Duckling with a leg/foot problem

[Quail27]

My new khaki campbell duck (Crooked) has something wrong with his/her foot/leg. It's the right one. I actually picked Crooked out because I have a "thing" for special needs animals, and Crooked's foot, at the time, was a little turned in. Crooked was getting around just fine, although occassionally tripping on hisself/herself.
But a few days have passed and Crooked's leg (from the joint down) is progressively turning more and more in. He/she is having difficulty walking and standing, although she/he's still able to move where he/she wants, it's a little pained to watch because it's done in a series of flops and sliding.

The other leg is just fine, and other than the leg, nothing else is wrong that I can see.

Does anybody have any idea of what this could be, and how to fix it?

Another question: what age do ducklings become able to be sexed by the tail curl?

 

[chicmom]

Not sure what it is, but could you possibly put a splint on it to try and keep it from getting more crooked? Or could your duck use a calcium supplement for bone growth?


I am really grasping at straws......

Sharon

 

[rgn87]

That happened to my Cayuga Aldo. He still has a slight limp, but it got real bad for a while. Are you keeping this duck on a hard or soft surface, cause Aldo had to be kept on pine shavings, and now he lives outside and is on straw. Be careful letting this duck swim cause Aldo had problems sometimes, but now he is always in the pool, and sleeps there almost every night. I am not sure what it is, but I read in a book that they can get problems with their foot when they are kept on slick surfaces. I hope this kinda helps.

 

[Quail27]

The brooder is made of wood, and I put papertowels on top of it. Is that too slick?

 

[rgn87]

I don't know. Aldo's foot bothered him bad for the first four weeks, but he's okay, i try not to make him run a lot.

 

[lovesduckies]

i hope duckyfromoz reads this.. she is good with this kinda stuff.. maybe also try pming her

 

[duckyfromoz]

I have always had a thing for special needs waterfowl since raising my first Gosling at 12 years old - It had a dislocated leg. What a wonderful thing you have done for Crooked.

A few question though... How old is the duck?
Does it have any swelling in the joint ?

Does it seem to have full range of movement - if you pick it up- and try to gently stretch the leg or bend it - ?

Have you checked underneath the foot to see if there is any injury there?

It sounds to me like the tendon may be effected... Is there any chance you can take a photo of Crooked standing up..

 

[Quail27]

Crooked is (I'm guessing) a week old (plus or minus a few days).
The leg does not have full range of motion. I can not bend it the direction it "should" go.
There does not appear to be swelling.

Photo (please forgive the messy beak, it was just after feeding time!)

 

[Quail27]

Is the picture showing up?

 

[tia]

The picture is showing up. You might try putting towels down for bedding. Then rinse them out and throw them in the washer. It is quite a job, but they can't slip around like on other surfaces. Pine shavings would be good too if he/she doesn't eat them. Sounds like splinting the leg would help (I don't know much about that)