Eighth-graders make prosthetic leg for duck

Students use 3-D printer to help feathered friend

Arkansas eighth-graders used a 3-D printer to build a prosthetic leg for a duck, The Associated Press reported.

Patsy Smith found 8-month-old Peg the duck without a foot shortly after he hatched. She told KAIT that a turtle had apparently chomped on his foot, permanently disfiguring it. The students contacted Smith after hearing she needed help with Peg.

The northeastern Arkansas students developed the leg at Armorel High School's environmental and spatial technology lab, the AP reported.

It took the students 30 tries to get the fit right, but now, Smith said, Peg can walk and run like any other duck, the AP reported.