Lol, Lucky Duckies
Duckling update with spraddle leg
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Here are some pics of the duckling with spraddle leg. He is doing much better, can walk on his own now-not great, but he is walking. He is the littlest one in the middle of most pics. He is only about 1/3 of the size of the others of his particular breed. I hope he catches up.
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Do ducklings have "runts"? I know nothing about ducks, but 1/3 the size seems like an extreme indicator of other issues.
Poor baby. They are so cute though! -
I suspect it's partly because of the spraddle legs. He couldnt' get to the feeder as much as the others. Yes, there are runt's, but he was the same size as the rest until the spraddle leg event. He may catch up.
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omg they are so adorable.
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Okay, this may be totally out of whack - an old girlfriend of mine who had two breeding African Grey parrots had one born with a leg like that. She actually made a splint for the leg. It took a lot of trial and error, but in the end, it worked. Just a thought.
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The leg on the grey may have been twisted in the shell, and the splint would have straightened it. Which is different from spraddle leg. In spraddle leg, the legs stretch out from each other underneath and the ligament between the legs stretches too far. So you need to bring the legs back closer together so the ligament can recover from the stretch and heal. Spraddle leg involves both legs. While I suspect the Grey (because it was only one leg) may have had something different.
Which is why I used the pipe cleaner. I made it so it wrapped around both legs, right at the top, so the legs were brought closer together and kind of held at a certain distance from each other. More like the legs needed to be moved back underneath him rather than having the legs sticking out of the sides of him. Once they were in the proper place underneath him, the trick is to keep them there until the healing takes place. The pipe cleaners worked perfectly for it. I just cut to fit, wrapped and within a couple of days-wallah! It started to heal. I'm no expert, I learned this from someone else who had the same thing happen to them, but on a younger chick.
Glad the splint worked for your GF though, and glad the pipe cleaner worked for my duckling, otherwise it would have been either off with his little head or a Baking Soda/Vinegar solution.
Not easy to have to accept something like that, but suffering would have been worse.
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otherwise it would have been either off with his little head or a Baking Soda/Vinegar solution.
Scared to ask - what does the baking soda/vinegar do? I profess to being an information hound. And yes, you are right, there was a problem with the african grey as soon as it came out of the shell.
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Sorry, just forgot to answer you Fran! Put BS in container in a larger container put in object (can't say anything more than that because this works for many living things) add the vinegar and close the lid. The chemical mixture takes the oxygen out of the air inside the container. Nice way to go to sleep forever. There are worse things in life and death.
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Sounds like suffocation Arlene, which is not how I'd like anything to go. Wouldn't a quick dispatch be better? Or ask vet for a drug?
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From what I understand, it is possible to use this method for anesthesia, and one could do that before going to a lethal dose. Essentially you are producing CO2, which is lethal at high concentrations…..
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From what I understand, it is possible to use this method for anesthesia, and one could do that before going to a lethal dose. Essentially you are producing CO2, which is lethal at high concentrations…..
Exactly correct.
But Debra, which method would you use if no vet were available? Freezer (I know many breeders will put a puppy in a freezer if there is something wrong with it) or let them endure suffering. Many vets up here have an issue with putting dogs to sleep. They actually have a contract that states that if they can find a home for the animal then they can keep the animal until they deem it unviable. All is not rosey in the world and sometimes it's better to act quickly. That, again is your opinion and preference and I respect that, but I grew up on a farm and there are worse things. And this usually works in less than a minute. That is very quick. Even the vet's dispatch can be longer. I had one dog I had to put down and the vet blew all four veins in each leg before anesthestizing the dog before giving the lethal dose. Would you think that would not be upsetting? Watching the dog struggle for 1/2 hour?? And up here, finding farm vets that will even talk about a duck or chicken is next to impossible. It just doesn't happen here because many people find that chickens and ducks aren't worth it. Even to find an abbatoir, I have to drive about 2 hours. Govenment regulations on many things in Canada really, really suck. Don't condemn until you have lived in someone else's shoes. Sometimes others experiences and asking questions are much better learning tools than having to go through the process yourself. (I don't know if the vets still use the contract or not. The last dog that I put down at a vet was very. very ill and would not have survived.)
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I don't know of any vet who wouldn't put an animal to sleep if you insisted on being with it– they don't want the confrontation. Since I can't imagine euthanizing an animal without me being there, nor having a vet that didn't trust me when I said it was time, I am not worried about that.
My grandparents were farmers. Chopping off a chicken's neck was something I sadly saw a lot, but it is quick.
As for your vet and dog-- I lived that with my Chow, but FORTUNATELY had made them give her a major sedative so she was under. I told the new vet (my vet was on vacation and the senior vet just dx with cancer and in the hospital) that she had better be glad I insisted on the sedation (she said it wasn't necessary) and that I was seasoned. I insisted she inject in an organ at that point. So yes, I know things can go terribly wrong.
Nor was I condemning you! I really hate when someone takes something asking for info as some personal attack. I asked if it was suffocation and wouldn't a quicker method or drugs be easier. And I still think a quick dispatch of the head with even a knife might be faster than suffocating and was asking. Reading the link from eeeefar, it seems CO2 not suffocating more the process. I am sure if you know what you are doing, it is relatively fast. I am sorry my asking for info and your reasoning resulting in you thinking I was condemning you. Surely you have been on this board with me long enough to know if I thought you were being a cruel monster I would have said so in no uncertain terms.
And yep, know many who used to put fading pups in the freezer.
It is not so common now but it was. Having grown up in a rural area where unwanted puppies ended up in cloth sacks with rocks to weigh them down, thrown in the rivers, comparatively I guess the freezer is a lot more humane. -
This is why I hate posting. I wasn't mad at you either, just didn't think you understood the process. We've all had bad experiences which is why we need to learn from others. There are quicker methods (think wringing their neck-literally) but that's not something I could do. Chopping off the head I have no problem with when the bird is older, but little chicks and ducklings get to me.
I know better when going to the vet now, but, at that time, I thought the vet knew what she was doing-obviously not.(with the dog that she blew four veins) This dog was 17 1/2 years old and didn't deserve that at the end of life. He may have been struggling, but you would think after she blew the first vein she would have sedated him then rather that keep trying. Yes, I was with the dog and was not happy with her explanation. There was no reason for it.
There are still a lot of people (they just don't admit to it, because they don't know a better method? or just couldn't be bothered? Who knows?) who still use the freezer method.
Am I cruel, I can be when I have to be, but I just prefer a simpler method. And I am well aware of the rocks in the sack method. My father was from the old country (hungary) and could be quite cruel. They were never pets or living things-simply livestock-but he wasn't a nice person anyway.
As for the vet not putting an animal to sleep? Lived it. I had one dog who was off the wall. Something was simply crossed upstairs neurologically. He started having seizures at about 18 months, but came out of them viciously and could never settle down. The vet insisted I sign him over to him and if he deemed it necessary, he would put him to sleep since he was so young. Yes, there was a euthanasia contract to that effect. The vet kept him for a few days, phoned me up and asked me how I lived with him so long. He could not believe how bad he was. He did put him to sleep after that. But these are a couple of reasons why I am so leary of vets. I've had a few bad experiences with them.
