Need Input on Bumblefoot Treatment in Ducks

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i have tried to read everything i can on treating bumblefoot at home. The last duck that had bumblefoot i took to the vet. She did a great job, but it was over $350. Now i have another duck with bumblefoot, but no spare money. So far i have started her on Baytril 1ml twice a day. i have been soaking the foot in warm water with epsom salt once a day. Then i slather on the neosporin, wrap it, and put on a duck shoe to keep it dry and clean. She is staying in a hutch inside the house.

i have tried picking at the scab and have trimmed some of the dark top layer off. i guess i was thinking the i could just lift out the infection. But the tissue is very fiberous and like it is part of the duck's foot. Is that fiberous material part of her foot or the infection? Also, i have seen pictures of bumblefoot surgery on chickens. But my vet said that ducks are very sensitive to pain, so wondering if home surgery is even possible with a duck.

Would appreciate any input.

 

[Blackberry113]

Hi! I'm replying to your question about treating your duck's bumblefoot. I'm an urban homesteader and I have five female ducks. My Cayuga (type of duck) got bumblefoot. I went online for info and looked at how a guy treated his chickens. Then, I learned about a new product called Vetericyn that is a spray-on cure for pet injuries, including bumblefoot. The guy with the chickens said on his website that he tried it out, and it worked like magic! I bought some at my local pet store, and this is what I tried.
The duck captured (to prevent extra struggle, wrap duck in towel), I soaked her feet in warm epsom salt water for ten min. and in iodine water for about the same amount of time. Next, I filled the sink with plain warm water to rinse her off. I sprayed the foot with Vetericyn, then sprayed a peice of non-stick gauze and put that on the offending scab, finishing up with wrapping the foot. The next day, of course the wrapping had come off, so I tried to repeat the process but the duck was to squirmy, and for fear of breaking on of my duck's weak bones, I am now trying to just soak the foot once a day and spray it with the product twice a day. Hope this works for you and my ideas have been helpful!

 

[Amiga]

If you have caught it early enough, you ought not need antibiotics. Is the leg warm? That is a clue.

Take a look at this - Haunted55 found that clear iodine after soaking will form something like a scab that, several days later can be soaked and removed, taking pus with it.

On July 1st, I found one of my Pekin ducks with what I would consider a bad case of Bumblefoot. Both feet were involved and I'm ashamed to say, the only way I found it was she was limping. One foot had 7 and the other had 3. I was able to grab her and bring her into the house and put her into a warm bath to clean and soak. Two water changes later and softened feet, all I had time to do was paint the bumbles with colorless iodine, grabbed the wrong stuff, and put her into a dog crate in my house until I could get everything ready to operate and get them gone. Did I mention the thought of this scared me half to death?

Sad to say it took 6 days before i was able to get everything together and someone to help out with the 'cure'. The following pictures are what we found after the bath we gave before the planned surgery to remove these things.




















As can be seen, there really wasn't much to operate on, even though I was prepared to do just that. No matter how much squeezing or prodding or soaking, there just wasn't anything more to come out, it was all on the scabs that were covering the sores. The swelling was down from the 'marbles' I saw when I first found them. I poured betadine over the ones I had opened and painted the ones that I hadn't again with the iodine and put her back into her crate with clean bedding.

the next pictures are of the same Pekin and anothe duck, Dottie the Mallard, who was also found limping.












As can be seen in the first two pictures, the bumbles have been dramatically reduced on the Pekin with just the iodine application and the smaller ones totally gone. The last four pictures are of the Mallard who is still under going the iodine applications.

As can be seen, this is how the left and right foot look tonight on the Pekin duck. The heels being the worst are still showing infection and need for more treatment. tomorrow, I will again give a bath and pull/cut out the scabbing and treat with straight iodine this time. These spots are now flat or as flat as they should be considering the part of the foot they are on. I will still touch up the places that had the spots before as well.

 

[Amiga]

Also, we can notify a member if a post by putting @ in front of the name. If the name turns blue you know it worked.

 

[Amiga]

@Masonz75 no gauze wrap - just soak to clean and soften the foot, then a couple of drops of clear (clear, clear, clear, not brown) iodine, let that dry - it dries quickly - then wait several days, soak again, try very gently to pull the darkened part off. If it's ready, it should come off with the plug also called the kernel. If it's not, or if it comes off but looks like there's some more in there, another couple of drops of clear iodine, wait several days, try again.

Of course while you are waiting the several days you want to watch the duck to make sure the duck is otherwise okay - sometimes bumblefoot infection gets into the bloodstream and oral antibiotics are needed.

