What happens is when they are ducklings in these stores with chicks, it is very common for the ducklings to be fed chick food. Ducks need a large of amount of niacin in their diets and chick food just doesn’t have the amount they need so they develop a niacin deficiency. If caught early enough and treated with supplements and physical therapy, they sometimes can recover.
Flora’s owner wasn’t seeing much of an improvement and she only wanted the best for her, so she contacted us to see if we could help. She didn’t want her to be alone so she offered us to take in her sisters as well. They are very much a bonded trio!
Flora’s Sisters
The ducks are a breed called Pekin which grow very quickly and can weigh up to 15 pounds when fully grown.
These ducks need to spend a lot of time in the water because their feet are not built strong enough to carry their body weight.
Not only does Flora have lameness, she also had gape worm, which we treated her for, but she also developed sores on her hocks and to top things off, she has a sinus infection. But she is one strong girl and one heck of a fighter!
She loves her physical therapy in the pool, her bath time and she absolutely loves the blow dryer!
With not seeing much improvement, we decided to get Flora a wheelchair. This will lift her body weight off of her feet and we are hopeful that her legs and feet will get strong enough that she can waddle along. When we first put her in the wheelchair, she was not able to push with her feet. Another issue, is that Flora will not open her webbed feet. They stay rolled up.
On a positive note, Flora is getting to be a stronger swimmer and she is paddling her little heart out when in the pool so I am hoping that when her legs gain some strength, she will be able to use the wheelchair.