Pekin Ducks Foot turned black and now is missing peices help.

Hello friends, I am new here searching for answers. We made the decision to get two Peking ducks ( did not do our research first) we have chickens and such. they are full grown now but only about two months old maybe three. The other day I noticed a black almost like blood blister on my one ducks foot. I applied some Vetericyn gel, the next day the blister like thing was gone almost as if it had popped. Later that day, I noticed the black color spreading around the middle toe, I applied more of the Vetericyn, I have been keeping an eye on her daily. shes eating swimming, favoring the foot just a bit. as in keeps lifiting it up. Today I go out there and Some of her foot is missing the webbed part, just gone...in one days time. it was not like that yesterday. I dont know what to do for my babies. I only have two. the other duck is showing no signs of this. We also noticed a small wound on her Brest area, we treated that with clean water and Vetericyn ( I love that stuff) It looks as tho some of her feathers are coming out. I dont know what to do...Help.. I have heard that they cant live with one foot, or if they tear their feet they cant swim. again I prematurely got these ducks on a Whim when my 6yrs old thought they were cute...they are in a rather large cage, with a huge hot tub sunk into the ground for swimming, we clean it weekly. they eat corns/mix and whatever goodies I give them peas, corn etc. can anyone tell me what may be going on with my baby. these ducks have become spoiled rotten, I don't want anything to happen to her, I'm mortified when I went in this morning with treats and saw parts of her foot missing/
Thanks in advance friends. I can show photos if you need me to.

Yes please show photo's and could you post this on the Duck Forum? There are experienced duck people there.

You may be facing a nasty bacterial infection - she probably needs oral or injectable antibiotics.


That is my first thought. Is there an emergency vet near you?

Wondering if @Speceider or @Lacrystol or @CelticOaksFarm might be around.

I am not a vet, or a vet tech, I can only share my ideas.

A friend of mine has told me what she would do until she could get antibiotics.

First get some betadyne. Put beta dyne into very warm (95F) water, so that it's darker than iced tea, but lighter than coffee - maybe coffee jello if you can picture it. Put a towel in the bottom of a container. Pour the beta dyne water into the container.

Have the duck stand in the water for 20 minutes if you can manage it.

If you are near a feed store that sells Duramycin10, or second choice, Tylan.

https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/medicine-chart

Here is a chart showing dosages - my friend suggested doubling the first dose to get it started (equivalent to 800 mg per gallon), then down to the regular dosage, to try to get the antibiotic to the extremities.

Again, a good vet a.s.a.p. is a good idea. Why do they always get sick on weekends and holidays?

Need to see Pictures, and my favorite thing to use is Blue Kote..

Thank you for the info. I'm going to try some of these options, and keep an eye on her. I'm sure that we have an ER Vet around, but it would most likely be in the city which is a good distance and of course for the holiday super expensive. I just noticed now that her other foot has a small black dot on it. I'm freaking out, and super bummed. Shes favoring the foot by lifting it up, and shes able to walk on it, having a little trouble getting in and out of the water, we are going to do whatever we can to make her comfortable. we are checking on her every little bit. My husband said that we could try some antibiotics from the supply store maybe I will run up and see if any are open today. My only assumption is that the black is dead tissue and its falling off or shes pecking it off. :-( it all hap pend to fast and I'm very uneducated. Kinda learning as I go. As I said I got these ducks because my daughter wanted one and we thought they were oh so cute, didn't have any idea how fast they grew, we knew we would need water and all that, we figured we have chickens how much different can they be. A Lot Here are the photos that I was able to get.1. is of the foot That's super bad left. 2. right foot with the small black dot not raised or anything just a dot right now. thanks for all your help friends. so happy I found this site.
The foot that started with just a blood blister like black lump, eventually pop-ed and stayed black, now shes missing part of her foot :-(

Just noticed this on her other foot, possible start to more infection? I'm thinking some kind of meds are needed right away to stop this spread for my poor baby any advice I will gladly take. thank you to those of you who have replied.

Can you show the bottom of her foot? What part of the world are you in? Warm climate? Temperate ?

I would get her on oral antibiotics as soon as possible.

Do they swim in a pond where snapping turtles may be?

Looks like the black spot is dead, is the black stuff spreading???

One thought I had is - could this be an injury, like something biting or stepping on the foot? Could we see a photo of the other injury, on the breast? She may have been attacked.

I need to step away for quite a while. Will check back when I can later.

Amiga, We live in united states North Carolina, Warm Temps Right now. mid to high 90s, I'm attaching a photo of the bottom of her foot, which looks the same as the top for the most part. Oral Antibiotics, would that be the stuff they mix in the water, or is there something I can give her like feed to her, maybe get her to eat it with some treats, they are very friendly to me and my husband. or shots something quick acting?? No they do not swim in a pond They are kept in a man made cage, We took a 15 person hot tub and sunk it into the ground filled it with water and rotate the water out every three days via pump. their enclosure is around the tub to which they can not get out and most nothing can get in, but its not impossible for something to get in as we have had that happen with our chickens, lost our entire flock of 15 :-( but they are not in the open with access to predators very easily. they are not in with the chickens either, they are separated fully from them. My hubby thinks that possibly something may have gotten in the cage or tried to and scared her so bad that she got cut on something while trying to get out of the water or in the water, as I said the cage is closed all the way around, but animals are tricky they can find a way inside sometimes. I will do my best to get a photo of her chest, Its super hard with her feathers. It looks good from what I can tell, I just don't know why it would just turn black and start falling off with her foot, :-(

Lacrystol: Yes it appears to me that the black is dead, I dint know for sure, but from what I can tell its dead and falling off. I'm not sure if its spreading or not, it did get bigger from the small size of a dime blood blister thing about a week ago, but does not seam to be spreading to the rest of the foot or up the leg. I did notice the small black dot on the other foot,very small almost not noticeable. not sure if this is the start of another infection. It almost appears that after the black falls off it may not go any further, but her middle toe is black also. She will not be able to swim with out this webbed foot is my concern..I'm going to the closest supply place and going to find the best antibiotics I can find, hoping to do everything in my power to not have to put her down, her Buddie wold be lost with out her, :-( they have been together from day one.
This stinks...
Here is a photo of the bottom of her foot of what i could get ill try to get better shot when I haven't been messing with her to much.
thank you all so much.
we have sceen bumble foot with one of our chickens one time and this is nothing like that at all. if anyone may be considerding that.

I keep coming back to some kind of pressure wound or bite, though I cannot say for sure - antibiotics are very important - most I have seen are either injectable or meant to go in their water.

One risk is infection in the bone. I would get some topical antibiotic as well as the best oral or injectable you can get.