dreamofwinter
Songster
This is my first time hatching ducklings. I normally receive them in the mail as (a few) day-olds.
I hatched 7, and tucked them under a brooder plate atop puppy pads like I normally do. Well, the plate was too low, the pads too slippery, or both, because on checking several hours later I find that one has mild splay leg - corrected with a vetrap hobble - and one seems to have something worse.
She sits with her legs in front of her and paddles them against the ground. She does also have splayed legs, but if I put a hobble on her, she either falls over or just sits there slapping her feet. It's like her balance is too far back.
I currently have her in a cup padded with a washcloth to try to let her legs rest in a more appropriate position (she is also still hobbled). Besides this and getting some food, water, and niacin into her, is there more I can do? And how should I keep her warm in the cup, maybe put a heating pad under it? I'm not sure the cup is deep or narrow enough either.
Thank goodness I work from home for a pet-obsessed company so that I can keep her on my desk all day
I hatched 7, and tucked them under a brooder plate atop puppy pads like I normally do. Well, the plate was too low, the pads too slippery, or both, because on checking several hours later I find that one has mild splay leg - corrected with a vetrap hobble - and one seems to have something worse.
She sits with her legs in front of her and paddles them against the ground. She does also have splayed legs, but if I put a hobble on her, she either falls over or just sits there slapping her feet. It's like her balance is too far back.
I currently have her in a cup padded with a washcloth to try to let her legs rest in a more appropriate position (she is also still hobbled). Besides this and getting some food, water, and niacin into her, is there more I can do? And how should I keep her warm in the cup, maybe put a heating pad under it? I'm not sure the cup is deep or narrow enough either.
Thank goodness I work from home for a pet-obsessed company so that I can keep her on my desk all day
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