Duck with crook leg from dog attack....

Ben n Deb · **Posted:** Sat Feb 12, 2011 10:39 am

Hi all...

Following the dog attacks yesterday, most of our injured ducks look to be ok, however one of them (and as is always the case, the one we WANT to survive :roll:

) has a pretty bad leg, and can't really walk on it.

What should I do :?:

Should I wait until she has recovered a bit more first before doing anything?
Should I try and encourage her to move around a bit and get circulation into her leg?
Should I try putting a splint on it? I don't think it is broken, but I really wouldn't know.

Any advice would be appreciated thanks.

parvo · **Joined:** Sat Jan 02, 2010 7:39 pm **Posts:** 735

Clean any wounds with betadine or antiseptic.
Pain relief & anti-inflammatories would probably help the leg but you'd probably need to see a vet about getting those.

I'd rest the leg initially. If it's swollen then ice packs may help stop further swelling-if she will let you apply them.

Then, if there are no wounds, swimming will help to exercise the leg without weight bearing, but don't start too soon.

A bit hard to say more without telling us a bit more about the injury- where is it on the leg, are there wounds? how deep?

Let us know

Parvo

Ben n Deb · **Posted:** Sun Feb 13, 2011 6:12 pm

Hi Parvo...

If I get a chance tomorrow, I'll try and get a photo on... but for now;

I can't see any physical injury on her leg. She simply can't seem to move it, and it sits curled up underneath her, or slightly off to one side.

The only physical injury I can see, is on her back where the dog bit her. It seems to be going ok. It is about 3-5cm round. located a bit less than half way up her back from the tail. She has lost all feathers there, and only has a little of the fluff there. All the ducks had the same injury, some to lesser or more damage.

I want to put her in the water to have a bit of a swim, but I am concerned that because she can't stand, she won't be able to dry herself properly, and then she will just sit on the grass wet and sodden. I can't believe that that would do her any good? They are not friendly ducks, so any handling just stresses them further.

parvo · **Joined:** Sat Jan 02, 2010 7:39 pm **Posts:** 735

The back wound may involve some of the spinal nerves travelling down the leg.
All yo can do is treat the wound as decribed previously & use antiinflammatories if you have access to them but as I said you normally need to get them from a vet.

make sure she doesn't just lie on the one side as this may cause stiffness in the downward side- so turn her over if she's doing this.

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