Swollen foot on 9 day old duckling

[Tvigs103]

My 9 day old Cayuga has slight swelling in her foot that started a day ago.
She’s running around with a slight limp but sometimes stands there holding up her one leg. I can’t see a cut or anything stuck in the bottom, and it’s possible she slipped trying to jump on top of the brooder heater.
she seems fine now but I’m just concerned that when she gets bigger the more it’s going to affect her.
anyone have any advice on how to help her heal this quickly?

 

[Isaac 0]

I'm assuming you're talking about the middle toe, correct? Any pictures of the underside?

It seems most likely to me, that she injured the leg somehow, perhaps from falling, probably not too severely if she's still walking pretty normal. Just like us humans, when animals are injured, the body's response is to flush white blood cells, and overall increase activity to the area, which does result in swelling/ and some pain, but that effectively keeps the animal from injuring the area even more.

By no means, does that suggest if the area continues to swell, or gets bigger you should still leave it, but if it's just a small/minor injury, it should resolve on its own.

It might be good if you post back in a couple of days on how it looks, but the most I would do is soak her foot in some Epsom salts for a little while. Making sure her pen area is free of things she may trip on, and ensuring the area is soft padded is good too.