Hormonal Implanta and Bumblefoot. My gal can’t catch a break.

[KaleIAm]

Oh, I forgot to say that metacam wouldn't have an affect on nerve pain. The gabapentin that I mentioned would, though. Maybe your vet would be willing to prescribe that without an xray for you to try to help Loretta be more comfortable.

 

[Urban Waddler]

Scratch is cracked corn, wheat, and lesser amounts of other grains - basically lower in nutritional value and less robust than the layer pellets you would normally want to feed to laying ducks. Yes, usually it is given to chickens.

My vet said the wood chips like aspen or pine bedding aren't soft enough for duck feet. It always seemed soft to me, but she said for much smaller feet it would be like standing barefoot on boards for long periods of time. She explained that straw or hay would be more like their natural environment and cause them less problems. I thought she was wrong, but... I was paying her thousands of dollars so I did what she said and went from constant bumbles to not one bumble in 3 years. So, it is either a remarkable coincidence or she is completely correct.

Is there any chance they can use sevoflurane instead of isoflurane to anesthetize Loretta for radiographs? Sevoflurane is SO much safer. It is also dramatically more expensive, and a lot of vets only carry isoflurane because of the expense. Maybe it is worth asking. I used to work for an exotic animal veterinarian and have experience with the different drugs.

When Gingersnap was getting egg bound the eggs would push on a nerve and make her lame in one leg. Except one time the implant shouldn't have run out yet and she stopped being able to walk, so we did radiographs and found out she had broken her leg. Poor sweetheart. If you did the xrays you might find out something else entirely. We were sure Ginger needed another implant, and the vet was, too, but did radiographs just in case, and were very glad we did. If it is nerve pain your vet can prescribe her gabapentin and that can help. It helped Gingersnap. Though, if she is almost entirely better, I might not do the radiographs either and save my money for another procedure that is probably more important.

I have had Thimble put under anesthesia many times, even for longer surgeries, and she has never had any issues. I'm sorry to hear about your duck who passed away. I would be afraid to have my ducks go under too, if I had that experience. But I think the duck who passed was probably allergic to the anesthetic or very sick and medically fragile, so that any form of sedation would have been too much for her body.

I think they have to use multiple people to hold my ducks down at the vet. I don't really know, they leave me in a different room. Sometimes I hear them quacking angrily, though, so I know they aren't just taking it.

I relate to how stressful it is. I hate making these choices, too. I have an appointment for my other duck, Pigweed, on Saturday for one of her chronic issues and I'll be going through it then.

Regardless of what you do Loretta is very lucky to have you. <3

Thank you so very much. This is all so very helpful. I’m going to ask my vet about the sedative they use. Losing Whitebeard (Loretta’s sister) was so very traumatizing on all of us. It was just so unexpected and she was one heck of a duck. I still tear up when I think of her. I have been very protective of Loretta since Whitebeard’s death, and I just hate to think of putting her in unnecessary risk. The feet are looking good right now, but I’ll take this aspen/pine advice seriously and think of changing this if a problem comes back or continues. I don’t offer hay to Loretta as she eats it and it doesn’t always agree with her. She doesn’t eat the straw, however, but I’m struggling to find good straw these days, as the stuff available at tractor supply is full of dust and the last thing I want to do is add respiratory issues to the mix. The straw I use for nests is far too expensive to use throughout the floor of their coop (they have grass/dirt run with added straw in winter). But this is something to think about. What type of straw/hay do you use?

Thank you so much again!!! I truly appreciate the help. Sounds like you are a wonderful duck mother!