Injured gosling, I think.

[zanelee]

Someone brought in an apparently injured gosling to my husband's work. (It's slightly possible to be a swan, or it could even be a duck.) It's left leg sticks straight out behind him/her and the foot it closed. Both feet have damage to the webbing (possibly ants by the looks of it). He uses the right leg with no problem, but doesn't have any balance as you can imagine. There is an area on his back between the wings that is featherless and appears to have been healing from an abrasive wound. The main issue is the leg.
I've palpated it and cannot find any attachment (such as a joint). Put him in water to see how he did and he was thrilled, although still very unbalanced. The left leg did not move at all nor did the foot open up at all. It's still warm, so there is circulation.
I really don't want to euthanize the little guy, so I'm hoping y'all have some advice.
I'm heading to get some bugs now, as that's what he seems to want to eat.
Thanks for any help.

 

[zanelee]

Now that she's drying off from the bath, I'm thinking duck.
This is her cuddling up by me and my laptop.

 

[zanelee]

Anyone?

 

[tcbracing]

I'm sure everyone is going to ask for pictures of the leg and the area on the back. I am new to ducks, so can't help much.

Have you tried moving the bad leg?

 

[zanelee]

Thank you!
Yes, I've check her range of motion and it will move to a natural position, but only with effort on my part and it will not stay. I will post pictures soon.

 

[zanelee]

Here are a couple of pictures of her in the tub.
The second one shows her leg position. It never changes unless I move it.
She did better in the water today, and didn't fall over as much. She's eating well also.
Suggestions?

 

[tcbracing]

First of all - she is very cute! I just love little ducklings!

If she were mine, I start pushing the Niacin. One of my ducks was borderline splayed legs and I started adding Niacin to her water (about 500 mg/gallon) from a bulk source on Amazon (very cheap). Read on here that it was good for their development and on the internet that it is really good for blood flow. I did try to connect both legs together to keep them from spreading out, but it made it almost impossible for her to walk and I saw her on her back a couple of times. I did make sure to let her swim in the sink for about 10 minutes every night. That combination really helped and now she is doing great!

In this case, with the leg so far out of position, I would try to connect them together and force it back into position. At least for a few days and only if it is not causing her severe pain. A little resistance from her should be expected, but I would not want her to be in pain.

They are amazing little creatures and I totally believe that if even if you can't get the leg back to normal, she will figure out how to get around the way it is.

Good Luck and keep us posted!