Help! Duckling Injured

[SometimesCraftr]

I was sitting in bed this evening and hear a tweet thst wasn't usual from the ducklings and went to investigste. One of my Runners, who is around 7 days old, got her foot caught between her watered and the brooding box. Her leg/foot seems pretty swollen and while she can put weight on it, it's awkward and she doesn't stay standing for long. I spent the last 45 minutes making another brooder to seperately her, of course she's not happy. No body is. I have three runner ducklings and a gosling, who they treat almost as their mom. Of course it's late at night, and I'm not sure what to do. I will try to figure out how to post a photo. It's not cooperating with me right now. I'm hoping it's just brushed and swollen, but this is my first time with birds. Advice would be appreciated.

 

[SometimesCraftr]

 

[SometimesCraftr]

I should note they had a piece of tape on their feet and I thought I got all of them off, but this little girl still had hers on that injured ankle. I'm wondering if it was swollen. From that being too tight and that lead to her getting caught... of course that is off now. I did add one of her sisters in with her but they are all very unhappy in here. One of the sisters is actually quacking!

 

[Orca5094]

Ouch! Poor little thing. :/ Well, if she still has some control over the leg and she isn't just dragging it, I would think it's just strained/sprained and not broken. I'd try to rest her as much as possible (no going out of the brooder for play time or anything) for a few days. Also, let her swim/float in slightly warm water as much as possible (that takes the weight off the leg and helps them gently exercise the leg at the same time). Just don't leave her in the water long enough to get too wet or cold. Maybe 2 or 3 short swim sessions a day?

Why did they have tape on their feet?

 

[SometimesCraftr]

Thank you for all the information. I think it does sound as though it was just a sprain or the like. I looked at her leg again and felt around gently and I don't seem to notice any broken bones, but I'm definitely not familiar with birds. The swelling seems to have gone down some, and she appears to be walking a little better. I put her in some warm water this morning but she didn't like being by herself so I will try with another duckling this afternoon. I believe the tape was to identify them as females. It was around the leg just before the joint. It was a surgical type tape (not too sticky), but I didn't want to just rip them off, so they had a few swims which had them coming off much easier.

 

[Orca5094]

Ah, ok. Thanks for explaining the tape. Thought it was a little weird.

Yeah, she might be happier with at least one other duckling at all times, whichever one is the most calm and less likely to push her around while she heals. As long as she continues to slowly improve (less swelling, more leg use) she should be fine in a few days. If the swelling gets worse, she starts using the leg less, or you see bruising appear, I'd suggest a vet for sure. Sounds like it is just a sprain/strain, though. Nothing a little TLC won't fix. Good luck and keep us updated, ok? ^-^

 

[SometimesCraftr]

It's hard to tell how bad her leg was last night seeing it this evening. I had to double check I picked up the right duckling to check her out. She had two floats in warm water today, the second time around with one of her sisters. She literally just floated while her sister darted around, so I don't doubt her leg was a little sore still. It's hard to see in these images, but she has a little bruising on her right leg on the inside around that knuckle/joint and a little around the leg just below that. Last night her whole foot was swollen and very dark pink, today it's the same color as the other foot and she seems to be walking fine on it. I'm going to keep her confined for at least one more night and day. Out baby goose that is in with them is not happy to be seperated. She is with one duckling and then another of our three is keeping the injured duckling comfortable. The gosling cried ALL day today, she does not like for them to be seperated. I am using ceramic heating bulbs (no light emitted), but last night had to use a red bulb on the second brooder. Up until last night everyone slept quietly through the night, so I'm curious how much the red light had to do with all the crying last night. My husband is picking up another ceramic heat bulb to use tonight. Crossing my fingers we get some sleep and that our injured duckling will be up for the main brooder by tomorrow evening. I deinitely won't rush it, though.

It's the leg on the left in this photo:

 

[Fancychooklady]

If the ducklings came to you with tape on their legs they may have been treated for ' splayed leg ' . The surgical tape can also cause a reaction on the skin.
I would be routinely adding a good multi vitamin to their water . Another way of getting extra niacin in the diet is to sprinkle Brewers yeast on the feed.

https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry

 

[SometimesCraftr]

I'm fairly certain it wasn't for splayed leg as its just on one leg for them all, and they were all new hatches. To identify the female geese they put a little bit of pink paint on their back, and I think it was tape for the ducklings. All of them started off running great thankfully. I have been adding a bit of brewers yeast, although they are on flock grower which I understand should be adequate niacin amounts. I will look into a multivitamin tomorrow, thanks for the heads up. Do you have a brand reccomendation?

 

[Fancychooklady]

I'm fairly certain it wasn't for splayed leg as its just on one leg for them all, and they were all new hatches. To identify the female geese they put a little bit of pink paint on their back, and I think it was tape for the ducklings. All of them started off running great thankfully. I have been adding a bit of brewers yeast, although they are on flock grower which I understand should be adequate niacin amounts. I will look into a multivitamin tomorrow, thanks for the heads up. Do you have a brand reccomendation?

Oh that makes sense. Read through the podiatry link for possible treatment for slipped hock etc. there are many products available and vitamins only have a short shelf life when added to feed. Storage, humidity and moisture can also impact the viability of vitamins in feed.

http://www.jefferspet.com/products/avian-super-pack-4oz