My duck's leg is hurt

[Scott Barr]

Hey y'all, my name is Lexi.. I"m on my dad's account.. but one of my duck's leg is hurt.. I don't know why or how it happened. this morning when i went out to check on them before i left for school she was fine (around 7) and then around 2 or so my mom texted me saying she could barely walk.. the more she walks the better it seems to get but you can tell she's favoring it.. it scares me because she uses her wing to brace herself when she first gets up.. she lays there a lot because she doesn't want to move and she'll go in the pond but wont use the hurt leg. We have an appointment for her in the morning with a vet but don't know if any of yall have experienced this before and if it's something that should go away or if it's real important that we get it checked out as soon as possible.. i've heard their legs and feet are pretty fragile, and even though it doesn't look like she's necisarilly in pain, i'm not a duck expert so i wouldn't know if she was or not.. Has anybody had this problem or anything? Please let me know what I should do.. I'm keeping her in a confined space right now so she can't move too much but has enough room and food and water. Thank you!

 

[duckyfromoz]

Hi Lexi - keeping her in a confined space is the best thing until you can get to to a vet. She may have just sprained something- or even just have a thorn in her foot causing her so much pain she cant walk, But it could be more serious like a break- so keeping her from walking on it was a really good idea.

She may not want to eat or drink too much right now- but Im sure you are looking after her as best you can. Let us know what the vet says wont you?

 

[Scott Barr]

She's in a small space but like has the option to walk around a little more today, when I just went out to let them out of their cage (they go in at nights cause we have wild animals that walk around the neighborhood sometimes and i don't want anything to happen to them) she'd rather just kinda sit there or chill in the pond.. she looked like she was standing normally this morning but she wouldn't walk so I cant know for sure.. If it is a break would she get better? I'm just afraid we'd loose her.. she's about 9 months old now and we've had her since she was bout a week old. She part of the family and we only have one other one so we'd have to find another duck to "replace" her with.. all of that just seems upsetting..

And yes I will let you know what the vet says when I get home from school and can

 

[Frank Phinster]

Don't worry too much, ducks sometimes hurt their leg and limp for a day or three. I never go to the vet when one of my ducks limp, I just wait and see whether they get better, and so far they always recovered pretty soon. Going to the vet cannot hurt, though (except your purse maybe...). Duck legs are more fragile than chicken legs, that is why you should never catch a duck by her feet and carry it around, but they do not break so easily, either.

 

[duckins]

Before Christmas I had one of my guys limp terrible for 3 days each day it got better I made him rest and sprinkled brewers yeast over their treats and he was back to his mean little self in no time lol but while he was injured he couldn't get enough love. Make sure there's no web foot problems if not give it a few days.

 

[Amiga]

Can you look at her foot and leg closely? Is it warm to the touch, is there any swelling?

What is their feed? If it is chicken starter and chicken feed, there is a slight possibility of niacin deficiency, though by now I would think you would have seen problems much earlier. The vet is a great idea. In the meantime, extra vitamins is a good thing to boost her little system.

 

[Just Ducky Girl]

Going to second Duckins and Amiga's idea--- little extra nutrients would help, and can't do any harm. See if you can find an electrolyte and nutrient powder for her water. It's found at most farm supply stores/ feed stores. Just be careful to get a poultry oriented one, look to be sure it has calcium, B vitamins, niacin and follow directions for strength. I bought a limping duck displaying alll the symptoms you mention, and gave her electrolytes daily. I held her over the water dish the first few days to be sure she got used to the taste and got some down. After a month, she was running. Her foot is a little underdeveloped on that side, but having caught it early enough, she recovered and can keep up with the rest of the gals now. She was, incidentally, just nine months when I got her. Most often this can happen with ducklings, but every now and then an older duck under a year gets a nutrient defeciency and won't walk well. They grow SO FAST and SO MUCH that first year. Hope that is what is wrong, and not that her leg is injured. BTW, if she shares a water dish, the electrolyte solution won't hurt any other poultry/her duck friend, you'll just have some happy and active birds! Best wishes!!!

 

[Scott Barr]

I haven't like felt her leg or anything but it doesn't look swollen or anything and it looks normal when i got home we kinda coaxed her off of the rocks into the pond and she was using it A LOT more than she was yesterday, I don't remember the name of the feed but it's like the "standard" duck food or whatever we get at tractor supply.. i'll see if we can run by tractor supply today to see if they have the electroyte stuff for em! Thank y'all so much for all the help I was really worried about her! We're waiting to take her to the vet since it seems like she's getting better and it's like 50$ just for them to look at her and like 100$ more if she needed xrays or anything.. Yikes.. If she gets worse and we end up takin' her I'll let y'all know what they say Thanks again for all the help

 

[Amiga]

Please do keep us posted.

 

[trciero]

My duck is doing the samething, I picked her up and the round ball on her foot looks like it has a brown spot on it but I dont feel or see anything stuck in it and on her web there is a small round wart looking thing....anybody see this