 

[debking8262]

I inherited a beautiful Pekin with a nasty case of bumble foot - she has been on several courses of antibiotics and we treat foot daily however nothing was really making a huge difference until a friend gave me some tuff rock she uses on her horse. This poultice has been fantastic - we apply daily and she wears booties to keep it in place and the difference is amazing... Swelling reduced quickly and the infection is finally coming under control. Thought if share as I was afraid it would never come good!

 

[Emelrose]

I realize this post is old but hope this helps!
My Pekin duck has a severe case of bumblefoot and I was hopeless as it had traveled up her leg.
I did not have time to wait for tricide-neo to arrive in the mail so I got what is called Melafix from the local walmart. It is used to treat infection in fish. I assume it's similar to tricide-neo.
I soaked my ducks foot in this solution diluted with my own version of antibacterial components including raw apple cider vinegar and a few drops of tea tree oil.
She enjoyed the warm bath And her bumble foot scabs released easily after 15 minutes. This is far faster of a soak than I had done before with scab removal success.
I squeezed a little but she hollered so I gave up and packed the scab less wounds with antibiotic ointment that is designed for dogs and put gauze and then vet wrap on her.
She is quarantined to a dog crate for now.
I couldn't believe how quickly the scabs came loose and exposed the infection. Although I could not release any "kernels"
I highly recommend this melaffix solution to anyone needing bumble foot care right away.
I didn't dig into her feet but rather packed the exposed pink flesh and holes with antibiotic cream, wrapped and put her in a crate. Poor girl is unable to walk due to the severity of the infection but it is by far the most progress I've made in treating this so far.
I plan to soak her feet again first thing in the morning and repeat until the infection is easy to lift on my own.
Melafiix seemed to make a difference in the foot soak, which I've done before with only Epsom salts.
I will try to keep this post updated with her progress.
She has unfortunately lost a lot of weight and can only be hand fed and watered but I feel way more hopeful after using the Melafix than I was with just Epsom salts.
I spent over $100 at the vet months ago with her same issue. The infection was so deep it was never removed but improved with time allowing her to walk. It came back quickly and invaded her leg. I believe the key is getting the infection out but I don't have any numbing tools or meds and I don't want to dig too hard and chaise more pain.
I'm hopeful with this Melafix soak and although I added my own home remedies I believe it was most successful so far.
She is near the condition of putting her "down" but I am determined to try anything first.
For anyone needing antibacterial solution ASAP, try melafix if it's easier to get than tricide neo.
Good luck!

 

[Aplaceforall]

Hey duck lovers,
Treating bumblefoot is very time consuming but it can be beat.
We dilute novalsan surgical scrub, and soak for 20 min., then rinse in clean water.
You can use triple neosporin ointment, vetrecin, or SSD cream.

Wrapping a duck foot is not an easy task. Here is what we do.
Wrap your duck like a hotdog in a towel.
Cut thin cardboard, like that in a cereal box, to the shape of a flat duck foot.
Place square gauze pads, 2, on to the cardboard cut out, tape the pads on to the cutout.
Make one of these for the bottom of the foot and one for the top.
Place whatever medication you are using on the wound and sandwich the foot between the cardboard cutouts.
Careful not to wrap the dewclaw, hold the cutouts together using rolled gauze.
Now cover with vet wrap, and tape with waterproof medical tape.
Watch that dewclaw they need it free to balance.
This stays on well and keeps the foot flat so the duck can continue to use it.
Keep your duck in a dry area till healed, change your bandage daily.
If you are giving oral antibiotics think about adding probiotics to their drinking water.
Also remember,,,during treatment with any oral or injectable medication,,DO NOT EAT THEIR EGGS. Some medication have a lingering effect so ask your vet how long you must wait after the last dose before you can eat the eggs.
Be persistent, BEAT THAT BUMBLEFOOT!!

 

[kuntrygirl]

You may have already read this link but if not, here ya go.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=496928

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Thank you so much for the link. i read through everything. i think having that tricide neo on hand is going to help. With this girl, i continued my treatment and then she developed a large bump on her other foot that didn't have a scab on top, i got worried and took her to my vet. i watched as my vet lanced the bump and squeezed out a ton of yellow stuff. It was like the biggest pimple i've ever seen.

Anyhow, she wrapped the foot and i kept her inside for a few more days. Then when i inspected her feet (and the constant quacking was driving me crazy) i decided it was time to put her back outside. She seems fine now, but i clearly need to be inspecting webbed feet on a regular basis to stay on top of the bumblefoot issue.