Advice please...my duckling is limping--I think she is injured!

[Miss Lydia]

Okay i thought maybe you were giving them water to play in which isn't a good idea since they can chill so easily at the age they are, but putting her into some nice warm water for some exercise wouldn't hurt at all and can help and all the ducklings would love it. Just make sure to pat them dry and put them into a nice warm place to finish drying. Giving her some swim time can help build muscles and also take pressure off her leg.

 

[OneEggToRuleThemAll]

it looks like she is favoring it but at least she is putting it down and trying. I don't think she has splay leg which would require hobbles. You mentioned the paint thing is there any place on it where she could have gotten her foot caught? or could she have gotten stepped on by one of your larger ducklings? You could try some warm Epsom salt wraps just put warm water and Epsom salt in a bowl and mix so the salt is blended into the water then take a soft cloth like a washcloth and soak it wring it out so it isn't dripping and wrap jer leg until the cloth starts to cool you can do this many times a day. Also, she needs along with the other 1 Tablespoon of Nutritional yeast for each cup of feed. At the age they are and her being Jumbo Pekin the Nutritional yeast is very important. I have 10 week old Runner females and each water changing they got liquid B complex in their water and nutritional yeast over every cup of feed they got.
Hopefully with rest and some extra niacin she'll be back up walking without pain.

Thank you so much! I actually went to Tractor Supply today to get the Durvet liquid B complex that I've seen recommended but I couldn't buy it because my debit card was restricted due to someone stealing my number and trying to use my card in some other state, ARGH! (I needed groceries today, too! Good reason to carry some cash!) My husband is on his way home now, so I will have him pick up the B complex.

I think maybe she did get her leg caught in the paint tray or something. That's the only thing I could think of, unless she fell off her EcoGlow and sprained her leg. I'm worried about her, but Storey's book says they have the ability to heal quickly, so I'm praying she gets better asap.

 

[OneEggToRuleThemAll]

Okay i thought maybe you were giving them water to play in which isn't a good idea since they can chill so easily at the age they are, but putting her into some nice warm water for some exercise wouldn't hurt at all and can help and all the ducklings would love it. Just make sure to pat them dry and put them into a nice warm place to finish drying. Giving her some swim time can help build muscles and also take pressure off her leg.

Oh, okay, I can do that this evening! I haven't let them submerge or swim in water yet because the Metzer guide said not to do that until they were 3-4 weeks old. I see that many others let their ducklings swim...there's so much conflicting info out there. I just want to keep them safe and healthy.

 

[Jenbirdee]

The paint roller tray is a simple metal tray and the wire rack that goes with it...it's to pour paint in and roll the paint roller on the wire rack. It was obviously brand new, lol. I got the idea from a youtube video...I put her water container on top of it so all the splashings go in the tray and not in the bedding. But since she's gotten injured, I took it out of the brooder.

good its out because I have a friend who used one of those and one of his ducklings squeezed under the metal part and was found stuck and dead in there

 

[Miss Lydia]

if it is splay leg it's not too bad since the leg isn't sliding out to the side like you normally see with splay leg. If you feel making hobbles just to see if it makes a difference then of course up to you.

I am sorry to hear about your debit card. The reason I mentioned her getting it caught I have some crates in my coops for my girls to lay in they like to sleep in them too one is metal and last week I opened the door to the coop and found one of my Runner laying face down on the shaving with her wings spread out scared me so bad until she raised her head up she had gotten her foot caught in the metal coming out the door opening I helped her out she limped for a few hours then was fine. This crate has been in the coop for over a year. My ducklings loved getting up on top of their ecoGlow too but it has a plastic dome which I kept on until they were a few weeks old then removed it and they slept up there more than under.

 

[OneEggToRuleThemAll]

good its out because I have a friend who used one of those and one of his ducklings squeezed under the metal part and was found stuck and dead in there

Oh my goodness, I will NOT put that thing back in there!! Thank you for letting me know!

 

[OneEggToRuleThemAll]

if it is splay leg it's not too bad since the leg isn't sliding out to the side like you normally see with splay leg. If you feel making hobbles just to see if it makes a difference then of course up to you.

I am sorry to hear about your debit card. The reason I mentioned her getting it caught I have some crates in my coops for my girls to lay in they like to sleep in them too one is metal and last week I opened the door to the coop and found one of my Runner laying face down on the shaving with her wings spread out scared me so bad until she raised her head up she had gotten her foot caught in the metal coming out the door opening I helped her out she limped for a few hours then was fine. This crate has been in the coop for over a year. My ducklings loved getting up on top of their ecoGlow too but it has a plastic dome which I kept on until they were a few weeks old then removed it and they slept up there more than under.

Oh no, I'm sorry to hear about your runner! So glad she's okay now! I will not be putting that paint tray back in there. It seemed very uncomfortable on their little feet anyway.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Oh my gosh you will have so much fun watching your ducklings play in the water just stay with them and get them out as soon as the water starts to cool. always supervise. My ducklings that are with their mamas always get to play in water they start off in a cat littler tray with a rock on the inside and out so they can easily get in and out and I really go by what mama does so mine get to play in warm water at around a week old and they have a blast always start them off with water just up to top of their legs then gradually make it deeper each time you put them in they will swim underwater your kids will love it. And they start preening quicker and get their oil gland working. They will let you know if they are through even before the water starts to cool. Take some pictures to share.

 

[Miss Lydia]

if you have any thrift stores around I found a nice broiler pan to put the water and feed on and I just placed a puppy pee pad on top to protect their little feet.

 

[OneEggToRuleThemAll]

Thank you, @Miss Lydia !!