Something is wrong, please advise

RubberDuckee

Chirping
7 Years
Jun 30, 2012
113
6
81
Tennessee
One of my mallard hens, who is presently laying eggs for the 1st time, has something wrong with her legs. I am noticing this for the first time today. She spent a lot of time in the pool yesterday though.... when she wasn't building a nest inside my planter of ivy. I am worried she may have injured herself gutting that ivy plant.

BOTH legs are very swollen. Then, her right leg has a large, brown nodule on it. She is walking fine, even running. I am just so surprised, because she has seemed fine. Still... I don't know how I didn't notice her legs or the nodule until now. It is as if this condition has rapidly progressed over yesterday and today.

The nodule feels solid, but was obviously uncomfortable for me to touch. I attached a pic below. Please advise.

There are several duck vets in the area. Getting an appointment can be difficult though. I would rather not take her to the emergency duck vet due to cost, but if that is what I need to do, please tell me and I WILL!!!!

Thanks!!!

 
Sometimes infections can cause large lumps like that - like an abcess. I wouldn't say that it's an emergency, but I'd make an appointment with the normal bird vet (i.e. not the emergency vet) as soon as you can. If it is an infection they may lance it and put her on antibiotics.

Ir is good that she is otherwise active and normal in her behaviour :)
 
Thanks Cocoa and Amiga!

Yesterday I was able to get her into the vet. Her legs are not swollen anymore, thankfully. The brown nodule is still there though. The vet is not sure what it is. He took pictures and posted to various vet/zoo forums. He got back to me by phone today. It appears the general consensus is that no one really knows exactly what it is... WEIRD!

He said we could cut it off and do a biopsy, but the vet actually seems to think it is most likely going to fall off on its own. He said the best guess is that it is some kind of viral wart or something like that. Gross!

This morning it does appear to be less attached than it was before. So, I think I am going to wait a few days and see if it falls off, at which time the vet will tend to the skin/flesh underneath. If it doesn't fall off soon though I guess I will go ahead and have the vet remove it and biopsy it. I hope it falls off on its own!

She is still walking and running like normal. I guess time will tell...

Thanks sooo much for getting back to me! :)
 
I think I would have the vet remove it and biopsy it just to know what it is. If it falls off on its own you may not be able to find it. Best wishes to your duck.
 
Yes, it'd be handy to have it biopsied to see what it is before it falls off of its own accord. If you are interested in finding out, that is :) Otherwise just see if it falls off.

Thanks for the update - seems like your duck has produced a medical mystery there!!! :)
 
Thanks to all who responded to this old post. I apologize it has been a while since my last forum visit, but please know that I am TRULY grateful for all advice my dear forum friends have provided.
I just wanted to update regarding the weird growth on Patita's leg. Guess what? It actually just fell off after 2 weeks. Underneath was fresh, clean pink skin that healed nicely. :) Since it fell off on its own, I don't know where it is and could not test it, however, it never returned.
 
It's very good when we can find out how things resolved. Thanks
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