What's wrong with this duck?--update possible good news

[desertdarlene]

Has anyone seen a duck do this before?

I noticed this duckling had a limp and I thought it was my injured duckling that I saw a month ago (I think he's made a full recovery, by the way). But, it turned out he only had a foot that was turned in. Otherwise, he seemed fine. But, he wouldn't rush into the water when I approached. I was checking on Tom (the lake Muscovy who is being eaten alive by mites) and this duck just ran in front of me and stood by the water's edge.

Finally, he went in the water and this is how he looked!

No wonder why he didn't want to go in! It's almost like he's missing part of the front that keeps him afloat. He circled around and went back on the land.

I didn't see any of this year's ducklings with these issues before, so I wonder if it's an acquired injury or disease. I don't know how long he can live with this problem.

 

[duckluv]

I hope he'll be okay.

 

[desertdarlene]

Quote:
I hope so, too. He's made it so far, but I don't know how long he's been like that. On land, he looks like any other duck except he has a turned in foot and a slight limp. It's in the water that he's having problems. And, I don't know if he can dabble or fly, either.

 

[bock]

Maybe you should rescue him!

 

[desertdarlene]

Quote:
If I could take him home, I would, but I can't (plus, he's a wild mallard, so I think I would have some legal issues to deal with). I don't think we have a duck rescue organization in our town, either and if it's not an injury, wildlife rescue probably won't take him.

I've seen some real surprising survival stories at this lake, so he may make it, especially if he can fly, which I haven't seen him do. I am guessing that he doesn't want to fly because it might mean he has to land in the water.

 

[FunnyBunnies12]

AWWW poor thing, I couldn't pass up a cute little guy like that and if he couldn't fly I would rescue him regardless or law or not. Sometimes you got to do what you got to do for the voices who can not speak.

 

[desertdarlene]

Quote:
I can't keep him at my house, but I'll keep an eye on him and see if there's anything that can be done. That's part of the reason why I was wondering if anyone knew what was wrong with him because if this is caused by an injury, I may be able to get some help. But, he may be OK the way he is and possibly may have been like this for a long time and I just haven't noticed him before. I will ask other people who know about the ducks to see what they say. He doesn't seem to be in any pain or suffering at all. He's even molting like all the other drakes, too.

 

[Bleenie]

I don't know what could possibly be wrong with this little guy but if you can, you should cath and dust Tom... that's so strange that he has mites so bad. I keep my ducks & chickens together and have had a bad case of mites with the chicks before but the ducks were never bothered by them. After i did some research i found out that with plenty of access to water, ducks can keep mites under control all by themselves.

I would definitely try to help Tom if possible & keep a very close eye on this little guy, he swims like he's swallowed some rocks!

 

[desertdarlene]

Quote:
I was thinking the same thing about Tom, possibly catching him and putting some medication on him, except he has been feral for a while and I know he doesn't like to be touched. So, it will be a two person job, for sure. I wonder if there's a way to put the dust on him without having to hold or touch him, but that might mean that he won't get dusted underneath his wings or belly really well. I can get right up to him with no problem, but if I reach for him, he moves away quickly. I've never seen him get really mean, but he's a large duck with a hard bill and claws on his feet and I think he would be a handful. I don't know why he's hasn't been swimming lately, makes me wonder if he's not feeling well. Maybe there's another reason why he's doing so much scratching and preening, such as habit, but I've never seen it as bad as it has been the last few weeks. Last time I saw him, he was in an unusual area, too and I don't know if he got his daily ration of food that day.

I have to check with some other people before I do anything to make sure he doesn't get overmedicated. It's possible that someone else might dust him and I don't want to hurt him by putting more dust ontop of that.

As for the other duck, I wonder if he really did swallow rocks or maybe he got too much bread or other food in his crop or something and it's weighing him down. I will keep an eye on him. I think that might be what it is and maybe it will work itself out.

 

[desertdarlene]

You know, I just remembered something, it sounded like this duck was "mewing" like a kitten, too. I'm not sure as his back was towards me. Maybe it was the Muscovy that was doing it. I looked around and found no kitten. Maybe he really does have something caught in his throat/crop (gullet). I am going to see if I can find him now.