Duckling with contracted leg

[Kenny_]

Hello,

I had one duckling (either Ancona or khaki - not sure which) hatch out with a contracted leg. Unfortunately, I found her with her body mostly out of the shell but her body was stuck inside of the membrane and it had dried on, not allowing her to leave the egg fully. I've read only a slight bit about this type of thing and do not know how to treat it and really am not 100% sure if it is what it is. Does she have a slipped tendon? Her sister ducklings are flourishing and have nearly doubled in size, and I feel extremely guilty that I haven't been able to fix this. I've been doing range of motion with her leg and trying to extend her leg. She isn't happy each time I do this.

Would appreciate any help on this. I didn't include a picture because her foot is literally just contracted up to her belly. All of the bones are where they are supposed to be. If anyone needs a picture I can get one, but I didn't have the time this morning.

Thanks for your help.

 

[PotatoWaffles]

Hello! Sorry to hear about your troubles with your duckling. I've had success with fashioning tiny foot splints for ducklings with curled foot, but your case sounds a little different, like it's affecting the entire leg. A few pictures would definitely help. Also, how old is the duckling? The younger they are, the better chance you have at correcting leg and foot deformities.

 

[Kenny_]

Hello! Sorry to hear about your troubles with your duckling. I've had success with fashioning tiny foot splints for ducklings with curled foot, but your case sounds a little different, like it's affecting the entire leg. A few pictures would definitely help. Also, how old is the duckling? The younger they are, the better chance you have at correcting leg and foot deformities.

3-4 days old. Thanks for your reply! The foot itself is flat, however she cannot move the entire leg. It's weird, like she can't move it from the knee or something. (Whatever the middle joint is called.)

 

[PotatoWaffles]

Hmm, I've never dealt with anything like that before.

@Miss Lydia do you have any experience with duckling leg issues, or know of some other duck savvy users to tag?

 

[Miss Lydia]

I know this could be slipped tendon here is a link with different issues with legs and feet might be of help. https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry

@casportpony

 

[casportpony]

How old is she now?

 

[Miss Lydia]

She says 3-4 days old K

 

[casportpony]

She says 3-4 days old K

oops, haven't had my coffee yet.

If the joint won't extend I think the prognosis is poor. A picture and video would be helpful.

 

[Duck Lover88]

If you post a pic we could tell if she is a Ancona or khaki because they are very different looking....

 

[Kenny_]

I only hatched 4 eggs.. just hate for this duck to not progress because of something as simple as the membrane dried on her and caused this. Maybe that's just my guess and it's inaccurate, but that's the only thing that I know that was different as opposed to the other 3 ducks that have been successful and have flourished.