limping duck

[jwells84]

I have a pekin just over a month old. she just came up limping. beside limping she is fine eats and drinks. she does rest a lot. here is what the bottom of her foot looks like. Thanks for any help!

 

[Amiga]

Ducks generally have some callouses on their feet - there may be the beginning of bumblefoot here, or she may have a tiny splinter. Another possibility is a sprain or muscle pull.

I would get her into a tub of lukewarm water and let her float for half an hour. Watch how she moves her legs. It will take the weight off, clean the feet up a little, and improve the circulation in her legs.

Then I would wrap the foot in an Epsom salt compress. Don't let her ingest the E.s., it is a laxative.

Then I would look again at the foot, if possible (I know how they wiggle). See if you can locate a little dot - sometimes that is what a broken off splinter or thorn looks like (voice of experience).

I would follow up with some comfrey salve (I make it at home) or T-Relief or Traumeel ointment. That is for pulls and sprains. Just a tiny bit - I have used it on my ducks and it seems to help.

Please let us know how it's going.

 

[towens39]

I have about a 2month old indian runner our neighbors dog loose and got a hold of it and it now has a broken leg what should I do ?

 

[Amiga]

The very best is to find a duck vet. If you have other animals make sure they are safe.

Get the duck into a lukewarm tub so you can clean him or her up, and take a very good look. You are looking for other broken bones, torn flesh, puncture wounds - anything out of place.

Listen to the breathing - sound okay?

The duck may be in shock, and needs to peace and quiet and security - arrange that - you may want to keep the injured duck in a "sick bay" setup - a box, or a comfortable crate with fresh bedding (towels, perhaps), fresh water, and a little food. He or she may not eat tonight, but that's okay.

I would put electrolytes and vitamins in the water tonight.

If you see wounds of any sort, it is a good idea to clip the feathers away a half an inch or so from the wound so you can get a good look.

About the leg - there is a section on this page https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry that explains setting up a sling to keep the weight off the legs for a time if a leg is broken.

I would consider a splint of some sort - some have used popsicle stick and vet wrap - you don't want it too tight.

Talking to the duck can be helpful for both of you.

If there are other wounds, rinse them out well with saline solution (you can make your own) four times a day. Some folks follow that with Blu Kote or Vetericyn or antibiotic cream (not ointment, cream lets air get to the wound, and not with painkiller).

Speaking of painkiller,
A note on pain killers for ducks. Straight from the vets mouth, ducks can have Advil.
For ducks 6-8 lbs 25-40mg twice daily adult tablets cut up or children's liquid Advil 1.5ml twice daily, orally.

Amiga's arithmetic – 8 pounds 40 mg is 5 mg per pound
6 pounds 25 mg, is just over 4 mg per pound

so, 4 to 5 mg per pound of duck

Please keep us updated.

 

[jwells84]

Ducks generally have some callouses on their feet - there may be the beginning of bumblefoot here, or she may have a tiny splinter.  Another possibility is a sprain or muscle pull.
Thanks! still
I would get her into a tub of lukewarm water and let her float for half an hour.  Watch how she moves her legs.  It will take the weight off, clean the feet up a little, and improve the circulation in her legs.

Then I would wrap the foot in an Epsom salt compress.  Don't let her ingest the E.s., it is a laxative.

Then I would look again at the foot, if possible (I know how they wiggle).  See if you can locate a little dot - sometimes that is what a broken off splinter or thorn looks like (voice of experience).

I would follow up with some comfrey salve (I make it at home) or T-Relief or Traumeel ointment.  That is for pulls and sprains.  Just a tiny bit - I have used it on my ducks and it seems to help.

Please let us know how it's going.

 

[jwells84]

thanks! still not for certain what is going onn but i found some spray at our local farm supply store its for skin problems ans cuts and such. put it on her feet 3 times and added vitamins to their water she is doing better not limping near as bad. will keep everyone updated

 

[Amiga]

Great, jwells84, I appreciate you keeping us up to date. Thank you!

 

[DuckyGaze]

The very best is to find a duck vet. If you have other animals make sure they are safe.

Get the duck into a lukewarm tub so you can clean him or her up, and take a very good look. You are looking for other broken bones, torn flesh, puncture wounds - anything out of place.

Listen to the breathing - sound okay?

The duck may be in shock, and needs to peace and quiet and security - arrange that - you may want to keep the injured duck in a "sick bay" setup - a box, or a comfortable crate with fresh bedding (towels, perhaps), fresh water, and a little food. He or she may not eat tonight, but that's okay.

I would put electrolytes and vitamins in the water tonight.

If you see wounds of any sort, it is a good idea to clip the feathers away a half an inch or so from the wound so you can get a good look.

About the leg - there is a section on this page https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry that explains setting up a sling to keep the weight off the legs for a time if a leg is broken.

I would consider a splint of some sort - some have used popsicle stick and vet wrap - you don't want it too tight.

Talking to the duck can be helpful for both of you.

If there are other wounds, rinse them out well with saline solution (you can make your own) four times a day. Some folks follow that with Blu Kote or Vetericyn or antibiotic cream (not ointment, cream lets air get to the wound, and not with painkiller).

Speaking of painkiller,
A note on pain killers for ducks. Straight from the vets mouth, ducks can have Advil.
For ducks 6-8 lbs 25-40mg twice daily adult tablets cut up or children's liquid Advil 1.5ml twice daily, orally.

Amiga's arithmetic – 8 pounds 40 mg is 5 mg per pound
6 pounds 25 mg, is just over 4 mg per pound

so, 4 to 5 mg per pound of duck

Please keep us updated.

Thank you so much for this information. My female Cayuga is limping very badly because of 2 of my drakes that seem to think that they can just up and jump and grab and pull and bite the poor females. I had 3 limping badly but 1 is doing great now and the other has only a slight limp but my cayuga is not wanting to put her foot down at all. She really hobbles and it breaks my heart!

I will follow these instructions. One thing however, I do not think it is broken, rather a very bad sprain but would it be feasible to splint her leg?

Can she still go in the pond swimming and roam around with a splint on it or do I need to keep her apart in a small space until she is healed?

 

[Amiga]

I would keep her separated for a few days - and let her swim in a lukewarm tub. Sprains take a number of days to heal completely.

And I would separate the drakes from the females for a while.

 

[DuckyGaze]

Thank you very much for advise. Drakes are apart and cannot hurt any ducks anymore.