Help please .... 2 month old duckling with broken leg :-(

[FunnyBunnies12]

I've worked at a vets office to as a kennel/vet assistant, and now I'm getting into wildlife rehabbing, and eventually I'd love to rehab water fowl birds, and with learning about my own domestic ducks, hopefully by time I do I will know more then average just having my own. As hard as it is to let our feathered friends or fur friends go and play God and make that decision, it's one they'd probably thank us for in the end for those who believe we'll be reunited with them when our time comes, and I'm sure you've heard of the "Rainbow Bridge."

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Personally, I would butcher the duckling now.

To butcher at 6 months the duckling will be battling pain and healing a good 2 to 3 months and I would not imagine the duckling gaining weight much at all during this time and falling behind the others. Plus, I would grow close and friendly with the duckling.

Our ducks also are for food, with a few for pets.

 

[katharinad]

I'm so glad to hear that you are open to butchering it. I didn't want to mention that because it can be heartbreaking, yet I wanted to be open about the healing issue. I don't see any value added in waiting either. It's not just the pain, but you have to feed it as well. So you end up with a small duck for dinner. Stew sounds good to me too. I guess is life, it comes at you in unexpected ways.

 

[Kelebek]

my farm is a production run farm. Everything has its purpose .... cat mouses, goats meat/milk, chickens egg/meat, ducks egg/meat, dogs protection of farm and home, husband to irritate me

 

[Bleenie]

If it was me & i was able to do it myself (keep in mind all mine are just pets)... I would amputate the foot and close up the ankle and keep it in a "sling" until it healed. This also depends on where it's broken too though. A friend of mine had a LARGE drake that has only stumps for legs after a very cold winter and a bad case of frostbite. he gets around just fine and is a very clean duck. The big plus is that this is still a baby so it should heal fast and adjust well.

but like you said, it's for meat, so make a stew if you think it would be suffering too much.

 

[jrobertson]

there is a fine line between those of us who raise poultry as "livestock" and those who raise them as pets. I'm not saying i don't care if they suffer or not. i do have a few of mine who stand out to me as pets rather than just another duck. regardless of pet or livestock, i believe the best decision has been made. by the way, i dont raise ducks just for the money. i raise ducks so i can share them by making quailty poultry available to others.

 

[Kelebek]

Thank you all -

I appreciate your help and when I get home from work I will be making my decision on what will happen to the little duckling

 

[Kelebek]

Just an update.

It has been almost 2 weeks and the duck is 95% better and just went back with the flock yesterday with just a slight limp. The bird is using its claw/foot (??) just like the leg that was not injured.

I am so glad that I made the decision to wait a bit and see what would happen before culling the bird.

Thanks all