My Duck Has Gone Lame in One Leg

[Carburetor]

Hi!
This is my first post, but I've been a long time lurker.
I have 2 4 year old female Rouen ducks. They've generally been very healthy and have happy little lives in our backyard and occasionally come spend inside time with us, especially in the colder months.
One of them suddenly went lame in her left leg Tuesday.
They were dewormed with Panacur about a month ago (no signs of worms, just a precaution). I followed the instructions posted by casportpony in a thread I read here and did one round.
Her feet have a couple abrasions, but nothing that looks like bumblefoot. Since she's been down, we've been cleaning them every night, spraying Vetericyn on them, and also applying Neosporin.
She only seems painful around her left knee joint. It is a tiny bit larger than her right joint, but not markedly so. It is the same temperature as the other one as well.
She will not put any weight at all on her left leg.
Since she went down, we've had her in our bathtub on a bed of hay (which we change often) with her crumbles, fresh water, and mealworms.
She readily eats mealworms, but hasn't been super interested in her crumbles. I handfed her a slurry made from them tonight, which she ate well, but I haven't witnessed her eating them as much as usual on her own.
She does seem a bit skinnier than Tuesday (I'll definitely be handfeeding her her slurry as much as possible now) and has enjoyed a couple swims in the tub to help keep her vent clean and get some weight off of her legs, though tonight's wasn't as enthusiastic as last night's and her eyes don't seem as bright.
I really don't know what could be wrong with her. Do we just keep doing what we've been doing (letting her rest, feeding her, cleaning her, and letting her have a limited swim time) or should we be doing something else too?
She's currently wrapped up all comfy cozy on my lap and seemingly enjoying it .
Does anyone have experience with something similar?
Thank you so much!

 

[Pyxis]

Was she laying prior to this and has she stopped since the onset occurred? Is she able to poop? I ask because a stuck egg, aka egg binding, can cause leg lameness if the stuck egg is pushing on the nerves going to the leg.

 

[Carburetor]

Thank you for replying!
They've both been laying more sporadically the past couple of weeks, but she did lay a couple of times last week and has not laid this week. Her sister hasn't laid this week either though and is otherwise fine.
I've seen her poop a little since she's been down, but it's mostly runny when I've witnessed it.
There's normal poop when I change their bedding and she's had some on her vent, but I don't know for sure who has done those.

Was she laying prior to this and has she stopped since the onset occurred? Is she able to poop? I ask because a stuck egg, aka egg binding, can cause leg lameness if the stuck egg is pushing on the nerves going to the leg.

 

[Pyxis]

So she hasn't laid since Tuesday when this started, and she hasn't passed solid poop to your knowledge, only liquidy? I would immediately begin treating for egg binding - that egg needs to come out if there is one. If there isn't one, treating for it won't hurt anything.

Any chance you can get her to a vet?

 

[Carburetor]

Not tonight because there aren't any 24 hour vets that treat exotics nearby, but potentially tomorrow. Do you think it's better to try to treat it ourselves tonight?

 

[Pyxis]

I would give her a warm bath, 15 to 20 minutes long, which can help relax the muscles and get the egg to pass, and see if that helps at all. That would be a starting point. You can also try gently massaging her abdomen, but be very gentle because if there is a stuck egg too much pressure could break it inside her, which is a serious thing.

If that doesn't work, a trip to the vet isn't a bad idea. And then if it turns out it's not egg binding, they can probably tell you what it is and how to treat it

 

[Carburetor]

Awesome, thank you!

I would give her a warm bath, 15 to 20 minutes long, which can help relax the muscles and get the egg to pass, and see if that helps at all. That would be a starting point. You can also try gently massaging her abdomen, but be very gentle because if there is a stuck egg too much pressure could break it inside her, which is a serious thing.

If that doesn't work, a trip to the vet isn't a bad idea. And then if it turns out it's not egg binding, they can probably tell you what it is and how to treat it

 

[chickens really]

What do you feed them?....

 

[Carburetor]

They get layer crumbles and they forage in our yard all day. They get mealworms and occasionally fruits and veggies for snacks, but are super picky about fruits and veggies.

She is exactly the same this morning as last night. No improvement, but no further deterioration. She's going to the vet in about 40 minutes, so I'll update with what they say!

What do you feed them?....

 

[Carburetor]

She's at the vet with my husband right now and they did x-rays. Unfortunately, it looks like it's a tumor and not an egg .
The doctor is sending her home with anti-inflammatories and pain medicine and since she seems to be enjoying her cuddles and inside time still, we'll keep her comfortable until she gets worse and seems unhappy.
She said surgery could be possible, but it'd be around $1000 (we're in Colorado and vet care is really expensive here) and there's no guarantee that it hasn't spread and they wouldn't know until they got in there. I don't want her to spend any of her time left recovering from surgery, and the price isn't really too feasible for us right now.
I'm so heartbroken, she's such a sweet girl.