Pekin leg amputation—what would you do?

[Peas4Ducks]

I’m back with more questions about what to do about Boop, the abandoned Pekin with advanced bumblefoot we picked up from one of our city ponds.

Two weeks of antibiotics made no difference in the bumblefoot in her ankle, and her toe got significantly worse during the treatment. I considered pursuing my own regimen of different antibiotics against our vet’s advice, but ultimately decided against it.

Our vet recommended us to have her put down, but after more discussion he said that he thought amputating her leg was a viable possibility, as long as we are willing to commit to the work of caring for her afterwards.

I’ve emailed a few different companies that make animal prosthetics, but I don’t expect to hear anything back until Monday at the earliest.

Does anyone know of a Pekin duck with one leg that has any quality of life? There are a few success stories about prosthetic legs on the internet, but they definitely seem like the exception rather than the rule. People with Pekins—would you ever consider having a leg amputated, if it would save their life? How would you deal with aftercare?

 

[fatty and friends]

a wheelchair might be a better option, i know a few people with ducks who use wheelchairs and are super happy. she’d have to be an indoor duck though

here’s some people who have disabled ducks and have more wheelchair info -

https://www.instagram.com/mypetducks/p/CX9Zyx-PLgI/?utm_medium=copy_link

https://www.instagram.com/p/CO2rGrTAaNM/?utm_medium=copy_link

 

[Peas4Ducks]

a wheelchair might be a better option, i know a few people with ducks who use wheelchairs and are super happy. she’d have to be an indoor duck though

Oh, interesting. That does look like a good possible solution. She would be very unhappy as an indoor duck--she's scared of us and loves being around our other ducks. But I wonder if we could design a wheelchair that worked well enough outside, and just put her in it for part of the day.

 

[Peas4Ducks]

@fatty and friends, do you know whether the people you know bought the wheelchairs or made their own?

 

[fatty and friends]

@fatty and friends, do you know whether the people you know bought the wheelchairs or made their own?

the first one bought theres, not 100% sure about the second one

 

[Weeg]

I've seen a seller on Etsy who makes custom prosthetics for chickens. That may work for your duck, but an additional wheel chair might be good. Ducks have delicate leg systems and are really built for mobility in water, so additional support with the prosthetic might be beneficial. I'd imagine you'd need a prosthetic to help her push a wheel chair around.

The first thing to consider is your budget, and time restraints for caring for her afterward.
Ask the vet about what exactly you will have to do afterward, the risks during surgery, and if pain will be an issue. Will you have the time to do everything you will need to do care for her post operation? What are the risks of surgery? Not only death, but are there risks of it not working, needing additional surgeries, or her not healing properly? Will pain be an issue? Could the amputation cause long term pain, or pain when doing certain activities?
These are all good questions that you will want answers to before pursuing the operation.

What about swimming? Ducks are build for mobility in water. Will she be able to swim? Can you build some kind of contraption to allow her to float? If she can't swim, lots of pressure will be put on her legs which could create long term issues. Of course, she'll be able to float, but paddling may be difficult. Will be she able to preen correctly in the water/on land? Knowing what her range of motion will be like afterward is definitely a vital question.

Know that she will need to be cared for completely different than other ducks. She wont be able to care for herself perfectly, and will likely need lots of eyes on her to make sure she's doign alright. Post surgery, and in the long run. If she can't preen correctly she will be you to do that for her. May I ask how much of the leg will need amputation? Ducks are great at adapting, but there will likely be certain things that she wont be able to do anymore. I'm interested to see what treatment you decide to pursue. All of the above are great question, but keep in mind that you should consider euthanasia if you wont be able to take the time to care for her, or if she wont have a good quality of life. Sometimes a peaceful end is merciful, as hard and sad as that sounds. Though only you can make that decision, as only you know you setup, time restraints, budget restraints, and Boop well enough to make an educated decision.
Following this thread, I'm interested to see what decision you make.

 

[Weeg]

@KaleIAm may have some good insight on this. Wheelchair options as well.

 

[KaleIAm]

I considered a wheelchair for my duck. I was going to buy one from: https://www.handicappedpets.com/

They were very responsive to my emails. The chairs are very expensive. And you'd have to handle her regularly.

 

[Weeg]

Oh, interesting. That does look like a good possible solution. She would be very unhappy as an indoor duck--she's scared of us and loves being around our other ducks. But I wonder if we could design a wheelchair that worked well enough outside, and just put her in it for part of the day.

She's afraid of you, this is vital information. That will make it much much harder for you to care for her consistently if she doesn't want your help. If she isn't used to being handled it will make it very hard for you to help her with her disability, and make up for what she might not be able to do after surgery. Consider this as well when weighting all your options.

 

[Peas4Ducks]

I've seen a seller on Etsy who makes custom prosthetics for chickens. That may work for your duck, but an additional wheel chair might be good. Ducks have delicate leg systems and are really built for mobility in water, so additional support with the prosthetic might be beneficial. I'd imagine you'd need a prosthetic to help her push a wheel chair around.

The first thing to consider is your budget, and time restraints for caring for her afterward.
Ask the vet about what exactly you will have to do afterward, the risks during surgery, and if pain will be an issue. Will you have the time to do everything you will need to do care for her post operation? What are the risks of surgery? Not only death, but are there risks of it not working, needing additional surgeries, or her not healing properly? Will pain be an issue? Could the amputation cause long term pain, or pain when doing certain activities?
These are all good questions that you will want answers to before pursuing the operation.

What about swimming? Ducks are build for mobility in water. Will she be able to swim? Can you build some kind of contraption to allow her to float? If she can't swim, lots of pressure will be put on her legs which could create long term issues. Of course, she'll be able to float, but paddling may be difficult. Will be she able to preen correctly in the water/on land? Knowing what her range of motion will be like afterward is definitely a vital question.

Know that she will need to be cared for completely different than other ducks. She wont be able to care for herself perfectly, and will likely need lots of eyes on her to make sure she's doign alright. Post surgery, and in the long run. If she can't preen correctly she will be you to do that for her. May I ask how much of the leg will need amputation? Ducks are great at adapting, but there will likely be certain things that she wont be able to do anymore. I'm interested to see what treatment you decide to pursue. All of the above are great question, but keep in mind that you should consider euthanasia if you wont be able to take the time to care for her, or if she wont have a good quality of life. Sometimes a peaceful end is merciful, as hard and sad as that sounds. Though only you can make that decision, as only you know you setup, time restraints, budget restraints, and Boop well enough to make an educated decision.
Following this thread, I'm interested to see what decision you make.

Those are all super helpful questions in thinking this through, thank you. Time and budget restraints are definitely two major concerns.

And I agree that sometimes a peaceful end is the best possible outcome. But she's so full of the joy of being a duck, despite the terrible condition her leg is in. It makes it a lot harder to make that decision.