
So I'm kinda winging it here.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Ducks can rebound from awful injuries, that I know.

I don't know if it would be a good idea, exactly, but I wonder if the foot could be amputated. Did the vet say anything about that? There are now duck foot prosthetics available.

One risk is infection - did the vet provide any antibiotic?

Perhaps you can make a cast or a splint to hold the foot together properly for it to heal.

Giving her time floating in lukewarm water may help - also, you might try setting up a hammock or sling to keep the weight off her foot.

Good nutrition, including poultry vitamins in her water once a week, is always a good idea.

And comfrey is an herb you can put on the foot - it is said to help accelerate healing (there was a study done and it does stimulate healthy cell reproduction).

The vet put a sort of splint on for 4 days..... Being it is broke where it is there is no way to splint it really & he said if we keep it bandaged up he is afraid of the foot & webbing would rot.
There are no open wounds really anymore. Vet didn't see any sign of infection so he didn't give her any antibiotics.
Even though I live in a very country area & my vet is country as well he still doesn't really deal with ducks or any birds really.
More horses, cows, cats & dogs. I have called vets all over my state & had no luck with any being experienced with ducks. Even the wildlife places around here.
So I'm kinda winging it here.[/QUOTE]
@mskupcake I am so sorry for your Scovy and for you. I wonder if putting her in a sling like Amiga mentioned might help so the foot has time to heal? she may not ever have full use of her foot but it may get where she can put weight on it. And also i think warm water therapy is a great idea this will help her keep strength in her legs and take weight off the foot.
Broken bones take time to heal and crushed bones well we're all winging it on that one, but ducks are amazing so I'd give her a chance at recovering. I'll see if I can find some info on slings. I would up the vitamins to 3X a week for a while just to help keep her immune system strong. Does the foot feel warm like good circulation is in it?

Here is one sling idea main thing is positioning the leg hole far enough back that she doesn't poop on the material.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/940381/sling-ideas

 

[Miss Lydia]

Taken from Majestic water fowl page.

 

[mskupcake]

No mam on the warmth. Her foot stays cold. I should give her chicken vitamins? I've tried doing some research myself but honestly haven't found anything..... You are such an angel helping me out! Thank u for the sling ideas I will b using those for sure!
I do the warm water baths daily so at least I'm doing something right so far.

 

[Miss Lydia]

No mam on the warmth. Her foot stays cold. I should give her chicken vitamins? I've tried doing some research myself but honestly haven't found anything..... You are such an angel helping me out! Thank u for the sling ideas I will b using those for sure!
I do the warm water baths daily so at least I'm doing something right so far.

@mskupcake Yes Poultry vitamins you can get them at TSC for sure I like Poultry Nutri drench.

Yes warm water baths are great therapy just let her float but be sure to stay with her. she'll use her legs and keep them from getting weak. Good way to get her to bathe too. Did he give you anything for pain? you can get metacam from the vet .

How does the injured foot feel compared to the non injured one?

Your doing great and glad you found us, I haven't ever had any of mine with an injury like your little one but I sure do love my Scovy's so please keep us updated and we'll try to answer any questions you have.

 

[casportpony]

Usually I think warm water soaks area good idea, but in this case, with broken bones, I would want to get the vet's okay on that. Bones can heal without splints, but it's been my experience that they need to be kept pretty still to do so.

-Kathy

 

[Miss Lydia]

Usually I think warm water soaks area good idea, but in this case, with broken bones, I would want to get the vet's okay on that. Bones can heal without splints, but it's been my experience that they need to be kept pretty still to do so.

-Kathy

Okay thanks for advise I can see that now, I guess my main thinking was laying around her leg muscle are going to get weak. But I think your right that @mskupcake should ask vet about warm warm water soaks.

 

[casportpony]

I haven't shared this with anyone yet, but a few weeks ago I found a duckling that the geese or drakes got a hold of and it had a nasty, open (bone sticking out) fracture of it's tibia. It was filthy, so I cleaned it he best I I could, trimmed some of bone off and splinted it straight, like you would with a human leg, but that didn't work, so ended up taping the leg and foot up against it's body and left it like that for about 10 days. After ten days I unwrapped it and noticed the foot was starting to curl and the hock joint was stiff, but I figured there weren't too many options, so I re-taped it. Not sure how long I kept it taped, maybe a total of 4 weeks, but keeping it like that the bone did heal, albeit crooked, lol. Anyway, when I removed the tape the foot was curled and she had range of motion in her hock was next to nothing, but after about a week she was almost 100% normal.

Guess what I'm trying to say is that I think a duck sitting still in one place will eventually recover if the bones can heal.

-Kathy