So mad I could strangle my duck... **UPDATED AND WITH PICS**

[JosieR]

So I'm trying to see if she's going to hatch this other egg. She's stepped on 1 baby and killed it and only 2 hatched. I went out this a.m., happy to see the baby survived the night and was walking more today.

Then, while I'm changing the water and picking up the wettest hay so we don't have mold, she steps on the baby!! When the baby cries out in pain she proceeds to grab it by the neck, running back and forth slamming it over and over into the walls

Then as I'm putting the fresh food and water in, she does it again. The poor baby was alive but limping. I have REALLY tried to defer to the duck and say she knows best but this has me so mad and upset I am about ready to go take that baby from her and brood it in my darn kitchen. I can not get that poor things little peeps of pain out of my ears!!

Why in the world would she do that???

 

[Wifezilla]

Some ducks are stupid. Take the baby away before she kills it!

 

[mommyofthreewithchicks]

I don't think mama duck is ready to be a mama, take the duckling away!

 

[JosieR]

OK, after much fighting, we got the baby. Her foot is bent back and she's hopping. It almost looks like it's bent so that she's walking on the top of it, if that makes sense.

WHAT CAN I DO????

 

[JosieR]

and you know, I stood out there crying because as much as this mama hurt this baby, it still wanted nothing more than to run under mama's feet when we came for it.

 

[EmAbTo48]

You did the right thing! Honestly some ducks really aren't good moms or like this case they have to learn how to be a good mother.. and in so hurt/kill there young

You did the right thing by taking it from her.

For the foot does it look bent like broken bent? Or just bent back a little. The thing is with ducklings even chicks they don't have all the bones formed yet so they are easy to bend, become spraggled. But its rare that they actually break the bone.

You could try helping it by doing what you do with a spraggled leg take an adhesive bandage (band-aid) with a ¾ inch pad. Cut the bandage in half lengthwise. Wrap the sticky part around one leg, then the pad is the spacer, and wrap the other sticky part on the other leg. You need to make sure that the legs are together and that the good leg will make the bad leg re straighten out. I guess you could even bandaid up the hurt leg so its straight also.

You usually need to keep the band aid on for 3-5 days sometimes longer! I also would let the duckling swim. And hopefully if its not broken it will start the use the leg right.

If its broken (which really the only way your going to know is take it to the vet) you can splint it, but really a vet is more trained to splint it the right way.

 

[JosieR]

It's the foot, it looks like it might be broken. Let's say the leg is the side of the L and the foot is the bottom. The 3/4 of the foot, almost all of it is bent almost completely back so that when it walks, s/he drags that leg behind and the bottom of the foot is actually facing the ceiling.

I'm afraid it may be beyond my abilities.

I did call the feed store and they gave me the name of a vet. $66 to see the duckling and I'll go from there, our appointment is in a little while and s/he is wrapped in a little rag in my shirt right now.

We literally had to fight the mother for it, she tried to fly over the top of the fence to get my husband. Ugh, I am going to have to fight the urge to leave her behind outside for the coyotes tonight.

 

[DinosRBirds]

Can you post some pics

 

[JosieR]

yes, I am resizing them right now!!!

 

[JosieR]