The Little Lame Duckling (with update & new pic)

[kitkatbahr]

Awww...poor little thing. I hope you find someone who can help you. Do you have any vets in the area that deal with other kinds of birds like parrots, cockatiels, etc? They may be willing to look at the duckling, as he is so small and not a full-size duck. More bird like right now, you know?

Just out of curiosity, what kind of duckling is the one next to him? It is HUGE compared to him. I know you said it hatched a day or so earlier, but that is a big size difference. Is your little handi-capped duck just smaller than "normal"? I am raising one right now that hatched at 24 days and was very, very tiny. She is one week old today and is doing well and has almost doubled in size in just 7 days!

Good luck with your baby!

Kathy
Merritt Island, FL

 

[jmc]

The other duckling is an Ancona.

 

[nissa_loves_cats]

The duckling next to the lame duckling is an Indian Runner and the same size as the other Indian Runners from the same hatch. The lame one ("Claudius") was the same size as another duckling that hatched the same day, but I sold that one. But Claudius is eating and drinking OK so should grow I would think. She survived last night's snowy cold--- the enclosed porch where I have my brooders gets cold and I was worried that the draft might harm her. (I think she might be a 'her', I vent sexed it and didn't see any boy-equipment)

The only vet in my area is a large animal vet who does a lot of work with local dairy farms. I have had her work on my goats and sheep. But she will think I'm CRAZY, CRAZY, CRAZY to take in a duckling worth only a couple of bucks and run up a vet bill on it! I mean, when I had a lamb with a broken leg she asked whether it was financially worthwhile to set the leg. That's the way it is with real farmers, you do need to keep the bottom line in mind.

However, I've talked it over with my mother (even old coots like me have to consult their mothers) and I've decided that if I take Claudius to the vet to get the hip un-dislocated I can observe the technique and perhaps learn to fix such problems for myself in the future. But with our cold weather today I don't know as I could get the poor thing to the vet alive in this cold. I guess I'll have to take the baby chicks she lives with in a chick shipping box with her to keep her warm.

I think I'll go in Monday and just bring the duckling in and see what happens. I mean, it's harder to say no when the duckling is actually there.

(Why is my probably-female duckling named Claudius? She's named after my beloved disabled cat Claudius who died last year. Technically the duckling is named 'Claudius 3' since I have a kitten (non-disabled) named Claudius 2. Yes, I'm running out of critter-names and am recycling.)

 

[lovesduckies]

i hope it works out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[JosieR]

Awww, I hope the vet can help and I agree it's harder to say no when you're there. I would try to help it too, my son has Aspergers so I can relate to having a soft spot for anything with special needs.

Good luck and let us know what happens!

 

[tonini3059]

See if this helps. I know the leg is not sticking straight out, but you never know.

http://www.poultryhelp.com/spraddle.html

 

[BigOJoe]

just wondering, did the lame duck hatch normally? was it a late hatch? did it require help hatching?

I ask because I had a mallard once that was the last to hatch and was slow getting past pipping, so I helped zip her and she came out of the rest of the way. she wasn't lame but her legs were gimpy and twisted. I wonder if i did the right thing helping, I'm pretty sure she would not have made it out on her own.

at four weeks we took her and her brothers and sisters to a freinds farm with a pond, she could swim pretty well, the water equaled things out for her, except she would get tangled in the grassy areas. in the evening my friend would carry her back to the pen with the others.

 

[nissa_loves_cats]

Quote:
It was a help-out, I pretty much had to do all the work for it. I know, that's not a great idea, but it was so late in the hatch I figured it wouldn't survive otherwise and since I didn't have many Indian Runner eggs I wanted to hatch as many as I could.

I haven't had any luck getting professional help for it. I've tried 're-locating' the dislocated hip (if that's what it is), with no success. I've also tried the treatment for spraddle-leg and it seemed to make things worse.

I've noticed that she also doesn't seem to be growing very much compared with the other ducks of the same age, or with her brooder-mates, 4 black copper maran chicks. But she's still alive and while there is life there is hope. (The other duckling in the picture has since died, by the way.)


Here is the latest pic of little Claudius....

 

[lovesduckies]

awee so cute. i hope you find help soon! if not you have yourself an inside special baby!!!!

 

[fawnda]

Quote:

It was a help-out, I pretty much had to do all the work for it. I know, that's not a great idea, but it was so late in the hatch I figured it wouldn't survive otherwise and since I didn't have many Indian Runner eggs I wanted to hatch as many as I could.

I haven't had any luck getting professional help for it. I've tried 're-locating' the dislocated hip (if that's what it is), with no success. I've also tried the treatment for spraddle-leg and it seemed to make things worse.

I've noticed that she also doesn't seem to be growing very much compared with the other ducks of the same age, or with her brooder-mates, 4 black copper maran chicks. But she's still alive and while there is life there is hope. (The other duckling in the picture has since died, by the way.)


Here is the latest pic of little Claudius....

So what happened to Claudius 3?! I'm assuming not good or you would have posted here with an update :/ I have a little Cayuga I ordered and she also has a dislocated leg, so searching to see if anything can be done to help her.