Duck limping, suggestions on how can I help her?

[Moments]

I have a couple year old blue swedish named Kiwi who was suddenly limping Monday morning. The only thing I can think that happened was drake related or she tripped, not really sure. Seemed fine when I put them in Sunday night but maybe I missed it. She can walk on it fast if she's hungry (when first letting them out) but after being on it for a bit tucks it under her. When starting to walk again she can get off balance and drop. She's pretty much the same size as the other ducks. I know bath soaks can help with possible inflammation but I am concerned about making things worse trying to move her. I got her as an adult that wasn't socialized so though she has not issue being around me, taking stuff from my hand and things like that, she does not like getting picked up. Even the process of getting her (to use a towel to pick her up so she's not struggling) she panics scurrying around and I'm concerned this in itself can also make things worse. I feel like just leaving her would be better. She's in a pen inside with a friend so she's not lonely, but seems to only eat when the other ducks are with her and they're not separated at all, which requires her to get out of the pen and move around a bit. Doesn't seem to be any swelling in the leg or toes. Hard to feel the hip/top of leg area. I'm hoping it just a sprain. Poor gal. Any suggestions on how to make her more comfortable? She's still wagging her tail and making racket when she's with the other girls. Seems ok first thing when they're fed (excited to eat) then back to limping and a bit off balance after. Starting to walk again after eating and being stationary seems to be a bit of a challenge.

 

[hammyanne]

I'm sorry to hear about your sweet girl! It could absolutely just be a sprain, in which case maybe keeping her inside of a crate or separate space to rest might be best.

I'm not sure if this is a possibility for you, but I recently had a duck exhibit those same symptoms and I thought it was a sprain. It turns out she had metal poisoning and went downhill quickly (limping to passed in 1 week). In that case, you'd want to see a vet immediately. Mine wasn't available, so ultimately kept her as comfortable as possible until she passed. Keep an eye on her and let us know how she does!

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Ducks are very prone to sprains. I don’t separate when my ducks get a sprain for two reasons:
1. The stress of separation will make it worse and can cause more inflammation.
2. Despite popular belief, walking and swimming actually help a sprain and are both good physical therapy. As a teenager I played sports spring, summer, fall and had so many sprains that I lost count. I found out quickly that babying a sprain only made it take longer to heal, but getting up and walking around made them heal significantly faster.
For my ducks I only make sure there is food/ water within a reasonable distance and give a daily dose of Poultry Cell. If she doesn’t like being handled you can just add the Poultry Cell in her water.

 

[Moments]

Ducks are very prone to sprains. I don’t separate when my ducks get a sprain for two reasons:
1. The stress of separation will make it worse and can cause more inflammation.
2. Despite popular belief, walking and swimming actually help a sprain and are both good physical therapy. As a teenager I played sports spring, summer, fall and had so many sprains that I lost count. I found out quickly that babying a sprain only made it take longer to heal, but getting up and walking around made them heal significantly faster.
For my ducks I only make sure there is food/ water within a reasonable distance and give a daily dose of Poultry Cell. If she doesn’t like being handled you can just add the Poultry Cell in her water.

In the past, depending on how bad it was, I've let them walk with the flock and if not too bad it would resolve itself. In the worse situations I've separated them with a friend or two so they're not alone. She doesn't seem stressed, she lays down and rests. I had another duck with an issue and me picking her up to look over and assist seemed to worsen it. One of my concerns with fiddling with her too much is not knowing for certain if that's what it is. Seems she does best in the morning after having laid down and resting all night. She'll want to keep up with the flock, which free ranges most of the day and gets weak and falls when she's been vertical for a brief time. We have several sized pools, small to large, some with ramps but they rarely use them and I am concerned about the impact on her leg if she decides to get in a pool with or without ramp and then jump out. During the day she rests too but does move around more looking through the hay a bit, eating and drinking with her buddy.
Because she's with a buddy during the day they are sharing food and water. I'm adding Eggs Fresh Daily Coop Kelp and Brewers Yeast mix to it, which they usually get daily anyway.. if she's sharing her water is it okay to add the Poultry Cell to it? In the past it's taken a few days to a week or so to get better but that was with mild issues where they were still getting around but limping. One of my ducks (black swedish) is still limping after a year (despite all I tried to do for her including separating her inside, outside and letting her roam with the flock), giving her supplements, natural remedies, etc. I'm thinking it was more than a sprain, but that injury was definitely the result of a drake. I was unable to bring her to a vet because just walking through the door is over $100 and they would want to do an xray which would've been almost $300. She's doing just fine and gets around, eats, does all the things but still has a limp.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

In the past, depending on how bad it was, I've let them walk with the flock and if not too bad it would resolve itself. In the worse situations I've separated them with a friend or two so they're not alone. She doesn't seem stressed, she lays down and rests. I had another duck with an issue and me picking her up to look over and assist seemed to worsen it. One of my concerns with fiddling with her too much is not knowing for certain if that's what it is. Seems she does best in the morning after having laid down and resting all night. She'll want to keep up with the flock, which free ranges most of the day and gets weak and falls when she's been vertical for a brief time. We have several sized pools, small to large, some with ramps but they rarely use them and I am concerned about the impact on her leg if she decides to get in a pool with or without ramp and then jump out. During the day she rests too but does move around more looking through the hay a bit, eating and drinking with her buddy.
Because she's with a buddy during the day they are sharing food and water. I'm adding Eggs Fresh Daily Coop Kelp and Brewers Yeast mix to it, which they usually get daily anyway.. if she's sharing her water is it okay to add the Poultry Cell to it? In the past it's taken a few days to a week or so to get better but that was with mild issues where they were still getting around but limping. One of my ducks (black swedish) is still limping after a year (despite all I tried to do for her including separating her inside, outside and letting her roam with the flock), giving her supplements, natural remedies, etc. I'm thinking it was more than a sprain, but that injury was definitely the result of a drake. I was unable to bring her to a vet because just walking through the door is over $100 and they would want to do an xray which would've been almost $300. She's doing just fine and gets around, eats, does all the things but still has a limp.

Yes poultry cell is perfectly safe for any of your other ducks as well.

 

[Moments]

Yes poultry cell is perfectly safe for any of your other ducks as well.

Okay thank you, I didn't know if it would be too much for a duck that didn't need it