Rescue Duck deformed leg

[HanLills777]

By the way, thank you so much for all of your help and advice

 

[Miss Lydia]

By the way, thank you so much for all of your help and advice

Your quite welcome, yes ducklings thrive so much better with their own kind. some keep single ducklings and it may work out fine for Winston in the short run if you plan on taking him to the farm later on. but I'd give him a non breakable mirror so he can see himself and will be able to adjust to being a duck when he goes back. So you hatch in the class room and then after a certain length of time they go back to the farm the ones that hatch?And I'm sure you know this but ducklings can jump out of lil hands and can get seriously injured if the hit solid flooring or ground. Water fowl are flock animals and just do better if there is more than one. And I thank you for sharing this with us.

 

[HanLills777]

Yes, this is my third year hatching now, I'm still so amazed and in awe of the whole thing and the children love it too. I'm a very protective duck mummy, they are only allowed cuddles sitting down and I always have my hands right underneath in case baby tries to jump. Yes I am loaned the eggs to hatch then I return them at just under two weeks as they are usually trying to jump out of the brooder by then hehe. I will find my little man a mirror tomo

 

[Miss Lydia]

Yes, this is my third year hatching now, I'm still so amazed and in awe of the whole thing and the children love it too. I'm a very protective duck mummy, they are only allowed cuddles sitting down and I always have my hands right underneath in case baby tries to jump. Yes I am loaned the eggs to hatch then I return them at just under two weeks as they are usually trying to jump out of the brooder by then hehe. I will find my little man a mirror tomo

Good for you, stay in touch okay

 

[HanLills777]

Hello,

Thought I'd update you on my beautiful two...I rang the sanctuary yesterday where I took Meredith and they said shed done well over the week under the circumstances, was eating and drinking and moving herself around (albeit on her wings mostly) but when they checked in on her on Friday she had sadly passed away I feel so sad but I'm guessing moving was a strain or that maybe she had other underlying problems we didn't know about? At least I gave her a chance.

Winston on the other hand is thriving (he's huge!) I know you can't tell at a week old but I definitely think I've named correctly and that he's a boy (it's his mannerisms and stance lol) he is very noisy. The mirror has helped somewhat although sometimes he catches his reflection and freaks out, it's mostly the cuddly toys that help him settle. He's hone from school with me this weekend and I've been giving him lots of love.

He had his first swim yesterday for a few minutes in warm water (aware they can get cold quickly and don't gave natural oil on their feathers) he LOVED it! Had to chase him round the bath to get him out! He fluffed back up very quickly under the heatlamp. He also follows me everywhere which he wasn't doing last week when I tried in the classroom so that's lovely to see. He's funny too because he has toilet trained himself, he only poos in one corner of the brooder! What a neat duck hehe

Have attached some pictures for you so you can see what my handsome little man is like now thank you again for all of your help and advice

Hannah xx

 

[SpiderSilk]

Are you going to keep him or do you have to return him to the farm that gave the eggs for your class to hatch?

 

[HanLills777]

I have to return him to the farm

 

[Miss Lydia]

So sorry to hear about Meredith I'm thinking most likely internal and external problems but you did what you could and the sanctuary too.

Winston is a beautiful KC, I know your going to hate giving him up. enjoy while you have him sounds like he has imprinted on you.

The pics are lovely.

 

[Circle Z Ranch]

Good on you for taking the little one, So many others wouldnt have- and without proper care and extra attention he wouldnt survive long. If the joint is [COLOR=333333]" a bit more bulbous" it could mean that the leg is dislocated or the tendon has slipped. I have cared for a few ducklings that have hatched this way. In older chicks or ducklings that tendon slipping can be a sign of a vitamin deficiency- but in this little fellows case I would think it happened while still in the egg. It is likely that the bones are already too deformed in the joint for it to be fixed. [/COLOR] Disabled ducks can live a fairly normal life at times- but others will need more intensive care. At the moment I have Ollie. He has both the joints effected and has never been able to walk. He is soon to have his second birthday. There is other things wrong with him- he hasnt quite made it all the way through molting to his adult set of feathers yet. Usually they do this by 18 weeks. I have also cared for ducks that have only had one leg effected- but they dont normally fair as well as Ollie has. The constant hoping can put a strain on their heart. The unused foot will most likely wither up a bit as the muscles dont get used much and will atrophy in time. Keep an eye on the toenails- as they can curl under too and try and poke back through the foot if allowed to get to long. As the baby gets bigger it may not be able to preen properly so you may have to assist with cleaning his face so his eyes dont get irritated. You may also have to do some experimentation with bedding, Ollie lives inside in a childs playpen on towels as he cant be on shavings or hay. He loves swimming though and scoots himself around when he is outside on the grass. I dont mean to scare you with some of what I wrote- caring for a disabled duck is very rewarding, but I hope some of this helps.

I have a duck like Ollie as well, so glad I found this post, never thought of a playpen...great idea!!

 

[HanLills777]

Miss Lydia,

Winston is happy and healthy on the farm, I've had an updated picture and he's fine our next batch have hatched themselves and we have 8 new ones however when we went to school this morning three were out but one is holding it's neck backwards and resting on it's back. She walks backwards a lot but I can move her neck forwards and she can do that on her own cos she's preened herself but she prefers to lean backwards. Have attached pictures, any idea what is going on?