Two 5 week old ducklings with one bad leg each

[Trisseh]

Thank you. I did try to slip it back in by pulling the leg bag and massaging each side of the hock after finding the tendon. It didn't work but I will continue trying once or twice a day. I was going to have my sister help, but find that I can probably do it alone by laying them on their tummies and pulling the leg back to work it. I surely hope I am not too late. They are about half the size of their siblings which may be a good thing with what appears to be slipped tendons.

Definitely a lot more difficult with a bigger leg to work on. Lol. The foot is turning in so the tendon should be slipped to the inside, if that helps. If you can get it back in place, you can also try bandaging the leg, either straight or slightly bent, to keep it there for a little while. Usually 24 hours or so before you’ll have to remove the wrap and see. I’ve tried a couple different ways with a couple different species, the baby chick was easiest, the turkey poult was difficult and unsuccessful. The chick was wrapped and put in a chick chair and then wraps removed 24 hours later with some physical therapy, range of motion kind of thing to help stretch things out, then with an additional 24 hours in the chair without wraps on. The poult was crazy and we tried bandaging and splinting but it didn’t work. That thing was... interesting. Haha.

This is a very helpful site for deciding on treatments and therapy options.

 

[LindaMarieLaur]

Definitely a lot more difficult with a bigger leg to work on. Lol. The foot is turning in so the tendon should be slipped to the inside, if that helps. If you can get it back in place, you can also try bandaging the leg, either straight or slightly bent, to keep it there for a little while. Usually 24 hours or so before you’ll have to remove the wrap and see. I’ve tried a couple different ways with a couple different species, the baby chick was easiest, the turkey poult was difficult and unsuccessful. The chick was wrapped and put in a chick chair and then wraps removed 24 hours later with some physical therapy, range of motion kind of thing to help stretch things out, then with an additional 24 hours in the chair without wraps on. The poult was crazy and we tried bandaging and splinting but it didn’t work. That thing was... interesting. Haha.

This is a very helpful site for deciding on treatments and therapy options.

I am massaging both sides of the hock and trying to get the tendon to move to the center on the back of the leg. Hope this is correct. I did get one lower foot moving trying the first time today but not the second. I am afraid the tendons might be tight because they have been like this maybe a week so am hoping to elongate while massaging. I let them swim 2 or 3 times a day and they love that. Thank you for your help.

 

[LindaMarieLaur]

Now I read that it is slipped from the ankle so will work there today as well. Learning the hard way.....

 

[Trisseh]

Now I read that it is slipped from the ankle so will work there today as well. Learning the hard way.....

Slipped from the ankle? This has me confused. Some people call the hock (intertarsal joint) the ankle, so if that’s what you’re referring to, yes, that’s the location that the tendon slips out on. You can feel for the tendon prior to manipulating the leg to know where it is. Compare it to the other leg to get an idea of where it’s supposed to be.
replacing the tendon is usually simplest by putting the baby on their belly and pulling the leg straight back. It’s painful for the few seconds they have to be in that position but it helps to align the leg for you to be able to push the tendon back where it’s supposed to be. Sometimes though, you run into developmental problems where the bone hasn’t developed properly, so there isn’t that nice groove for the tendon to go into. If you’re not sure what you’re working with, a vet visit would be best to assess what needs to be done. If you treat for one thing but that isn’t actually the problem, you could potentially cause more harm.

and definitely addressing any nutritional deficiency will help as well.

 

[Trisseh]

And swimming is excellent physical therapy so definitely keep doing that!

 

[LindaMarieLaur]

Slipped from the ankle? This has me confused. Some people call the hock (intertarsal joint) the ankle, so if that’s what you’re referring to, yes, that’s the location that the tendon slips out on. You can feel for the tendon prior to manipulating the leg to know where it is. Compare it to the other leg to get an idea of where it’s supposed to be.
replacing the tendon is usually simplest by putting the baby on their belly and pulling the leg straight back. It’s painful for the few seconds they have to be in that position but it helps to align the leg for you to be able to push the tendon back where it’s supposed to be. Sometimes though, you run into developmental problems where the bone hasn’t developed properly, so there isn’t that nice groove for the tendon to go into. If you’re not sure what you’re working with, a vet visit would be best to assess what needs to be done. If you treat for one thing but that isn’t actually the problem, you could potentially cause more harm.

and definitely addressing any nutritional deficiency will help as well.

Problem around here is there isn't a vet that works with other than dogs cats and horses. There used to be a farm vet years ago but he retired. I was lucky for my goats that a now retired vet who didn't work on farm animals had goats so she do a home visit once and taught me as much as she could while she helped my sick goat. I've been taking care of them ever since. Chickens I come here or research and so far so good although I did lose 3 to cocci before I realized there was blood in the poop so I treated the rest and that was the only loss I've had from illness. Ok today I did feel around what I considered the ankle and realized it must be the hock so I am massaging and continue with their swimming. Worse comes to worse if I cannot fix them I will put them all on the pond in the fall instead of waiting for spring which may be easier living for them if they stay lame. The run runs pretty fast on her hocks.... Thanks for clarifying the hocks I'll post back if I get the tendon back in. Unfortunately both legs of these two are affected so I'll compare with one of the ducks that is fine.

 

[LindaMarieLaur]

And swimming is excellent physical therapy so definitely keep doing that!

I talked to a vet who asked for photos which I sent. She said they should both be euthenized. I just can't do it yet. They do move to get food and water and one loves to swim. They will hobble away and hide in larger grass if afraid. I will keep working on the legs and hoping I can get them back in and bandage. I am just so sad.

 

[Trisseh]

I talked to a vet who asked for photos which I sent. She said they should both be euthenized. I just can't do it yet. They do move to get food and water and one loves to swim. They will hobble away and hide in larger grass if afraid. I will keep working on the legs and hoping I can get them back in and bandage. I am just so sad.

A lot of vets will go that route because they’re poultry unfortunately. although none of the vets I‘ve worked with would recommend euthanasia based solely on pictures, so... I would think if they’re otherwise getting what they need and aren’t damaging themselves too much, working with them for a bit longer isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The biggest problem you’ll run into with the ducks is that they just grow sooooo fast. By the time you realize there’s a real problem, they’ve already grown past the window of time you can help them.
And definitely, they’ll be much faster and less awkward on water.

 

[LindaMarieLaur]

A lot of vets will go that route because they’re poultry unfortunately. although none of the vets I‘ve worked with would recommend euthanasia based solely on pictures, so... I would think if they’re otherwise getting what they need and aren’t damaging themselves too much, working with them for a bit longer isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The biggest problem you’ll run into with the ducks is that they just grow sooooo fast. By the time you realize there’s a real problem, they’ve already grown past the window of time you can help them.
And definitely, they’ll be much faster and less awkward on water.

They are growing, but at a slower pace than the others. They are about half the size and one is growing faster than the other. Yesterday I moved these two to the duck house on the pond. One's legs are worse than the other and she got some weed tangled in them and stayed close to the shore. The other swam all over the place and decided instead of coming back to the island to go to the other side where she couldn't get out (too steep). I got on a float and got her and took her back to the island (my bad - new territory). They made themselves comfy in the duck house and today I will work with them again and let them swim and learn the island. They don't move around as much as the others, but there isn't any indication of pain such as shivering. I'll continue to work with them. The one with the worse legs was hitting her body with her webbed feet when she swam. She isn't now so that is an improvement. I could use some guidance from those who have kept lame ducks. Thank you for responding to my posts.