Duckling can't walk

[Ytka]

We have three baby ducks, about two weeks old. One of them can't walk today.

We can't see any injury, and we don't know of any way it could have been hurt. They're in a cage inside our house. So sad to see it flopping around. It's still eating and drinking and seems healthy otherwise, though. It's quite happy floating, so we let it spend most of the day in a basin of water.

Is there anything we should do for it?

 

[taylortreasure]

I had this happen to a gosling of mine several years ago, He was able to walk perfectly normal one day then the next, nothing, he suffered no injury we could find, just couldn't walk. My grandmother made him a "rehab table" out of a shoe box and cut two holes in it large enough for his legs to fit through. She exercised him for several minutes each day, fed him and watered him, and cleaned up after his messes and within a couple weeds he regained his leg strength. I don't know if maybe he was growing too rapidly and his legs weren't strong enough to support the weight or what. But maybe this could help you.

 

[DUCKOBSESSED]

Try adding brewers yeast to their food. Ducks need more niacin then chicks. Brewers yeast has it. What food are they on?

 

[Ytka]

Thanks!

They are just eating grain and weeds.

 

[Amiga]

Oh, I think you need to get them all on a balanced ration of waterfowl starter. If they are eating weeds, they it sounds like they may be outdoors and getting grit? (sand-sized particles) If not, they will have trouble digesting what you are feeding them.

I would get them some waterfowl crumbles - or chick crumbles if that is all you can find, and add a little brewer's yeast to the food, and once a week add poultry vitamins to their water.

And I would do that very soon - ducks hide sickness till it is almost too late to help.

 

[Ytka]

Hmm. I will try to look for those things. We might not have quite as many options here, as in other countries.

They're not outside yet. They just eat weeds when we bring them in for them.

We're thinking that maybe this baby is injured, not sick? We still can't see an injury, but it's more like he's limping on one leg than anything else. Except that he's limping so much that it's really a flop, not a limp.

 

[duckyfromoz]

A break or dislocation in a very young duck can sometimes be hard to detect. Either of these types of injuries can also happen very easily when they are young two. Sadly I had 2 ducklings last season that broke there legs- A very odd thing as in about 30 years of raising waterfowl i had never before had a duck with a broken leg before.

Can you feel that the leg is different in any way from the other? Is there any particular area of the leg that you can touch that may seem to cause discomfort to the little one?

 

[subhanalah]

You will need to provide them with grit as soon as possible. They cannot digest the weeds you have been feeding them.
I hope you can find the feed for them .
Where are you located?

 

[Ytka]

I think it's going to be okay! We got poultry starter and some chicken vitamins. I don't know if that is helping, or if the injury is just healing. The duckling is able to stand for short period of time now and can even walk (hobble) after long rest periods. When he gets tired, he still just flops, but it's way better than before. Thank you so much for your help!

 

[Amiga]