My ducks feet are inward?

[bcramer]

There are lots of threads on BYC about pigeon-toed ducks and how to help them. Here is one: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/3-week-old-ducklings-legs-turned-inwards.1583360/

Definitely get her started on liquid vitamin B complex ASAP! 1 ml every day over treats.

Her food is supplemented with Niacin. I had a phone consult with an avian vet today who said she thinks it's a birth defect, but they're not seeing waterfowl in person because of the flu risk so she couldn't advise me how to wrap it or isolate the joint. I'll check out that other thread, thank you!

 

[CoriM]

How old is she and what breed? What type of feed does she get? Many ducklings, especially the heavy-weight breeds, need extra niacin, not just what comes in their food, just due to how fast they grow. Splay leg and pigeon toed, or turned in feet are classic signs they need extra niacin. Many avian vets aren't really used to poultry, but specialize in the exotic birds, and are a bit clueless - at least that's been my experience with my avian vet. When you have a problem the Durvet liquid vitamin B is really a miracle worker, that's why everyone recommends it here on BYC. Even if it's a birth defect it will help to strengthen the little ones legs. You can post pictures and give more information and you might get even more help.

 

[bcramer]

How old is she and what breed? What type of feed does she get? Many ducklings, especially the heavy-weight breeds, need extra niacin, not just what comes in their food, just due to how fast they grow. Splay leg and pigeon toed, or turned in feet are classic signs they need extra niacin. Many avian vets aren't really used to poultry, but specialize in the exotic birds, and are a bit clueless - at least that's been my experience with my avian vet. When you have a problem the Durvet liquid vitamin B is really a miracle worker, that's why everyone recommends it here on BYC. Even if it's a birth defect it will help to strengthen the little ones legs. You can post pictures and give more information and you might get even more help.

She’ll be two weeks old on Monday and she’s an Indian Runner. Her sisters are standing up straight and running and she isn’t, at least not for long. I put her in water today to see how it would move without weight on it and the hip joint bulging was very noticeable with wet feathers, and it seemed like her knee joint on that side isn’t bending all the way.

 

[CoriM]

I'm sorry, poor little one! The Durvet vitamin B can still help strengthen it and I really recommend you get it as soon as you can and start that. I hope others here will weigh in and you can also post this under the "emergencies" forum. There is a condition called splay leg, where the hips slip out to the side and it makes it difficult for a duckling to stand up and get around. That's the experience I had, with a pekin duckling at about 3 weeks old. I corrected it by using the vitamin and also making a little loop of vet wrap around each leg, then putting a loop around both legs together that pulled them into proper position. I also gave regular swim therapy to help strengthen the legs. You will want her food and water close, and don't put her in a situation where she's running around trying to keep up with her friends and possibly making the situation worse. You might keep up with those things for a couple weeks and see if there's an improvement. I will attach a photo of my ducklings after they were wearing their hobbles for a few weeks, just so you can see what I mean. The little loop around the individual legs is just so the larger loop has something to stick to.

 

[bcramer]

I'm sorry, poor little one! The Durvet vitamin B can still help strengthen it and I really recommend you get it as soon as you can and start that. I hope others here will weigh in and you can also post this under the "emergencies" forum. There is a condition called splay leg, where the hips slip out to the side and it makes it difficult for a duckling to stand up and get around. That's the experience I had, with a pekin duckling at about 3 weeks old. I corrected it by using the vitamin and also making a little loop of vet wrap around each leg, then putting a loop around both legs together that pulled them into proper position. I also gave regular swim therapy to help strengthen the legs. You will want her food and water close, and don't put her in a situation where she's running around trying to keep up with her friends and possibly making the situation worse. You might keep up with those things for a couple weeks and see if there's an improvement. I will attach a photo of my ducklings after they were wearing their hobbles for a few weeks, just so you can see what I mean. The little loop around the individual legs is just so the larger loop has something to stick to. View attachment 4095725

I will definitely get the vitamin b and give that a shot! I read about splay leg yesterday and made her a little hobble with a hair tie that she wore overnight but this morning when I checked on her it was so much worse. I think we’re gonna try to vet tape her hip joint tonight so it stays isolated to her body and see if that helps and brings the foot back out. She seemed to really enjoy her swim today, didn’t show any signs of pain so we’ll keep that up too. Thank you for the feedback!

 

[CoriM]

Wonderful, I hope you're able to help this little one. Just make sure she doesn't swim too long - only about 10 minutes or so at this age, in lukewarm water, and getting dry right after. And use the vet wrap that only sticks to itself, not her body. Good job on taking care of her!