Lame Pekin Drake. Please help!

[Lphelan]

Hi everyone. I am looking for some help with my Pekin Drake. He was preciously the dominant duck of the flock, but we woke up one morning and he was limping. We tried carte rest and increased his niacin but the problem persisted. Went to a local vet who sees waterfowl and she gave us an NSAID and said she thinks it was likely a deep muscle strain but if it persisted with meds and rest to come back for an x-ray.
With pain meds and rest he seemed to be improving on and off. Some days he'd be walking fine and others he would start to downright DRAG himself across the ground unable to support any weight.
Yesterday when I picked him up from his swim time to put him back into crate rest he was moving his legs and I felt popping. It almost felt like a joint was going into and out of its socket. Is hip dysplasia a thing in ducks? Or could it be the duck equivalent of a cruciate ligament tear? He is our favorite duck and he is less than a year old and we really want to help him. All suggestions are appreciated!!

For background he is fed Dumour duck feed with added brewers yeast and when the injury became apparent I added Durvets liquid niacin in some water with peas each morning for him. He is also taking meloxicam every 12 hours for inflammation and pain per the Vet.
Thank you!

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Don’t put the durvet B complex in his water. Get a needle less syringe and dose him 1ml orally every day. Water dilutes it and you don’t know how much exactly he is getting. Adding supplements to water is fine if you are just using it for maintenance, but when an actual issue arises they need the exact dose to ensure recovery.

 

[Lphelan]

Thanks for the response! I have attempted to give it orally, but typically after I give his pain med he is mad enough that it's hard to get a second oral med into him without squirming and I've been afraid he'll make the injury worse. I was doubtful it is related to a niacin deficiency because we already provide added niacin to his feed but I was grasping for straws and trying anything I could think of. But, if you think it's likely then I will start giving it orally instead! thanks again.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Wrap him in. a towel for his protection and you will have a better chance of giving him his meds. But don't shoot it down his throat, too easy to cause aspiration here is how to give liquids.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/

I hope he heals.

 

[ruthhope]

You might soak one ml durvet in dried mealwaorms as a treat and then stand and watch him eat it.

We can't answer your question about the popping. Please ask your vet

 

[Lphelan]

You might soak one ml durvet in dried mealwaorms as a treat and then stand and watch him eat it.

We can't answer your question about the popping. Please ask your vet

Thank you, that's not a bad idea! The vet wasn't too sure about it. I know no one here can diagnose him but I was just curious if it is a common or known issue. I know Pekins are prone to leg problems since they were bred to be meat birds and are heavy and I wondered if hip dysplasia or ligament tears were a common issues in that broad description of "leg problems" because most of what I read was regarding deformed hock joints and not much other info. We will go back to the vet after this storm passes!
I do appreciate your response!

 

[nao57]

You can also help them by trying to keep him off concrete. And have cushioned rest spots like sawdust or wood chips around him.

Sometimes they can surprise you and recover.

You can also limit his walking around by confining the herd into a smaller space. (If you only confine him, he might still try to go to where the other birds are and stress himself out).

You can also try to make sure the nutrition is really good over the next few days.

You can check their pen and nearby areas for what may have caused the injury in the first place. (Any sharp debris? Or things that shouldn't be there? Or is there a pecking order problem from the other birds?)