Wild duck with bad leg

[veronicasmom]

I was visiting a friend this weekend and was at the bay in NJ. There are ducks all over, but there is this one that is very cute. It kept swimming up to me looking at me, obviously to feed it. I noticed it had a deformed leg. Not sure if it was from birth or if a turtle got it.
Just wondering how this little one fares on land. Can they get around with only one good leg? It's a wild duck, so I assume it can fly easily and it swims fine.

 

[desertdarlene]

We have a lot of those at my lake, mostly due to fishing line injuries, but turtles can be a cause, too. I know of one who walks around on a stump of a leg because his foot is gone. He does fine. I also know of another duck who had his leg wrapped up in fishing line for a year and did fine even though he practically couldn't stand on land. Another one I know could stand OK on one foot, but couldn't walk, so he stayed near the water.

So, it's possible that he may do OK, especially if he's being fed regularly.

 

[veronicasmom]

Thanks, good to know. He really (or she, I am not sure what kind of ducks they are) maneuvers well in the water, but I never saw it on the beach with the others. I won't be down there again till fall, hope it is still around and happy then. I will be looking for him/her then! And I think it deserves some peas!

 

[desertdarlene]

I've noticed that a lot of wild ducks don't go for the peas, especially if they're used to bread, corn and seed. But, you never know. I usually like to throw them in the water right near the beach and I let a few fall on the dry ground. They tend to like the wet peas more than the outside ones.

Now, if you come with some seed, crumble, or cracked corn, they definitely will eat it.