Hello Well, good news today. I was pleasantly surprised when I went up to check on the duck this morning. He/she actually looks like a duck now..not so much like an emaciated seagull as it did earlier. I'd like to think this is a sign that he's better..perhaps it means he is fluffing and preening his feathers . More notably, he/she is sitting up right and appears to be much more comfortable. He was also frequently helping himself to fresh water and his bowl of corn mash had a good size indentation in it which presumably was made by him eating throughout the night. He sat up and flapped his wings a couple of times while i was there...which shows some improvement with his bad foot. HOWEVER...I do detect a wheezing sound which to me sounds like a respitory infection. I know that if I could just get a vet to give me an antibiotic it will do wonders. I am actually having a hard time finding a vet..it seems the "big animal" vet we use doesn't "do birds"..just treats the cows/sheep and goats. I called a vet who treats birds but won't treat a farm duck...they referred me to "wild life rescue" who then told me they do'nt treat domestic farm animals...they gave me the name and # of a vet who they said definitely treats ducks but i just called and he's closed until monday. There is one place who said I could bring him in and they would examine the duck but if any treatment was needed they would most likely pass him on to the wildlife rescue...which I just explained is telling me they don't treat domestic farm life. So..here I am..posting here...and googling "duck antibiotics"....the only info that has come up pertains to raising ducks for human consumption. I'm going to start a new thread here specifically asking for info on respirtory treatment for ducks...hopefully someone will have some advice. Thanks again for your replies. PS> i think we are naming him/her "one eyed willie" ...as one of his eyes is closed more than the other as result of the trauma ...(i'm trying to clear that up too..rinsing it thorughout the day w/ fresh water..and misting his head w/ a spray bottle...)

I ended up with some berry gatorade as they didnt have clear or watermelon gatorade. I think he drank his fill earlier though. He had fallen and when I put him on back on the flowers, he was just jumping from flower to flower nectaring and I dont know how much nectar they need. He didnt seem interested in the gatorade, but then, he doesnt seem interested in the flowers right now so maybe he got the nourishment he needs for the time being. Butterflutter, I dont have a spare wing. And I really dont think it is that easy to do. If I could, I would fix his wing because I feel very badly.

I am not a pro here, so I would wait for one of the pro's to answer, however I did have a similar situation once with my ponderosa lemon tree. I had a split once too. Since the poor thing was young and only had 3 limbs, I did not want to remove it, so I went out, and got some of that tree wound dressing ( looks like black tar) and painted that all over it, and then took that green stretchy plant tie instead of tape ( it is cheap and unlike tape, it is more breathable)and used that to hold it together. The limb eventually connected itself back together after a while and years later, it is a now a main large branch to my tree! I am sure you could also remove it and try to root it also. You may have a 50/50 on that. But like I said, this is just a personal experience, and you may want to wait for one of the pros here to chime in! Good luck! Christy

Hi Kat, I'm mostly w/ Josh on this. All I'd do is place the plant back in its pot, return the spilled mix into the pot, coverning the roots as best you can & DO NOT WATER. I'd wait for him to return & handle it himself. He knew they were in this condition since they'd fallen over repeatedly. If it were mine, I wouldn't consider it your responsiblity. They ARE NOT such fragile plants; yes they can withstand standing upright, bare in pots or in very little soil, as they're kept DRY. If you can't get the plant to stay upright, try the following. Buy an unglazed terra cotta pot just a couple of inches bigger in diameter than the existing pot. Place the whole plant, w/ its offshoots & mix into the larger pot & just leave it there, DRY, to await your BF's return. Pls. try & relax, it's not as bad as you seem to feel it is.