Indian Runner duck got its leg chewed off!! Not even a stump left. :*(

[ducksinarow]

There is a video on the internet that shows a duck with an artificial leg and foot made with a 3d printer. It was walking around just fine. Look up buttercup 3d foot.

 

[purplesquirrel]

Hi all I just wanted to update about my one legged girl. She coops up at night by herself in an ultra safe coop. Her leg has healed up better than I could have ever imagined and she is a spunky little thing. She gets in and out of the pool/pond as she pleases as well as roams around our yard with all of the other ducks. When the accident happened I was terrified that her quality of life from then on out would be extremely poor, and I questioned wether putting her down humanely would be the best option for her. I'm so glad I let her heal on her own. This girl would pick off the scab when it was ready to come off and what do you know it was healing really well!! I just wanted to maybe give someone hope who is in my situation or experiencing something similar! My duck was extremely Adaptable and over came the fact that she has 1 leg!

Here she is with the gang!

I know this is 3 years ago now. But I woke up this morning to find my 4 week old runner with her leg chewed off up to the same sortve stump as yours and the same age! I found her shivering in the cold wet grass, blood everywhere. She's not very tame so I hated scaring her to pick her up.
I brought her inside as its about 10 degrees C outside, I wrapped her up in a blanket and covered most of her body and head to make her feel 'hidden' and safe.
I gave her a bowl of water but she just had this 'you weren't there man' stare on her face, so I splashed it a bit and she drank a good amount.
I know drinking is important and warmth. I'm having melt down because it's so early in the morning and I'm heart broken.

I live in England in Bristol (city) was a large garden and we have fixes everywhere. The mesh is fine but she must've slept up against it and the fox grabbed her through the wire. So ****** off! SO SO ****** OFF. We're not allowed to use weapons in the city for pests (obviously) but I took out 3 foxes last month by trapping them in my garden with hand made snares and shooting them at point blank range with a 2.2 air rifle. They died instantly.

Anyway, more foxes are coming!! I can't believe it. I hope she's not in pain. I can't believe she didn't bleed to death.
I can't cull her. I owe t to her, she survived this far. I was thinking of making her a little peg leg, and I'm worried she'll get picked on by the others, or fall over and end up dragging herself around covered in poop and being miserable. Getting taken advantage of because she can't get away...

Please can you tell me more about how top you dealt with it? When should I clean it's. As I don't want to disturb the coagulated blood and cause another bleed. I imagine she is very close to the level of blood she can afford to lose.


Very sad

 

[Cherib603]

You need to tighten up your pen ASAP! 1/4" hardware cloth is the only safe thing. The foxes will be back until everyone is dead.

Give her electrolytes and keep the wound clean clean clean.

Poor baby.

 

[ABeautifulLife]

Purplesquirrel, I am so so sorry to hear about this. I would trap and kill the foxes as well as you are very justified.

As far as care goes, the day it happened to me I put her in the bathtub to try and wash off her wound. After that I wrapped her up in a towel to warm her up. She was not happy with all the loving I was giving her just like yours . In the states we have a purple wound spray called wound kote by farnam that I used to keep everything as clean as possible. I'd spray that on her every few days. She bled for the first week and I thought for sure she wouldn't make it due to the loss of so much blood. I used styptic powder for about a week or 2 to form a clot to try to stop her bleeding. I had to apply this multiple times a day and of course she hated it but I really believe these two products really helped her heal. I got off easy because there was no infection and no other complications. She stayed inside for a week or two and the. After she went outside to re socialize with everyone else in her own coop(we live in Florida). She would peel her scab/clot off when it was ready. Animals are smart and they know how to take care of themselves but with a traumatic wound like this they do need a little extra help. she did a really great job of adapting and when she healed she did everything she wanted too.
Unfortunately an idiot hit her in a car when she was crossing the street with the other ducks and let her die. We were heart broken but it was amazing to have her in our lives. She was so incredibly strong and taught us a lot about life.

I truly hope your duck makes it, and if you need any advice or help please feel free to ask