Limping duck, I don't know what to do

[gracemortizzle]

About 10 days ago, out of the blue, my 1.5 year old Swedish blue hen started limping & didn't want to put much weight on her right leg. I did a quick bumblefoot inspection & didn't see anything alarming. I've never dealt with bumblefoot before, but after lurking here for a few years, I do think it's something I would recognize. Other than that, I didn't mess with her for a couple days to see if she just twisted her ankle or something & would heal up on her own. After a couple days, I brought her inside for a bathtub swim & closer inspection. I still didn't see anything resembling bumblefoot. During her bathtub swim, she started trying to lay an egg which isn't out of the ordinary- I find an egg in the pools quite often. I stepped out for a minute to grab something to drink & came back to a tiny egg (pic 1, my fingertip for scale?). I scooped it out to investigate & it was pretty soft. While I'm looking at it, she plops out a yolk (pic 2) & of course, immediately tried to eat it, but I didn't let her. After the yolk came a crumpled egg shell (pic 3). She laid it as it's pictured, it's not soggy & not super firm, it came out in that shape. I let her swim for a while longer & the sun was setting so I took her back out to sleep in the coop with her friends. This happened 6 days ago. Since her limp continued, I've been bringing her inside & giving her infant ibuprofen & then putting her back in her coop to sleep. In the mornings, she's let out of the coop, but contained in the run with her 3 sisters. She's been limiting her own walking while in the run & I haven't been letting them out to free range the yard like I usually do every day. I'm not 100% sure if she's been laying eggs or not. She isn't improving at all, so last night I decided she needs to stay in the bathtub until she's healed, instead of coming inside to swim/get meds, then going back to sleep in her coop. Thinking this will really limit her movement & I'll be able to tell if she's laying eggs or not. She slept in the bathtub last night & got her ibuprofen this morning. I'm currently at work wondering if I'm doing the right thing & I'm sort of at a loss on what to do. She isn't using her right leg to swim, although she is able to move it. I should mention, we do have 2 male pekins that are much larger than her, but we do keep them separate from our girls. There is no way the boys/girls can get to each other. I have no idea if this is a simple twisted ankle issue, or if it's a more serious issue of being egg bound, some sort of infection, etc.

I've had chickens for 4 years & ducks for 1.5 years. In the past 4 years, I've learned A LOT about chicken illnesses/emergencies and have built up quite the first aid kit. This is the first time I've had any of my ducks come to stay in the bathtub infirmary & I suddenly feel like I have no idea what I'm doing. I'd love to hear anything you all have to say & I thank you for reading this far. These girls are my best friends.

 

[Jenbirdee]

About 10 days ago, out of the blue, my 1.5 year old Swedish blue hen started limping & didn't want to put much weight on her right leg. I did a quick bumblefoot inspection & didn't see anything alarming. I've never dealt with bumblefoot before, but after lurking here for a few years, I do think it's something I would recognize. Other than that, I didn't mess with her for a couple days to see if she just twisted her ankle or something & would heal up on her own. After a couple days, I brought her inside for a bathtub swim & closer inspection. I still didn't see anything resembling bumblefoot. During her bathtub swim, she started trying to lay an egg which isn't out of the ordinary- I find an egg in the pools quite often. I stepped out for a minute to grab something to drink & came back to a tiny egg (pic 1, my fingertip for scale?). I scooped it out to investigate & it was pretty soft. While I'm looking at it, she plops out a yolk (pic 2) & of course, immediately tried to eat it, but I didn't let her. After the yolk came a crumpled egg shell (pic 3). She laid it as it's pictured, it's not soggy & not super firm, it came out in that shape. I let her swim for a while longer & the sun was setting so I took her back out to sleep in the coop with her friends. This happened 6 days ago. Since her limp continued, I've been bringing her inside & giving her infant ibuprofen & then putting her back in her coop to sleep. In the mornings, she's let out of the coop, but contained in the run with her 3 sisters. She's been limiting her own walking while in the run & I haven't been letting them out to free range the yard like I usually do every day. I'm not 100% sure if she's been laying eggs or not. She isn't improving at all, so last night I decided she needs to stay in the bathtub until she's healed, instead of coming inside to swim/get meds, then going back to sleep in her coop. Thinking this will really limit her movement & I'll be able to tell if she's laying eggs or not. She slept in the bathtub last night & got her ibuprofen this morning. I'm currently at work wondering if I'm doing the right thing & I'm sort of at a loss on what to do. She isn't using her right leg to swim, although she is able to move it. I should mention, we do have 2 male pekins that are much larger than her, but we do keep them separate from our girls. There is no way the boys/girls can get to each other. I have no idea if this is a simple twisted ankle issue, or if it's a more serious issue of being egg bound, some sort of infection, etc.

I've had chickens for 4 years & ducks for 1.5 years. In the past 4 years, I've learned A LOT about chicken illnesses/emergencies and have built up quite the first aid kit. This is the first time I've had any of my ducks come to stay in the bathtub infirmary & I suddenly feel like I have no idea what I'm doing. I'd love to hear anything you all have to say & I thank you for reading this far. These girls are my best friends.

