New to ducks

[petitcanard]

Hi! I live in France in a region where they make foie gras. A farmer near by just received his truck full of over 5000 ducklings (less than 20 days old) that will be used for meat and foie gras. A few of the ducks had got hurt during the journey so I saved 4 of them with broken legs. I want to keep them as pets (to be honest I have completely fallen in love with them!) can anybody give me some advice on these types of ducks and maybe tell me what breed they are and if they are the type that get along well together? Thanks in advance

 

[buff goose guy]

we cannot tell u the breed because you didnt describe them or post a picture ( picture is ur best option )

Also broken legs can be fixed some people on this site have done but best thing to do is get a vet.

 

[jducour]

Post some pictures of your ducks, and we will try to identify the breeds. All breeds do well together, they love each other no matter what they look like You need to worry more about gender - that does matter in a flock. With 4 ducks, only one can be a male or you might have problems in a few months with overmating. Please describe the leg injurise so we can better help there too. I am so glad you rescued them! I am sure they will be lovely pets!

 

[petitcanard]

Just went out to take a few pics here are my little babies. 3 of them are doing

 

[petitcanard]

Oops! 3 of them are doing a lot better and and standing up but one of them has both legs broken over the last 2 days he or she is getting a lot stronger I have been helping it get to food and water but it seems to be able to follow the others around as every time I go and check up on them he is next to the others. I am going to make splints for all of them so that they can start using them properly.

I have blocked them in to a smaller part of the pen until they are better and can move around more

 

[jducour]

I have had two ducks break their legs, and both times the vet said it wasn't a break he would splint. Water therapy was the best thing he recommended. Do you have a pool they can get in and out of easily?

 

[petitcanard]

I went out today to buy them a swimming pool that I am installing tomorrow. With two broken legs do you think he will have difficulty swimming. I really don't think they are broken but badly hurt as there are no aparent breaks (from touch) I am not a vet so I can't be sure but I am going to get my friend's dad to come around and have a look as soon as he can (he is a vet). They are quite lucky as I don't think they would have survived where they were (well in the end they would have been eaten so they defiantly wouldn't survive) at the moment they have a large space to run around in once they get a bit more comfortable on their feet and are very safe in a high walled garden (I do close them up at night) and once I move in to my new home they will have their own lake to swim around on! Thanks for all your help! have you been able to see the picture? Any ideas on the breed?

 

[jducour]

Is it possible to bring the one with two hurt legs indoors with you? I would try to let her soak in a warm bath in the sink for 10 minutes at a time whenever you can. Ducks are so resilient! When my duck Peeper was two weeks old, my 3 year old accidentally stepped on him so hard and broke his femur. It was bad enough that you could feel the break. We took him to the vet, and he said that in young ducks, the best thing you can do is let them swim. It allows them to move the leg while taking their weight off of it. Withing a week, he was limping around with his friends, and after two weeks he was running! He is now 6 months old, and you would never know he had a broken leg. They heal very quickly.

If I were to guess the breed, the ones that are all yellow are probably Pekin. They are the most common meat duck. The ones with black on them might be Ancona, but I'm not familiar with that breed. I think Ancona usually have some black spots on their feet. I think the one standing up on the far left might be a Magpie duckling. Is the black all down its back? Can you post another picture?

 

[petitcanard]

It is now dark so I will post a new photo tomorrow they are all yellow with a little black spot on their heads apart from the one which is yellow and black. I am going to give him/her a luke warm swim tomorrow it is still warm in the south of France so he/she is quite lucky I am so pleased to know that your little one made it through and is well today it gives me so much hope for these little rescue ducklings!