HELP is there something wrong with my newly hatched ducklings foot?

[baikal7]

Hi everyone. One of my ducklings hatched today and appears to have something odd going on with his feet. When he first hatched, we assumed he had a splayed leg but now he seems quite capable of keeping his feet underneath him while moving. We then questioned if he had curled toes, however, when I looked up photos of ducklings with this condition they all seemed to be much more extreme than his. I’ve attached a photo of his feet below. His middle toe seems to be sort of bent and he hobbles about on that foot and doesn’t seem to want to fully open it unless I hold him the way I have in the photo. Since he is only about 12 hours old I was wondering if he might improve naturally as he has been improving gradually so far or if I need to intervene and make a shoe like brace to keep his toes straight/supply vitamins.

Any advice is appreciated!

 

[sourland]

If his feet/toes do not straighten out in another 12 hours, I would put 'shoes' on him/her.

 

[ruthhope]

If his feet/toes do not straighten out in another 12 hours, I would put 'shoes' on him/her.

Flat pads under his feet, taped on for a day or so should work. They might be made put of cardboard and replace every day at thus young age. I made some put of soft shoe inserts for an older duckling with foot problems and held them on with waterproof tape from the pharmacy shelves at the supermarket. Photo of the larger sized pads used for my older duckling

 

[baikal7]

Flat pads under his feet, taped on for a day or so should work. They might be made put of cardboard and replace every day at thus young age. I made some put of soft shoe inserts for an older duckling with foot problems and held them on with waterproof tape from the pharmacy shelves at the supermarket. Photo of the larger sized pads used for my older duckling

Thank you! I’ll definitely try that tomorrow morning. Would waterproof tape be the best one to go with? I’ve seen a lot of people list numerous types of tape so wasn’t too sure which to pick that wouldn’t hurt his feet coming off

 

[ruthhope]

Thank you! I’ll definitely try that tomorrow morning. Would waterproof tape be the best one to go with? I’ve seen a lot of people list numerous types of tape so wasn’t too sure which to pick that wouldn’t hurt his feet coming off

The waterproof tape is fine. It cones of skin easily but very firmly attaches to itself. I used vet wrap on top of the tape as i had to position the ankles. Your duck's ankles are fine. Your duckling would not be able to walk with the weight of vet wrap.

Splinting my older duckling's feet was successful in stopping his feet ball up. Alas, mine had more serious gait issues with bowed tibia from when he was rescued at 2 week's old. Your ducklings feet are relatively minor issues and should correct in a day or two