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Phillip The Duck Gets To Waddle Again With 3D-Printed Feet [Video]

By Anne Sewell
Published on: 00:54 PST, May 2, 2016

Phillip the duck had a problem. After being exposed to extreme cold, his feet curled up and withered, making it difficult for him to walk, but thanks to 3D printing technology, the happy duck can waddle around whenever he wants.

Vicki Rabe-Harrison from Pickett, Wisconsin, heard about Phillip’s plight when a girl had to move out of her home, where they were keeping goats, chickens, and ducks, among other creatures.

Rabe-Harrison said, “And there was a picture of Phillip with his feet all curled up and dried because they had frozen.”

Rabe-Harrison thought Phillip would need to be euthanized due to his suffering and inability to walk, and she even made an appointment for the duck to be put to sleep. However, after a little research online, Rabe-Harrison discovered that 3D printing had been used to help other animals in need of replacement limbs and realized the same technique could help Phillip the duck.

As reported by Mashable, Rabe-Harrison got in touch with a local technology teacher, thinking maybe he could help. Luckily for Phillip, around an hour away from his appointment to be euthanized, Rabe-Harrison received a call from the Oshkosh South Park Middle School.

Amazingly, teacher Jason Jischke had received her email message and was calling from his classroom to tell her the 3D printer was already up and going and was making the feet as they spoke. According to Rabe-Harrison, they were both totally overcome with emotion over the fact that Phillip could have been put to sleep and his life had literally been saved at the last moment.

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Jischke said that at first he questioned the email, asking, “Is this for real?” However, the teacher is very keen on using the 3D-printing technology, especially if it could help save a life, and he called Rabe-Harrison to tell her and heard Phillip was about to be euthanized.

He said, “I immediately called Vicki from class and I said, ‘Vicki, I’m making the feet right now. Hold off, hold off!'”

Reportedly, it did take six weeks to get the duck’s new 3D-printed feet just right. Some feet didn’t fit, others were too hard, but finally Jischke found the ideal ingredient for Phillip’s new feet. He used NinjaFlex filament, which was donated to him for the cause, and apparently both feet took 36 hours in total to print.

Since then, Phillip has received his new feet and is doing just fine, although it will take some practice.

“He picked it up real fast, and I’m sure he’ll learn to balance again and be able to waddle around with all the other ducks,” Rabe-Harrison said.

When asked what is planned for Phillip now he can walk again, she said that while she was sad to see him go, he will be living happily in a nearby animal sanctuary.

Phillip is now living an idyllic and happy life in Cedarburg along with a bunch of other ducks to keep him company.

Inside3DPrinting mentions several other cases where animals have been helped with 3D-printed prosthetics, including Felix the sheep, who received a new leg in Woodstock. It also turns out that Phillip isn’t the first duck to get new feet, as two ducks named Buttercup and Quack-Quack also had the privilege and are now happily waddling and swimming.

Meet Rabe-Harrison, Jischke, and Phillip the duck in the video included below.

[Image via Flickr by Shawn Nystrand, cropped and resized/CC BY-SA 2.0]

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