Mallard Duck Advice Required Please

[Davidvanas]

Hi all!

I am new here to post ( I have been a ghost on this page and for many years and have followed advice from all the forums. This time, however, I have a specific problem if I could please be advised.

I was recently given a Mallard Duck ( roughly 6 weeks old) to rehabilitate. When it arrived at me it has no use of one leg (please see pic below) and "zones out" every now and then. When I was given the bird I was also given some oral painkillers which was prescribed by a vet to be given twice a day. These painkillers make the bird quite sleepy, so I stopped them two days ago and it is far more active.

I have no idea regarding history. Could anyone perhaps shed some light on what I might be able to do to assist this bird? I am feeding it a diet of growing meal with extra brewers yeast, peas, dandelions and cabbage to try to boost this little one up.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[DuckDuckGooseMum]

Hi all!

I am new here to post ( I have been a ghost on this page and for many years and have followed advice from all the forums. This time, however, I have a specific problem if I could please be advised.

I was recently given a Mallard Duck ( roughly 6 weeks old) to rehabilitate. When it arrived at me it has no use of one leg (please see pic below) and "zones out" every now and then. When I was given the bird I was also given some oral painkillers which was prescribed by a vet to be given twice a day. These painkillers make the bird quite sleepy, so I stopped them two days ago and it is far more active.

I have no idea regarding history. Could anyone perhaps shed some light on what I might be able to do to assist this bird? I am feeding it a diet of growing meal with extra brewers yeast, peas, dandelions and cabbage to try to boost this little one up.

Any advice would be much appreciated.
View attachment 1967372

Hello! What a little sweetheart! I'm so sorry he's not feeling too well. I would add a little coconut oil to some slightly warm cooked peas. Maybe a 1/4 tsp in a small dish. You could also scramble an egg and add 11111

 

[Davidvanas]

@DuckDuckGooseMum Thank you for your reply. In what way would the coconut oil help? Every morning he shares a bit of hard boiled egg with the other two.

 

[Miss Lydia]

My ducklings loved scrambled eggs they arrived in the mail and 2 died before I started the scrambled eggs that saved the other 2. Eggs are so good for us all. You say the vet perscribed the pain killers so the duck was evacuated by a vet did they say what is wrong with the leg? I’d also get it onto something not so slick as newspaper traction is important. Old towels can be shook out and washed or the shelf liner that is kind of like rubber. Liquid b complex has really saved many duckling that member have with leg issues so I’d start him on them since once there is a problem it works faster. TSC has one brand name Durvet. It will say injectable but we use it orally 1 ml over the peas you are feeding so it get full dose.

 

[Davidvanas]

@Miss Lydia . Thank you for the advice. I will be sure to give him some scrambled egg tomorrow instead of boiled egg. He was seen by an exotic vet - the lady that asked me to take him wasn't too forthcoming on details, just that he needs painkillers. I suspected that it might be a niacin deficiency after I questioned her on diet, but it almost appears the knee joint is swollen as if it were broken at some point. I am from South Africa so I will look for a similar product to the one you mentioned. He is able to contract and expand his webbed foot on that leg, but is unable to put the leg on the ground.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I hope you can find some it has been like liquid gold here and even adult ducks benefit from it. Sounds like your on it so please let us know how he is doing. Was this a wild duck or domesticated Mallard?

 

[Davidvanas]

I will be sure to go to the shops this afternoon. He was a wild Mallard that was rescued at some point as a duckling. Here in South Africa Mallards are actually considered invasive so are euthanized unfortunately. I have my own 2 week olds that were also given to me as rescue ducklings however at that point they were a day old and are now 3 weeks and doing really well.

Do you think perhaps I should attempt to splint the leg? My fear is that it might cause pain as the leg appears to have grown that way. I also see some people soak the leg in warm water with epsom salts, would this help?

 

[Duckfarmer1]

Well, since you stopped the pain reliever, maybe you could soak him in a bucket of Epsom salts. Just don’t let him drink the water..it gives them diarrhea. But that can elieviate swelling. What if you wrapped the knee joint for a little support so he could use it? I’ve never dealt with an injury on a little one so, I’m not sure, but it’s something I would try for a day and see if he did better. Does he peep? I see from the pictures you have other ones, does he interact with them?

 

[Duckfarmer1]

Well, since you stopped the pain reliever, maybe you could soak him in a bucket of Epsom salts. Just don’t let him drink the water..it gives them diarrhea. But that can elieviate swelling. What if you wrapped the knee joint for a little support so he could use it? I’ve never dealt with an injury on a little one so, I’m not sure, but it’s something I would try for a day and see if he did better. Does he peep? I see from the pictures you have other ones, does he interact with them?

Perhaps not a splint but just a wrap at first to see how he does.

 

[Davidvanas]

@Duckfarmer1 . Thank you for your reply. I will soak his leg, the pain meds made him horribly listless so I thought it best to stop them temporarily and see if it has any negative effects. Tonight I will try to wrap his knee and see if there is any improvement. He has just started quacking. Despite the fact that he sits most of the times (and my ones are absolute busy bodies), they do chatter amongst themselves.