Castor Oil for inflamed bumblefoot?

[Moments]

Been learning a lot about castor oil and wondering if anyone has had results with it in relation to bumblefoot? I brought to the vet and she prescribed antibiotics because of the blueish color of the swollen area above the hard part of the bumble. I'd prefer not to use if I don't need to because of wanting to sell the eggs. Some won't buy if the duck has ever been on antibiotics and I'd prefer holistic. It occured to me castor oil might work because of its abilities and when I searched it brought me to an old post on here where a woman said she used it to heal bumble and didn't have to lance it and remove the core. I asked about it on that thread but was recommended to start my own. This is what it looked like yesterday. I've been soaking with Epsom and doing Epsom poultice since before this inflammation began.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have removed the core on my chickens and one duck and it is the only way to get this in fection out especially that one your showing . It's the only way to get it to start healing. Leaving it in there is going to cause the infection to spread.

 

[CoriM]

I totally understand - the vet can drain the bank account so fast, and we don't always get the results we hope for. You can keep trying what the vet has suggested for awhile, but if you don't see big improvements in a week I would try another route. Everyone has a first time for doing these medical things with our ducks - frustration with the vet, and knowing my girls depend on me, were motivators for me to try to learn to take care of some of these medical issues on my own. In this case, it's not that difficult and I'm sure you can do this. Soak her foot in luke warm epsom salt water for 5 minutes until the scab is soft, then I would just use my fingernail to gently pull the brown scab off. I would kneel on the floor and tuck the duck under my arm (wrap her wings in a little towel if she's going to be difficult) and put her over my knee, then pull her leg gently back to work on the bottom of the foot. Work the scab off and try to squeeze any puss out, then apply the salve thickly. Have a pre-cut little gauze pad to put on that. The wrapping of the foot can be tricky with a wiggly duck, but once you get the hang of it, it works well. I cut two strips of one inch vet wrap about 16 inches long. Use the first one to kind of criss-cross the wound area, wrap once around the ankle, making sure nothing is too tight. I try to hold the webbing in the normal walking position - spread open, because you want her to be able to walk normally when it's wrapped. Use the 2nd piece of vet wrap to wrap around and hold everything in place. Here's some pictures of how I've done it. Usually I go between both toes with the wrap - this bumble did not need that.

 

[CoriM]

Pulling the scab off and squeezing out what puss you can get is a lot different than taking a scalpel and cutting. I have used a scalpel just to lift the edge of the scab and start pulling. Good luck with whatever path you choose - I hope you can make her better!

 

[Moments]

Some people have had a core just kind of pop out or be attached to the scab. That has never happened for me in all the cases of bumble foot I've dealt with. Usually I just pull the scab and start cleaning it out, and it can take several weeks to clear up the infection. Once it's bandaged, if it's bled and the sore is open, let it heal over a couple days, then go in again and check it. I really recommend that green goopy epsom salt poultice I linked. It draws the infection out. You just reapply and rebandage twice a day after you've kind of opened up the scab area and squeezed out whatever you've been able to.

Okay I think you helped me research if they were basically the same thing cause I wasn't sure back when I bought it but I could be wrong. Does the consistency difference help? This is what I've been using Anywho, i ended up getting it out. I didn't wanna put too much pressure by pressing further. The blood came out of the inflammation that you could tell there was liquid under and then I pulled this out. Flushed with antiseptic wash, sprayed thoroughly with MicrocynAH and applied makuna honey and bandaged. She's irritated with me but going about her business and moving around like nothing happened.

 

[Debbie292d]

It sounded like she wanted to try the antibiotic to see if it would work with removal as a last resort. She made it clear I shouldn't mess with it cause I could cause damage, etc. she said in her experience removing it often made it worse when in most cases it would resolve on its own with proper soaking, poultice and wrapping. It was flattening too for awhile, it's unfortunate it took a turn :-(

That's odd your vet wouldn't want it out as leaving it in is known to spread and can kill them. It's basically a staph infection so I understand the desire to treat it with antibiotics, but it's not that hard, especially for a vet, to just get it out and avoid the antibiotics. There are literally thousands I bet here on BYC if you searched that have taken it out. The only other way to avoid it is when it's in its early stages, sometimes a drawing salve like PRID will pull it out in a couple of days.

 

[Debbie292d]

Wrap her tight like a burrito. I lay them on their back with their butt facing away from me lift the leg and work on the foot.

This is what I have to do when I need to do anything to my two B&G macaw parrots. At least your duck can't take your finger off while you work on her.

 

[nuthatched]

It's necessary to remove the core 95% of the time. Typically, you need a topical antibiotic such as neosporin afterwards, but maybe not oral. You definitely need to open that and drain it.. the blue might be just a bruise, or it could be infection spreading to the tissues. Infection puts the entire body under stress so you can't faff around.
Please bare in mind, According to the usda, when it comes to organic animal raising, refusal to treat animals with the proper medication, is considered to be animal abuse. I'm not saying youre doing that, just giving you information. Most antibiotics are out of the system within 6 weeks so you don't need to worry about antibiotics in the eggs unless you're regularly feeding them oregano or similar.

 

[Miss Lydia]

All I can say is once the infection is out the healing process begins.
Does this vet specialize in poultry?
What kind of damage?

With my Runner we took her to the vet she was on an antibiotic for 14 days but on day 7 nothing had changed so I opened it up just enough to get the core out packed with antibiotic ointment wrapped and she finished the antibiotic by mouth. This bumble had no scab so I used a scalpel and just made a small incision to pop out the core she was in pain walking on the bumble.

 

[CoriM]

I think I would try to get a second opinion on that. I have taken my ducks to an exotics/avian vet and they still never know what they're doing, because they rarely treat ducks. But at the very least I would pick the scab and squeeze anything out that comes out, put some triple antibiotic ointment in, or spray with vetricyn, then apply this epsom salt poultice, gauze pad on top, wrapped with vet wrap to hold in place. Then keep her foot dry - don't let her swim or be in mud - and change and reapply the poultice twice a day. Try that for a week and see if you see any improvements. It helps to draw the infection out. Here's a link to it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001OE3L8...p=&crid=2691V1DBYNXLF&amp=&sprefix=epsom+salt