Duckling Rescue Mission: Slipped Tendon

[guernsi]

Also, the sickest (and tiniest) chick fell last night and couldn't get up. Poor thing. I gave her more yogurt and instead of the drench, I quadrupled the concentration of her corid and fed her several drops. She seems a bit better this morning, but still droopy.

 

[guernsi]

Duckling update:

We've begun using comfrey compresses and epsom salt soaks. The tendon has more flexibility, however, we can't get it to pop back into the groove on the back of her leg. We can just barely get it to the edge and tried taping it there, but no luck. She is getting restless in her chair which is understandable.

I found out she is 7-8 weeks old, and had been injured for 4 weeks before we picked her up. That's a long time. Advice? I think if we could get the tendon back in place, it may be provide the necessary pull to twist the leg below the hock back into position.

If we can't get her straightened out soon, it's just not right to keep a duckling unhappy in a chair where she can't act like a duck. ) :

 

[ALaughInHerEye]

Oh my gosh thank you!!!! I'm a med student and I have no money but a lot of understanding about these types of issues in humans, but ducks are new territory for me and I needed a good resource!!!! I have a 4 week old welsh harlequin with a slipped tendon and I thought it was niacin def at first because I didn't notice the hock sweeping and misalignment. My baby is an indoor bird who is imprinted on me ( I have no life right now, I'm on medical leave from school due to a series of health issues) and likes to swim as long as I'm near.

 

[CyndiD]

@guernsi @ALaughInHerEye Questions for both of you...
Hi, i am wondering how your ducks leg/tendon is doing? Did your splint help her?
i am wondering what the outcome was for your duck?
my duck has the same problem and is getting worse as she grows and her tendon is not. this is my ignorant diagnosis.
i made a video of her an put it on youtube, if you are interested in watching it...

I also have some pictures that i took a few days ago, that shows how swollen her hock is. Do you have any advice for helping my duck at this stage? or am i too late to help her? She does not walk well on her right leg and it is getting worse. she does not see well, either. thank you for any suggestions.

 

[Loub22]

Re:kittycat23

The splint has been a work in progress. Since her leg below the hock is twisted inward, I had to figure out a way to apply pressure to twist it back to center. I figured the only part of her leg where I can get this leverage is the foot because the leg is cylindrical. I cut a yogurt container lid into a square and put the sole of her foot onto it with her toes splayed out. I added ridges to the sides so I could get the vetwrap to wrap the lid to her foot (otherwise the toes just squish together and there is no leverage for twisting the leg). I also had to put gauze rolls between the toes on the top side to keep the foot flat and toes splayed out. After the foot was splayed out in one plane on the lid, I wrapped the leg (especially the joint) with gauze and extended the leg into the position I wanted it. I used a chopstick to keep the leg extended. I wrapped the chopstick in place with vetwrap, and the gauze protects the leg from the chopstick. I added a rubberband for extra security since last night she flung the whole thing into the poop pot. I still need to get more twisting motion, and I may need to add a wedge, but I think some time to adjust first and allow the tendon to stretch is needed before more extreme measures.

She really likes it better on the floor, and not in her sling/chair.

Do u have pictures of this? I have a duckling atm with the same issue and would really like to try this