Help! My duck's leg is bent totally backwards when she walks!

[LalaLydia]

Hi! I'm new to this site and I need help!

Our border collie was accidentally let out yesterday when our ducks were roaming. He chased down and mauled one of our younger ones before I realized what had happened and stopped him. She's doing okay; he mostly picked feather off her back. She has a gash in the skin on her chest, but it seems to be only skin deep, and I think it's closing up after I put salve on it yesterday.

She was too scared to move yesterday, but today she was standing and trying to move away as I was putting salve on before work, and I noticed her right foot keeps flopping completely under! She tries to straighten it out, but sometimes she just leaves it like that as she's standing. all bent back under and backwards at the bottom joint. I've felt the leg and the joint, and there's no obvious breaks. There's also no swelling or heat. It just keeps flopping under when she walks. I thought about splinting it, but since it's a joint I don't know if I should do that. :/ Please, has anyone ever had this happen, and what did you do? The poor thing laid a soft shelled little egg last night...she's only like six months old.

 

[cayugaducklady]

I dealt with joint sprains in a less than 1 week old duckling, I recommend seeing a vet because it sounds like there may be break around a joint.

If there are no bird vets in your area, try the farm vet. If the farm vet does not see birds ask them if they know which vet deals with wildlife care in your area. I have birdvets in my area but none of bird friends would recommend seeing them. I called every clinic in a 20 mile area until one gave me the name of the wildlife care vet. Luckily, he is a major wild waterfowl fan and he worked me in outside of office hours to see my duckling.

I took my duckling to a vet who made she there were no breaks or cracks in her leg bones. He weighed her and worked out a dose and dosing mechanism for metacam. And prescribed lots of rehabilitative swims for her.

If a vet isn't possible, I recommend lots of floating/swim time in water water. It encourages them to use the leg without bearing weight.

I've seen others recommend using slings an the like to keep the duck from putting too much weight on an injured leg. It seems like sound advice but I personally haven never used one.

I'm sorry your duck was injured. I know it is upsetting.