Peg The Duck Can Waddle On Two Legs Thanks To What These Students Did

Technology and kindness are essential in treating injured animals that are missing a limb. Here is where 3D printing comes to aid, when it is used by a trio of amazing kids that wanted to help their feathery new friend walk again.

3D printing has been used in veterinary surgery and in prosthetics for a while, but this is a one-of-a-kind story, which began in a rural school.

But how did Peg the Duck got so famous overnight? Let’s check out the entire story and meet the young heroes that helped this Indian Runner Duck to, well… RUN!

20. BabyDuck

“Quack-Quack”, said Peg as he was trying to wriggle free from his owner’s embrace. He just wanted to waddle around the kitchen with his new 3D printed leg. But how did he get so lucky?

It all started when he was only a tiny baby, explained Patsy Smith, the woman who found him: “We found Peg sitting on the bank and he hadn’t been hatched long.”

19. The Duck Was in a Terrible Condition

Smith has been raising ducks for a long time, but she never saw a duck in such a rough condition. The poor baby duck only had a foot! “When I picked him up I noticed his foot was gone and was in horrible condition.

Evidently, a turtle had bitten his foot off,” concluded the owner.

Then, the baby duck grew older…

18. Irritated Leg

The duck grew and grew, but instead of getting used to walking on a leg, the now eight-month-old duck had an irritated stump that was causing more problems.

Smith had to do something, so she started contacting animal rescue operations to help Peg walk again.

She had no idea that a group of eighth-graders in Armorel High School (northeastern Arkansas) would be the ones to save the duck’s life!

17. Three Kids, One Dream

Three students at the school, all of ages 14-15, worked together to create a new prosthetic leg for the duck.

Abby Simmons, Matthew Cook and Darshan Patel had worked in the past with technological tools and resources that helped them prepare for critical thinking and problem-solving.

Now they all three had a dream: help this duck walk again…