2 ducks, limping and toes curled. Need help please.

[Zarumley]

Hello, I have been treating two of my ducks for what I thought was the start of bumble foot. They each had some cuts on the bottom of their feet and we starting giving them soaks and bought spray/ ointment from out local pet store. It's been about 2 weeks and they both appear to be healing however they both started limping and tucking their feet up while standing again recently but I don't see any sores or cuts on their feet anymore. I plan to take them to the vet, but I was curious if anyone else has experienced this or if they know what to do?


Also do you need to trim the nails of the ducks? I am having a hard time finding out that information. It seems like they need trims for sure but I can't imagine thats an easy task!


Thank you all in advice I really want to make sure these duckies get better.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

What breed of ducks and how old are they?
Ducks or drakes?
Do you have just these two or are they a member of a larger flock? (with drakes?)

Cuts can become infected and cause bumblefoot, but the more important question is where did they injure their feet? And can you keep them away from there.

When ducks are limping it is always a good idea to keep them locked up in a quiet, dim place for a while (a day or two, depending on their condition) with food and water, so that they can rest. Also giving them additional B-Vitamins is never a bad idea, either get a Vitamin-B complex from TSC (@casportpony has a good picture of the bottle i think), or crush an OTC vitmain-b complex tablet and mix it with some treats or simply feed them peas. They will love peas!

 

[Isaac 0]

A video of them walking would be good. To post a video, upload it to a video platform like Youtube or Vimeo, and copy/paste the link here. A few pictures of the cuts, and your setup would be good.

Whether duck nails need to be trimmed greatly depends on what kind of environment they are being kept in. If their run area is small, or lacks hard things for them to wear down their nails they may need trimming, but, In most case's ducks do not need their nails trimmed unless they are Muscovies which grow abnormally long nails to help them roost in trees better. If the nails are long, that could affect their ability to walk in which case you would want to trim. Regarding how to trim, you'll do it nearly the same way you do your dogs ( cutting a little bit off at a time).

Some veterinarians will use a rotary drill instead to trip their nails. Since the "friction" of the grinder will also cauterize any blood if it is hit on accident.

 

[Zarumley]

I have 5 ducks total the ones that are limping are both drakes and are about 6 months old. One of them I am pretty sure is bumble foot we've been treating it as such and he is improving a lot. Cut on bottom of his foot. The other is also a drake 6 months old, but I see no wounds or cuts, just a swollen leg and limping. He seems to be starting to try and mate and I'm wondering if he is getting hurt trying to mount those giant pekins. He is a smaller buff, he seems to be getting better but it's still very alarming the girl pekins want nothing to do with his shenanigans I've been watching them and I'm now more convinced they are just hurting him to get off. Which isn't good either but less troubling them what was going on in my mind with what it could be. Thanks for the help.