Pekin duck leg injury

[duckmom216]

Hi! I posted on the emergencies forum as well and got a bunch of advice, but was still wondering if anyone with jumbo pekins or any breed has seen this before (video attatched below) … i don’t want to think the worst but it’s hard to see my boy struggle walking. any insight would be helpful thank you!

 

[Theycamewiththehouse]

I have a jumbo girl she walks not well either. If this is something that has been going on for a while like from adolescent onward then this might be a niacin deficiency. when they are young they can develop very poorly especially large breed ducks.

 

[duckmom216]

I have a jumbo girl she walks not well either. If this is something that has been going on for a while like from adolescent onward then this might be a niacin deficiency. when they are young they can develop very poorly especially large breed ducks.

this only started a week ago :/ i think he must’ve injured it getting in and out of the pool when i wasn’t in the pen with him. he seems fine otherwise he wasn’t walking at all for a few days and now he is and getting around much better i just hate to see him stumbled like he was in the video ;( he’ll be a year old in April so he is still young and his food is the duck feed from purina which im sure has enough niacin and i also give him peas

 

[Jenbirdee]

this only started a week ago :/ i think he must’ve injured it getting in and out of the pool when i wasn’t in the pen with him. he seems fine otherwise he wasn’t walking at all for a few days and now he is and getting around much better i just hate to see him stumbled like he was in the video ;( he’ll be a year old in April so he is still young and his food is the duck feed from purina which im sure has enough niacin and i also give him peas

No, although it’s a good feed it actually does not have enough niacin for the special needs of your Pekin duck at this time of injury he needs the extra extra niacin

 

[Miss Lydia]

This is what he needs. This is for support while he heals, but if let him continues to walk on that leg the way it is he may lose complete use of it plus it has to be painful.
A vet can probably help with a splint but he needs to rest that leg and have warm water therapy where he can float and take the pressure off that leg and keep his muscles from growing weak, of course, the sling would help too. I honestly don't think he will recover if you let him roam free trying to keep up with the flock. Oh, there are spints you can buy But even if you get one he will still need to be contained until this heals or it most likely never will. Sorry to be blunt but that was heartbreaking to watch that video. https://www.mypetchicken.com/products/splints-for-curled-toe-broken-legs-broken-feet-4-sizes

 

[OneEggToRuleThemAll]

I have a baby jumbo pekin--her name is Mae. She is three weeks old now. At a week old, she injured her leg and was limping pretty badly. I bought the Durvet High Level B Complex that @Miss Lydia recommended above. I got mine from the pharmacy section of Tractor Supply, and also bought a few syringes and needles from the same section so I could draw up the dose (it is an injectable liquid, so the cap is rubber and you must insert a needle to draw it up/extract it). Please read the following thread for more information about niacin and how pekins need more niacin than other ducks (along with dosage info):

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/niacin-deficiency-in-waterfowl.1367557/

Also, I would separate him ASAP. Put him in ducky hospital (a large dog crate or a fenced off area in the duck house or coop) to keep him from running around with the flock and/or being trampled. He needs to rest that leg.

This is what I did with Mae. I brewed very strong comfrey tea and gave it to her to drink and to take a bath in. I did this at least twice a day until she got better. I also put comfrey salve on her leg multiple times per day. Not everyone here uses herbal therapies, but I've seen comfrey work miracles (and it did with Mae!).

If you don't have comfrey growing close-by, you can buy it from your local health food store, Mountain Rose Herbs (https://mountainroseherbs.com/comfrey-leaf), or even Amazon (right here). I used a half gallon glass mason jar, filled it 3/4 of the way with dried comfrey leaf and then covered it with freshly boiled water (cool the water a bit if it's cold in your house, so the jar doesn't shatter), filled to the top. Let that sit for a minimum of 30 minutes, but WAY longer is better, like 4+ hours or overnight. Then, I don't even strain it...just gave it to her to drink (and let her eat the steeped herb) frequently throughout the day, and also poured a couple cups at a time into a rubbermaid tote/bin deep enough for her to soak her leg and hip in. It took several days for her to get better, but she is literally healed.

Good luck! I hope he gets better ASAP!

 

[Theycamewiththehouse]

this only started a week ago :/ i think he must’ve injured it getting in and out of the pool when i wasn’t in the pen with him. he seems fine otherwise he wasn’t walking at all for a few days and now he is and getting around much better i just hate to see him stumbled like he was in the video ;( he’ll be a year old in April so he is still young and his food is the duck feed from purina which im sure has enough niacin and i also give him peas

If you have a large wire kennel or two I usually set one up outside so she can be with her buddies but rest when her leg is not doing good. They will keep going till the injuries get worse. And one inside the coop and I usually keep them resting for almost a week long sometime two. It all depends on how the injury is shaping up. Food and water of course but they don't know much better so you gotta help keep them safe.