Mallard limping

[Robbie3]

So my mallard female started limping. I’ve picked her up and felt legs, looked at feet and don’t notice anything. She is my smallest female and I think maybe one of the drakes may have accidentally hurt her, they are Pekins. I will try to post a video of her limping and photos of her feet. It may be later today, one of my kids will have to take picture while I hold her. What can I do in the meantime?

 

[sourland]

Separate her from the drakes. How many are there? They may very well have injured hurt her by gang breeding her.

 

[Robbie3]

I have 4 drakes. I’ve been trying to keep them separated, but they keep getting to them I guess by flying over 3ft fence dividing them. I’ve started to keep boys locked up in their house/run for a few days

 

[Robbie3]

So these are her feet. I’ve gotten poultry aid, gauze, vet tape and neosporine. I’ve cleaned it and bandaged it. How often should I change the bandage? I am also keeping her in her house all day. Does this sound ok?

 

[KaleIAm]

So these are her feet. I’ve gotten poultry aid, gauze, vet tape and neosporine. I’ve cleaned it and bandaged it. How often should I change the bandage? I am also keeping her in her house all day. Does this sound ok?

Is she your only female duck?

I would try to keep her feet very clean, and keep her on soft surfaces. My vet had me change the bandages on my duck's feet twice daily, and not allow them to get wet.

The cut in the middle looks concerning to me. Other than that they don't look too bad, but it could be hard to tell from the photos.

 

[Robbie3]

I have 5 females, but she is the smallest. Twice a day was kinda what I was thinking too. Thank you for the response.

 

[Isaac 0]

Her foot pads look fairly healthy in the pictures excluding the cut on the medial toe - I really don't think you would need to bandage the feet, but if you feel it may be beneficial by providing her feet with some cushioning, you can certainly try.

To be general, if we're not dealing with an inflammatory foot disorder (exp, bumblefoot) duck leg problems are going to be most often correlated with soft tissue trauma, such as sprains, or strains. If the males are being hard on the female, the overall best treatment would be reducing the amount of mating going on since a large amount of these leg injuries can be due to over-mating from the males.

NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) such as aspirin, or if available from a vet carprofen, or meloxicam will work well at reducing any inflammation. If using aspirin, you can dose the duck at 5 milligrams per kilogram - continue that once a day until you see improvement. Furthermore, you can practice hydrotherapy and let the duck bathe in cool Epsom saltwater, not allowing her to drink the water.

 

[Robbie3]

Ok sounds good. I really appreciate the response.