Special needs duck in Michigan

[blacke]

This spring we added a flock of 11 ducklings to our family. One of them has since developed special needs and I am unsure we are the right home for her any more. She is a 10 week old Jumbo Pekin. As she grew, she began to step on her own feet when she walked. Her walking has gotten progressively worse and now she gets around by flapping her wings against the ground and dragging her legs behind her. We took her to a vet last week. He diagnosed her with splay leg and said it was something that occurs in the egg and shows up as the duck grows. He said there was no 'fix' for her. Due to the way she gets around, her feathers are in quite poor shape. We don't want to have her put down if we can avoid it. She is a really friendly duck but I am afraid we don't have the knowledge or ability to care for her in the way she deserves.

Do you have any suggestions for re-homing her with someone who can better care for her?
Thank you for your help
Emily Black

 

[Pyxis]

Are you able to ship her? If so I could give her a good home where she'd still be able to live outdoors, but in a nice secure enclosure with swimming water (if she can swim) and other ducks that would keep her company. I'm also a vet student, so I'd be able to get her medical care if she needed it. I do have experience with other special need birds, incuding a blind chicken and actually another duck that had less severe leg problems than your girl, but still couldn't get around. After lots of pool therapy, her leg actually healed up and she's up and around again! I completely understand if you don't want to ship her, I just thought I'd see if it was a possibility.

 

[blacke]

I don't think I would be able to ship her. Where are you located?

 

[Pyxis]

I'm in upstate NY, so that's probably about 11 hours from you.