Spraddle leg or pulled muscle in 13 day old duckling?

You have to wonder if the way his body is if he may have some pressure to his air sac that could cause the breathing? Or it could be over heating? What is the temp in their brooder? At 2 weeks it should be between 75-80 as long as their isn’t any draft. As for cleaning his nares I would think he’d do it when needed. Especially if he has water deep enough to dunk his head into. Are they mainly eating their feed? And the rest you mentioned is just small amount as a treat? Grit should be offered in separate dish and they will eat it as needed.
 
Is it when hes around the heatlamp? Sounds like overheating mabye. if they overheat they pant like dogs

You turn the heat down for him ever week i assume

It’s not specific to being around the heat lamp, I actually had a feeling he might be a bit cold so I lowered the heat lamp a tiny bit. But yes I raise the lamp every so often to get them used to colder temps
 
You have to wonder if the way his body is if he may have some pressure to his air sac that could cause the breathing? Or it could be over heating? What is the temp in their brooder? At 2 weeks it should be between 75-80 as long as their isn’t any draft. As for cleaning his nares I would think he’d do it when needed. Especially if he has water deep enough to dunk his head into. Are they mainly eating their feed? And the rest you mentioned is just small amount as a treat? Grit should be offered in separate dish and they will eat it as needed.

I don’t think he’s overheating since I’ve been raiding the lamp, there’s barely any heat from it anymore. I lowered it a little actually cuz I had a feeling he might be cold. Raised it back up just now. They’re in the finished basement so it’s a bit cooler down here. I think their brooder is probably around 75-80 at the moment.

They get veggies round the clock, I change them out every few hours for fresh ones, and they don’t always eat it all. Things like spaghetti, rice, and eggs, anything that isn’t 0 points in weight watchers they get in small amounts as the occasional snack :lau. Most of the time their mash has been eaten more than the veggies and i refresh it a few times a day as well. I was reluctant to offer grit desperately because I’ve talked to a few people and they’ve had problems with their indoor ducks throwing it everywhere and hurting their feet, hence why I add it to one, maybe two servings of veggies. Cuz Penny is messy and steps in everything and prefers to fling her food across the brooder :barnie
 
Typical messy ducks. I would think the best you can do is all that you are. Make sure he gets adequate space to move around with fresh feed and water. Your doing all that now so just try and enjoy him he isn’t ever going to be 100% with his curve but he can live a good life your seeing to that. I read in one of your post you made it sound like you may not keep them? Tony is what I would call special needs. He can get around but he will need a little more care than Penny. It’s almost like scoliosis in humans. I do think water fowl can have it to.
 
Typical messy ducks. I would think the best you can do is all that you are. Make sure he gets adequate space to move around with fresh feed and water. Your doing all that now so just try and enjoy him he isn’t ever going to be 100% with his curve but he can live a good life your seeing to that. I read in one of your post you made it sound like you may not keep them? Tony is what I would call special needs. He can get around but he will need a little more care than Penny. It’s almost like scoliosis in humans. I do think water fowl can have it to.

Thank you for the reassurance, just feel like sometimes me being a newbie doesn’t help them...

I’m doing everything i can to be able to keep them but the tricky bit is me moving this summer... I’ve been in touch with over 15 different pet shipping companies but they’re either not friendly and are pretty much telling me to go away cuz i have ducks or they’re not responding at all. If i can find out how to bring them from Canada to Europe they’re definitely coming. The tricky part is if I can’t bring them... but I’m trying not to think about that yet, cuz there has to be a way. I doubt I could even find someone that would take two house-ducks lol
 
I'm not an expert, but I was wondering:

Have you tried holding him in your hand in proper posture, letting his legs hang over your fingers to see/feel where the issue might be? Will his leg move in the correct line if you move it for him? Will his body stay aligned if it's supported? A little ducky PT might help, teaching/strengthening his muscles/joints?

( I had a rabbit kit that moved a lot like him-turned out he had a dislocated stifle that had healed "off." It was negligible when he was young, but after a while he gave up trying to right it and just tripod'd across the yard, foot flapping in the breeze.....)
 
I'm not an expert, but I was wondering:

Have you tried holding him in your hand in proper posture, letting his legs hang over your fingers to see/feel where the issue might be? Will his leg move in the correct line if you move it for him? Will his body stay aligned if it's supported? A little ducky PT might help, teaching/strengthening his muscles/joints?

( I had a rabbit kit that moved a lot like him-turned out he had a dislocated stifle that had healed "off." It was negligible when he was young, but after a while he gave up trying to right it and just tripod'd across the yard, foot flapping in the breeze.....)

The issue seems to be where his knee joint is, like the bend sorta halfway down his leg. It seems to be twisted out to the left. But then again, his whole body is twisted to the left...
I’ve tried to hold him and sorta push it where it’s supposed to be very gently, and now that he’s had the grippy pads he's already walking a lot better. Swimming is the tricky part for him at the moment cuz he can’t seem to stand on it with it floating away from him. I wanna try some deeper water though so he has to stop keeping one foot on the ground. Maybe if he swims normally he will learn to use it and it’ll strengthen that muscle. Little duck hydro therapy!
 
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I found a solution to Tony’s slipping problem! He kept hurting himself whenever he would slide so I gave him little shoes to help him grip. For some reason balloons were the perfect solution :confused::oops::duc:woot
 

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