Duckling leg deformity - please help :(

[m0ther_g00se]

oh wow!! what a funky little duck. i hope you figure out how to get them the correct accommodations/treatment! I can imagine this being quite painful when they get older.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I wonder if a boot of some kind can be made to help the ankle to not have an open wound from walking on it. Padded for protection?
I believe it was @CoriM who used a pool noodle to make padding for her duck when she had a severe case of bumble. Maybe make a shoe place the foot flat so the toes don't curl under and somehow fasten to the foot ankle and up the leg just below the knee with vet wrap?

 

[Junkdrawer]

I don't know much about this, but I'm hoping it works out for her! Shes BEAUTIFUL by the way!!!

Thank you!! I believe she's a Pekin/Cayuga cross so I'm really excited to see what her adult feathers look like. We have a Cayuga already and she's so pretty!

 

[Junkdrawer]

oh wow!! what a funky little duck. i hope you figure out how to get them the correct accommodations/treatment! I can imagine this being quite painful when they get older.

Yeah that's what we're worried about because we're expecting her to be a pretty big duck once she's grown. We ordered some foam braces off Etsy and are going to try the water therapy/B vitamin/taping tricks that people suggested here to hopefully straighten her foot out enough that walking is more comfortable for her only time will tell unfortunately

 

[Junkdrawer]

How does she do with swimming?

We haven't tried her swimming yet we were being a little cautious with her because we didn't know if she'd make it. The other two in her clutch passed away pretty fast but she seems to be thriving so she'll be taking her first swim today!

 

[Junkdrawer]

You can splint it, but most likely it won't be 100% straight. They have splints you can get on my pet chicken or etsy.
I'd start with adding 1mL of liquid super b complex to her diet to help with leg issues and growth.
There are a few threads here on the duck forum with good advice about leg issues.

Thank you so much!! We found some foam splints on Etsy I hope will help and we'll start looking into the super b complex. We figure she's always going to be a little crooked but we just want to get her weight more correctly distributed between we feet to avoid sores when she gets to go join our backyard flock this spring.

 

[Junkdrawer]

That the foot seems to be "frozen" in position may mean it's a genetic defect and this little guy will need to live with it.

Yeah we're a little concerned about that. We're hoping we can straight it out just enough to make walking a little more comfortable for her. She's getting around really well now but I'm worried what's going to happen when she gets full grown and much heavier.

 

[azygous]

I wonder if splinting with something soft like foam and wrapped with elastic bandage might help.

A zillion years ago when my third child was six months old, he wasn't able to stand with the soles of his feet flat on a surface. He was prescribed special shoes that helped to strengthen his hip muscles to ease his bowed legs and permit his feet to make full contact with the floor. You would need to come up with a gradual way to do it for your duckling that wouldn't cause pain and injury.

 

[picklestheduck]

I wonder if its a bone that is crooked, if a vet could break it and splint it to heal in the correct position. I know with my puppy who has crooked paws, the vet said we could have them broken (professionally and humanely obviously), and splinted in the correct position. It would probably be a lot of money if that is truly the issue though. It might be worth just asking a vet their opinion.

 

[-Flash-]

Those members are well versed in chickens and chicken issues, but I don't think those 2 ever post about ducks. If we tag them for every little thing or topics that they aren't familiar with, the bigger issues will get overlooked.

Yeah, I didn't know if they knew about ducks.