Of course, stories about 3D Printed guns get much more coverage than this sort of story…

Born with a backwards foot, Buttercup could only walk in great pain — until his owner came up with a novel idea for a duckie prosthetic.

When he was born in a high school biology lab in November last year, little Buttercup wasn’t like all the other ducklings: his left foot was turned backwards, making getting around a bit of a trial for the little guy. Although his carer at the school worked on turning the foot around the right way, it couldn’t quite get there.

Baby Buttercup.
(Credit: Feathered Angels Waterfowl Sanctuary)

So when he was transferred to Feathered Angels Waterfowl Sanctuary in Arlington, Tennessee, new owner Mike Garey realised pretty quickly that something had to be done.

“With his deformed foot, he would have been in pain and had constant cuts and foot infections walking on the side of it even at our sanctuary here; and foot infections on these guys is always a serious matter,” Garey said.

Read the full story HERE.