Pekin leg amputation—what would you do?

[Peas4Ducks]

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.

Thank you for sharing! I noticed that they don't list any prices on their website, which makes me hesitant. You ended up deciding not to get one?

 

[Weeg]

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.

I can see that, those fighters, they make it so hard.
What methods have you tried? Is there another vet in your area that you could get a second opinion from? A thread from a while back had a duck with a similar issue. Vet said best option was to put the duck down. They scheduled a date and everything. The owner got a second opinion a day or two before the appointment just to make sure there was nothing else she could do. The second vet said there was no reason to put down that duck. Put her on antibiotics, and the duck lived. Might be worth it to get a second opinion if possible.
Did you try antibiotics? I read your post about not doing antibiotics that the vet didn't suggest. Maybe I missed it, but did you end up trying antibiotics at all? If it were me, I might try oil of oregano. I've read some articles stating its a very useful natural antibiotic, and it doesn't destroy the guy micro biome in the process. I have friends who swear by it as well. I'm not sure about the dosage, and have never used it myself, but maybe something to look into? The article I read about it in was for dogs, so the dosage will have to be adjusted. The same article shows that poultry farmers use it in their meat, and egg production birds that are raised without antibiotics. Let me see if I can find that for you.
Just so you can take a look at it.

 

[RosemaryDuck]

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?

So I'm a bit late to the thread and have told this story before but I'll repeat it.

I used to have a Pekin duck many years ago who was born without a leg (in a local park). Found her when she was maybe 2-3 days old. She grew up just fine, and even went on to live outside with the other ducks. She hopped everywhere, and used her wings to balance herself. She was such a great duck. Did everything all by herself with no assistance from me. Only exception was winter as she struggled with the snow and ice.

She lived to be around 8-9 (it was so long ago). She was caught by a predator in the end. But she had a great life and your duck definitely can too! It may be different from my experience though, since you're amputating and my duck was born without it and had more time to adjust.

Wish you the best! Keep us updated!

 

[Weeg]

Thank you for sharing! I noticed that they don't list any prices on their website, which makes me hesitant. You ended up deciding not to get one?

I believe Kale chose an alternative treatment for her duck. If I remember the story correctly.

 

[Weeg]

So I'm a bit late to the thread and have told this story before but I'll repeat it.

I used to have a Pekin duck many years ago who was born without a leg (in a local park). Found her when she was maybe 2-3 days old. She grew up just fine, and even went on to live outside with the other ducks. She hopped everywhere, and used her wings to balance herself. She was such a great duck. Did everything all by herself with no assistance from me. Only exception was winter as she struggled with the snow and ice.

She lived to be around 8-9 (it was so long ago). She was caught by a predator in the end. But she had a great life and your duck definitely can too! It may be different from my experience though, since you're amputating and my duck was born without it and had more time to adjust.

Wish you the best! Keep us updated!

This is a very interesting story. Thanks for sharing Rosemary!
Your definitely right that it will be harder for Boop to adjust since its an amputaion, but definitely brings hope to the situation. Boop sounds like a fighter, so she might be able to adjust like Rosemary's duck did.
I think the biggest question now is your budget.

 

[Peas4Ducks]

Did you try antibiotics? I read your post about not doing antibiotics that the vet didn't suggest. Maybe I missed it, but did you end up trying antibiotics at all?

We tried SMZ for two weeks. I do think a second opinion is a good idea--I wish it weren't so hard to find avian vets.

 

[Peas4Ducks]

So I'm a bit late to the thread and have told this story before but I'll repeat it.

I used to have a Pekin duck many years ago who was born without a leg (in a local park). Found her when she was maybe 2-3 days old. She grew up just fine, and even went on to live outside with the other ducks. She hopped everywhere, and used her wings to balance herself. She was such a great duck. Did everything all by herself with no assistance from me. Only exception was winter as she struggled with the snow and ice.

She lived to be around 8-9 (it was so long ago). She was caught by a predator in the end. But she had a great life and your duck definitely can too! It may be different from my experience though, since you're amputating and my duck was born without it and had more time to adjust.

Wish you the best! Keep us updated!

I really appreciate your sharing this. I'd been able to find a few other stories about one-legged ducks living well, but it was all lighter breeds. Hearing about your Pekin is very heartening.

 

[KaleIAm]

Thank you for sharing! I noticed that they don't list any prices on their website, which makes me hesitant. You ended up deciding not to get one?

My vet recommended we try to increase my duck's pain reliever medication first and that helped a lot. My duck had severe arthritis, not an infection. Our vet also mentioned that wheelchairs can have complications as the keel bone rests on a strap and that can cause pressure sores. I was willing to do anything for my duck, and I would have purchased her the wheelchair if it was recommended by her vet. My duck was very friendly, but I would not have made her a house duck. I would have had her live in the barn with the other ducks where she would have been happiest.

I found this in an email the wheelchair company sent to me, "Our duck wheelchair is $350 + 30 for the option poo catcher + 20 shipping in the US." Their prices might have changed. Also they told me that after they receive payment and measurements it takes 4 days for their engineers to build it.

 

[Peas4Ducks]

So, update: I've had more conversations with our vet and a few different pet prosthetic/wheelchair companies. It sounds like duck leg prosthetics are very tricky and often don't work out. The wheelchair is a better option, but there's the fact that she could only use it when supervised--and may not be able to learn to use it with one leg anyway.

The surgery would be around $600, and that plus a wheel chair would be well over $1,000. I think I might be willing to spend that amount of money if it guaranteed her a good quality of life afterwards, but it seems like it could end up making her life much worse. Right now she can still get around our yard and keep up with our other ducks surprisingly well.

I wish I could know ahead of time whether she would learn to get around on her own with just one leg, but I don't think I want to take that gamble. We haven't made any firm decision yet, but I think maybe the kindest thing would be to let her continue as she is for now, until it seems like her life is more bad than good.

I can't express how much I appreciate the people on this thread taking the time to share thoughts and experiences. This is a wonderful community of people .

 

[Brooke_R]

So, update: I've had more conversations with our vet and a few different pet prosthetic/wheelchair companies. It sounds like duck leg prosthetics are very tricky and often don't work out. The wheelchair is a better option, but there's the fact that she could only use it when supervised--and may not be able to learn to use it with one leg anyway.

The surgery would be around $600, and that plus a wheel chair would be well over $1,000. I think I might be willing to spend that amount of money if it guaranteed her a good quality of life afterwards, but it seems like it could end up making her life much worse. Right now she can still get around our yard and keep up with our other ducks surprisingly well.

I wish I could know ahead of time whether she would learn to get around on her own with just one leg, but I don't think I want to take that gamble. We haven't made any firm decision yet, but I think maybe the kindest thing would be to let her continue as she is for now, until it seems like her life is more bad than good.

I can't express how much I appreciate the people on this thread taking the time to share thoughts and experiences. This is a wonderful community of people .

I think that’s the best decision too. I’m sorry that you and your baby are in this situation. I hope she is able to live happily for a long while. Or even more so that she makes a miraculous recovery