Bumble foot. What do I do?

[Vasicos1]

Hi all. This is one of my pekin ducks. As you can see she has some pretty large bumble foot looking sores on her feet. She’s not showing any signs of lameness so I don’t know how long they’ve been there but I noticed them when she was preening herself this evening

I currently have another duck in a quarantine pen with a broken toe which caused an infection that reached the bone that I am treating with antibiotics from the vet but this doesn’t look like the same issue.
I haven’t really dealt with true bumble foot before so I’m not sure how to go about treating it. I have soaked her feet in an epsom salt bath and put her in the quarantine pen as well to keep her clean and dry.
Are antibiotics necessary for this type of infection too or can I treat it from home?
Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[BelovedBirds]

Hi all. This is one of my pekin ducks. As you can see she has some pretty large bumble foot looking sores on her feet. She’s not showing any signs of lameness so I don’t know how long they’ve been there but I noticed them when she was preening herself this evening

I currently have another duck in a quarantine pen with a broken toe which caused an infection that reached the bone that I am treating with antibiotics from the vet but this doesn’t look like the same issue.
I haven’t really dealt with true bumble foot before so I’m not sure how to go about treating it. I have soaked her feet in an epsom salt bath and put her in the quarantine pen as well to keep her clean and dry.
Are antibiotics necessary for this type of infection too or can I treat it from home?
Thanks in advance for any help.

if you are able to take her to a vet, they should be able to empty the infections and give her some antibiotics.
But if you are only able to do this from home, you'll need some triple antibiotic ointment (without pain relief), vet wrap or duck boots (you may be able to find them online).
You'll need to soak her feet daily for at least 10 minutes in warm epsom salt water. Dont let her drink the water as it will act as a laxative.
Once they soften after soaking, while wearing gloves, you'll need to remove the scabs with tweezers and empty out the contents of the infection. Then apply plenty of triple antibiotic ointment to the wounds, and wrap the foot up to keep it clean and dry. The wound will need re-dressing daily.
Bumble foot can be caused by scrapes/cuts on the foot, but also can be caused by inappropriate ground under the ducks- such as wire bottom cages, or stony ground, or concrete. Hard abrasive flooring can wear at the foot and cause this, so be sure to check their housing and make sure its all suitable, otherwise this will likely come back after treatment.

Now, this can all be quite tricky, especially if you dont have someone to help hold her during treatment, so I do recommend vet help if available.

Best of luck with your duck!

 

[theoldchick]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/treating-bumble-foot-in-ducks.74245/

 

[Vasicos1]

if you are able to take her to a vet, they should be able to empty the infections and give her some antibiotics.
But if you are only able to do this from home, you'll need some triple antibiotic ointment (without pain relief), vet wrap or duck boots (you may be able to find them online).
You'll need to soak her feet daily for at least 10 minutes in warm epsom salt water. Dont let her drink the water as it will act as a laxative.
Once they soften after soaking, while wearing gloves, you'll need to remove the scabs with tweezers and empty out the contents of the infection. Then apply plenty of triple antibiotic ointment to the wounds, and wrap the foot up to keep it clean and dry. The wound will need re-dressing daily.
Bumble foot can be caused by scrapes/cuts on the foot, but also can be caused by inappropriate ground under the ducks- such as wire bottom cages, or stony ground, or concrete. Hard abrasive flooring can wear at the foot and cause this, so be sure to check their housing and make sure its all suitable, otherwise this will likely come back after treatment.

Now, this can all be quite tricky, especially if you dont have someone to help hold her during treatment, so I do recommend vet help if available.

Best of luck with your duck!

Thank you so much. I will get all the supplies tomorrow and hopefully get her all fixed up