my pekin all a sudden limping ;-(

[kari1981]

My 14wk old female pekin named Miss Queen has injured her leg/foot. She is limping now and will hold up her leg when standing. She will walk on it some but its with a limp. I felt the leg and didnt noticed any bone sticking out. It appears straight. I can't see anything on the bottom of her foot either. Anyone have experience with this? Could it just be a sprain? Please help, I am a new duck owner and worried about my little one. Also I can't take her to the vet this week but next week I possibly can. Just need opinions on whether its sprained or broke. Would they still walk on it if broke

 

[Onlyducks]

I isolate the duck in a small area until the limping stops. I've done it with Pekins, Rouens, and Muscovies and it seemed to work on all those breeds. I don't know why ducks limp—there's something called bumble foot but you can actually feel bumps on the feet, I think. I've have several ducks develop limps and just putting them in a small area where they can't move around a lot seemed to help. You can let the duck swim, too. That may help.

It may not be broken or sprained. Ducks have sensitive feet and will limp if they step on something that's sharp or hard. My Pekins seemed more prone to this than the other breeds (Muscovies have clawed feet that are very tough). Mine free range and I watch them for signs they have stepped on something and develop a limp.

If you're really worried, you could take her to the vet next week if she isn't getting better.

 

[kari1981]

Thanks for replying.. Yeah it was just outta the blue,I went inside to grab the bowl of lettuce and came back out and she was limping. And I was wondering whether she could still swim or not so thanks for answering that ques. She got in but was leaning to one side. Would that be cuz of injured side and its hard to keep balance in the water?

 

[kari1981]

I really can't see any swelling either. She just kinda straighten her leg out to the side a Lil when standing. But if it gets worse then she will go to vet for sure but right now she has her buddy laying next to her and she seems comfortable. She also don't make any loud quacks while walking either so how could I really tell if she's in pain?

 

[Onlyducks]

I can't really say on the swimming and leaning. She may be not using the leg at all even in the water. However, the swimming takes the pressure off so it's a good thing.

Keep an eye on her and if she gets worse, you may want to separate her from the others so they don't cause further damage. I put mine in the "infirmary" which is just a small area of the pen where the other ducks can't go but they can all still see each other.

Hope she gets better.

Your Pekins are so cute! Are they pure white? Mine are quite yellowish this year. I like the pure white better, I think. (My ranch store got them from a different breeder than last year.)

 

[tmulleady]

I have a Welsh Harlequin that is 15 weeks now. Today when I came back from town I noticed he was limping, he stands on it and has been swimming but he limps really bad. Got my BIG 23 year old son to corner him in my tiny coops run (very funny to watch that grown man corner a little duck in a tiny space

) to catch him so I could look him over. I couldn't find any cuts, bruises, etc. but his leg felt warm to the touch and looks swollen. My fear was he had a thorn since him and the chicks love to sit under the wild rose bush at the edge of the yard but nope. I figured I would watch him real close for a day or two and if he keeps limping bring him in so he can't get around much. If it gets worse though, he is going to the vets. This mean ole duck belongs to my granddaughter and she will be devastated if something happens to him!

 

[Onlyducks]

I'm obviously not one to take ducks to the vet, tmulleady, but if the duck's leg is swollen and warm and he means the world to your granddaughter, I would take him now. Swelling and warm usually means infection and a thorn could easily cause that.

If he were just limping and had no signs of trauma or indications that something was wrong, I'd wait. I just don't want you to wait and things to get worse. A day is fine, but if it is an infection, the longer you wait, the worse it can get.

(I sympathize with your trying to capture the duck—mine take refuge in a pen that's 4 feet tall and covered. It would make a great video of me in there with a butterfly net, hunched over, catching the desired duck!)