She’s so pretty! I don’t know if the two issues are related, but they could be. Sometimes when a hen is egg bound, the pressure on a certain nerve paralyzes a leg, but it doesn’t sound like that’s your problem. what are you feeding the ducks and are you giving calcium in the form of oyster shells or something else on the side ? sometimes even with the oyster shell sitting out a duck still won’t get enough calcium and she will need some extra calcium the best form is liquid calcium gluconate, you can give her one ML per day until her eggs look normal again.. for the limping leg , the time soaking in the tub is wonderful and heres what else is very helpful. …the liquid b complex . myself and others here recommend the Durvet brand you can get it at tractor supply or you can get it online .. one ML of that also per day . you can squirt it over some treats like mealworms ,make sure she gets it all. anytime There’s any leg issues, The b complex can be very helpful. It will say injectable on the bottle, but we give it orally for ducks. If she won’t eat it over a treat, don’t just squirt it in her mouth. I will give you a link how to give medicine by syringe to a duck or chicken without aspirating them BRB…

 

[Jenbirdee]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...s-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/bookmark

 

[gracemortizzle]

She’s so pretty! I don’t know if the two issues are related, but they could be. Sometimes when a hen is egg bound, the pressure on a certain nerve paralyzes a leg, but it doesn’t sound like that’s your problem. what are you feeding the ducks and are you giving calcium in the form of oyster shells or something else on the side ? sometimes even with the oyster shell sitting out a duck still won’t get enough calcium and she will need some extra calcium the best form is liquid calcium gluconate, you can give her one ML per day until her eggs look normal again.. for the limping leg , the time soaking in the tub is wonderful and heres what else is very helpful. …the liquid b complex . myself and others here recommend the Durvet brand you can get it at tractor supply or you can get it online .. one ML of that also per day . you can squirt it over some treats like mealworms ,make sure she gets it all. anytime There’s any leg issues, The b complex can be very helpful. It will say injectable on the bottle, but we give it orally for ducks. If she won’t eat it over a treat, don’t just squirt it in her mouth. I will give you a link how to give medicine by syringe to a duck or chicken without aspirating them BRB…

I wasn't sure if the two issues are related either & I'm still not sure. She uses her right leg to scratch her head, so definitely not a egg causing paralysis. She does have access to oyster shell free choice 24/7, but I'll get some liquid calcium gluconate to give her as well. Do you think this liquid b complex would be alright? I already have it because I use it for myself, haha. I've still been giving her ibuprofen 2x daily. Over the weekend I was also giving her 1ml of the pictured vitamin b complex. Although I'm not sure if the citrus in the b complex is an issue. She's been isolated for a couple days now since I made this post & still no improvement. Now that she's isolated, I can tell that she hasn't laid any eggs either. She's become really stressed & wanted to fight me every time I went in the room. Over the weekend, I cornered off a 2'x2' (ish) section in the run for her to stay in. That way she isn't lonely & terrified, which I feel like has to help toward recovery in some way shape or form...

Thank you so much for your response, I appreciate you

 

[Jenbirdee]

the niacin is more than 6x as much per 1ml in the durvet. that’s why it’s better.
do you have a dog crate she can rest in out where she can see the other ducks? being alone is stressful for a duck.
i know what do you mean about the ducks being our best little friends I’ve had ducks for 9+ years they are my best buddies

human niacin can work if it’s not time released or flush free.
but the durvet is the best.

 

[gracemortizzle]

View attachment 3955018View attachment 3955019the niacin is more than 6x as much per 1ml in the durvet. that’s why it’s better.
do you have a dog crate she can rest in out where she can see the other ducks? being alone is stressful for a duck.
i know what do you mean about the ducks being our best little friends I’ve had ducks for 9+ years they are my best buddies

human niacin can work if it’s not time released or flush free.
but the durvet is the best.

Update- I just went to TSC! Got the Durvet b complex and the calcium gluconate. I had her isolated in the bathtub like I do when the chickens need medical attention. She flew out twice, landing on her ouchie leg, of course. Once was because I put a mirror with her so she felt less alone… she freaked. So Sunday morning I put her in a small crate in the bathroom (I have no idea why I didn’t just put the crate in the run, instead of leaving her in the bathroom). Throughout the day Sunday, she became lonely & aggressive, so I separated a small space in the run for her. She realllly hated the crate. Still no physical improvement, but she’s at least happy to be next to her buddies again.

 

[Jenbirdee]

Update- I just went to TSC! Got the Durvet b complex and the calcium gluconate. I had her isolated in the bathtub like I do when the chickens need medical attention. She flew out twice, landing on her ouchie leg, of course. Once was because I put a mirror with her so she felt less alone… she freaked. So Sunday morning I put her in a small crate in the bathroom (I have no idea why I didn’t just put the crate in the run, instead of leaving her in the bathroom). Throughout the day Sunday, she became lonely & aggressive, so I separated a small space in the run for her. She realllly hated the crate. Still no physical improvement, but she’s at least happy to be next to her buddies again.

awww that’s perfect! what a good duck mommy you are