Swollen leg

[BelovedBirds]

I went out to put the girls to bed and found Sprightly lying down, it was a little unusual for her to stay laying down even with me petting her, so I asked her to stand and noticed right away that she wasn't taking full weight on her foot and it looked swollen.
I had a good look and a good feel of both of her legs and her leg is definitely swollen, and warm. She's got a limp but it's not a hugely bad one, she didn't react to pressure anywhere on her leg or foot. I gave her a cold water soak before I put her to bed but now I'm all worried.
It seems mostly in her ankle, right above her foot. Doesn't seem fractured or broken based on her behaviour currently but the swelling has me spooked. Dougie sprained her leg badly one time, couldn't step on it at all, and it didn't swell even a little bit. This definitely occurred today, likely this afternoon or evening as she was fine early afternoon.


Should we get her to the vets, or is it likely to resolve on its own? Photos tomorrow if she's still feeling bad.

 

[ruthhope]

I went out to put the girls to bed and found Sprightly lying down, it was a little unusual for her to stay laying down even with me petting her, so I asked her to stand and noticed right away that she wasn't taking full weight on her foot and it looked swollen.
I had a good look and a good feel of both of her legs and her leg is definitely swollen, and warm. She's got a limp but it's not a hugely bad one, she didn't react to pressure anywhere on her leg or foot. I gave her a cold water soak before I put her to bed but now I'm all worried.
It seems mostly in her ankle, right above her foot. Doesn't seem fractured or broken based on her behaviour currently but the swelling has me spooked. Dougie sprained her leg badly one time, couldn't step on it at all, and it didn't swell even a little bit. This definitely occurred today, likely this afternoon or evening as she was fine early afternoon.


Should we get her to the vets, or is it likely to resolve on its own? Photos tomorrow if she's still feeling bad.

Poor Sprightly! If you cannot feel anything wrong except the swollen and presumably painful leg, I am thinking it is a sprained ankle. You might give her Meloxicam if you have it as it is a painkiller and anti-inflammatory. IF you don;t have any, you might buy ibuprofen for her from a pharmacy. I like infant ibuprofen as it is more concentrated and thus a smaller volume to give the dose but not everywhere has it. Paediatric ibuprofen seems to be widely available. The ibuprofen dose for ducks is 5-10 mg/kg 2-3 times a day. So, being in the USA, I use 5 mg per pound. For a 7lb duck 35mg.

You are lucky to have a vet option. Whether you take her depends on how comfortable you are waiting and seeing. Many of us don't have vet options and generally wait and see, and find that sprains and feet wounds generally get better with home care.

Let us know how she does in the next few days