Newly hatched Khaki Campbell with broken leg?

[Jujuanne]

Our Khaki Campbell duck eggs started hatching yesterday. This is our first successful attempt at incubating our own eggs and the kids and I were over the top excited about the first two little ducklings that emerged! The third duckling hatched late last night an appeared to struggle more to come around than the other two but we went to bed and decided to give him time to rest. Well, he is not looking much better this morning, in fact, his right leg is sprawled out in an awkward inward way and he is hopping around in the incubator on the other leg and flopping about while dragging the bad leg. My husband thinks we should give up on him, but I feel like it might be too early to do that so we now have him in a brooder separate from the other two so they will elave him alone. I wanted to keep him in the incubator but he was flopping around so much and crashing into the other eggs that are trying to hatch that I was afraid he was going to hurt them. Any suggestions??? Or is this just a wait and see kind of thing?

Thanks ahead of time for your help.

 

[duckyfromoz]

There are a few things that can effect a newly hatched duckling and its ability to walk normally.

Firstly- and the best case scenario- is that given 24 - 48 hours- and with vitamins added to the water if you have some on hand- the duckling can strengthen up and start walking normally. Sometimes this is just from a difficult or drawn out hatch leaving a duckling extra weak- or from the position in the egg.

Secondly is a hip issue- the duckling with have little movement in the leg if the hip is dislocated- but if it it ligament damage in time their is some hope.

Third is a slipped tendon in the hock- this can happen when the duckling is turning into the correct position to hatch- and sadly by the time the duckling does hatch- the joint is sometimes deformed or dislocated as well meaning the duckling will never walk normally.

I hope for you that in a little more time the duckling will improve- but in the mean time- can you post some photos or video of the duckling moving?