Fowl weather friends: Arkansas students print 3-D duck leg

ARMOREL, Ark. – Eighth-grade science students have used a 3-D printer to create a prosthetic leg for a duck found without a foot shortly after he hatched.

The students in northeastern Arkansas created the leg at Armorel High School’s environmental and spatial technology lab for an 8-month-old Indian runner duck named Peg.

Peg’s owner, Patsy Smith, told television station KAIT that when she found the bird, a turtle had apparently chewed off his foot. She said the leg became more irritated as Peg grew. The students reached out after hearing Smith was seeking a way to help Peg.

Lab director Alicia Bell said it took about 30 tries before students Matthew Cook, Darshan Patel and Abby Simmons built an appropriate leg.

Smith said Peg now walks and runs like a normal duck.