Bumble foot

[BirdNerd101]

My duck has bumblefoot and is limping. I have a few questions. I placed her in a bath of epsom salts and the placed neosporn on the black spots, but didnt wrap it because i knew it would fall off
1. Is what i did going to help?
2. Can it heal itself?
3. You think what I did is going to help, keep her alive?
4. How seroius is it?
Please help, i am really worried

 

[PetDuck]

My duck Quackers had a slight case of Bumble. Here is the thread if it helps at all All of the information on their should help you (it sure helped me!)
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/799384/why-is-she-limping-with-pictures-urgent-please

 

[Banana Hen]

Well, if it is too big, you will have to do a "surgery" type thing. Instructions for those can be found on youtube, I think. But if it isn't too bad, you can treat it quite easily.

Q1. It will help, but I treat it differently..
Q2. No, it usually does not heal itself.
Q3. See Q1, but if you did not catch it like you did she could have died.
Q4. It depends. If the place where she has it is huge, it may be a bit serious. If it looks like little rocks in an area that is a teeny bit puffy, it isn't serious.

Here's my advice:
1. Get some tea tree oil. (not the big bottles, you won't need too much)
2. Get some q-tips.
3. Rub the tea tree oil around the bumblefoot once a day, or until you can wiggle the bumblefoot.
4. If you have short fingernails, grab some tweezers (you don't necessarily need the super sharp ones) and try to tweeze out the bumblefoot.

Good Luck!!

 

[Duckopolis]

I'n mot sure if this is helpful, but I found it on Metzer Farms


Bumblefoot is an infection in the pad of your bird’s foot. A very minor cut or abrasion in the pad or toes can lead to this condition. The best way to prevent it is to not have any sharp rocks, sticks, nails, lumber or metal in your duck’s pen. If you do, they will find it.

Unless the duck is able to fight off the infection, it often leads to a large, swollen, bulbous growth on the bottom of their foot. It is obviously painful and cumbersome for the bird. If you catch it early, you can often provide antibiotics and heal it. However, blood flow to the feet of a duck is not great and getting adequate amounts of antibiotic to the infected spot is difficult.

Different types of antibiotic have been used to cure the problem: one pill (22.7mg) per day of Baytril, 50-100 mg of clindamycin, doxycycline, lincomycen or doxycycline per day, or 250 mg of amoxicillin per day. Of course it is best to consult with a veterinarian first.

If antibiotics alone to do not cure the problem, you or your vet will need to lance and remove all the infected pus in the center of the growth. Wash and disinfect the foot with a diluted iodine solution. Make an incision with a sharp scalpel and press out all the pus. Then you must flush out all the remaining pus with your diluted iodine solution. Put a pad over the incision, and then try to keep pressure off the incision with a “cast” or a cut up tennis ball over the foot. Keep the bird out of swimming water until it is healed. Continue the antibiotics until the wound is completely healed.

Any time you are administering antibiotics, it is good to also administer probiotics during and after the antibiotic use. Probiotics are good bacteria that are required for proper digestion and health. As the antibiotics may kill these, it is good to replace them. Check at your local feed store or use yogurt, which is full of probiotics.

 

[Realtree4]

Two of my hens ended up with bumblefoot last fall, I ends up having to do the "surgery" for them....ugh! One thing that I have read is to apply some vetericyn (TSC has it), put a dry gauze and then wrapped with vet tape (also at TSC). It's suppose to work well if it isn't too far along yet. Good luck!!!!

 

[Speceider]

I was reading "Avian medicine: principles and application" by Ritchie, Harrison, and Harrison about giganmin A. They suggest humbledoot may be related to hypovitaminosis A. I checked the NRC recommendations for ducks and chickens. At all ages ducks have higher requirements (4000 iu for breeding ducks vs 3000 iu for laying hens), suggesting chicken diets might be low in but A. In "Nutritionand management of ducks" by Scott and Dean, they suggest a sort with 8000 iu, and refer to ducks being poor at converting carotene precursores in alfalfa meal, needing pre-formed but A. So perhaps increasing vit A should be included in bumblefoot treatment.

Clint

 

[Amiga]

I was reading "Avian medicine: principles and application" by Ritchie, Harrison, and Harrison about giganmin A. They suggest humbledoot may be related to hypovitaminosis A. I checked the NRC recommendations for ducks and chickens. At all ages ducks have higher requirements (4000 iu for breeding ducks vs 3000 iu for laying hens), suggesting chicken diets might be low in but A. In "Nutritionand management of ducks" by Scott and Dean, they suggest a sort with 8000 iu, and refer to ducks being poor at converting carotene precursores in alfalfa meal, needing pre-formed but A. So perhaps increasing vit A should be included in bumblefoot treatment.

Clint

Thanks, Clint!! Seems people are still sorting out optimal domestic duck nutrition. Vitamin A. Not precursors, but the actual A. Noted. I see that the supplement I occasionally use has Vitamin A. I need to do some arithmetic to find out how much is going into their water. The label, I believe, is for the entire 4 ounces, and a quarter teaspoon goes into a gallon of water. Not difficult.

 

[Speceider]

One thing to keep in mind is that vit A is one of the day soluble vitamins, so it is stored in the body. Excessive supplimentation may lead to hypervitaminosis, so would suggest supplimenting weekly if you are feeding a diet formulated for chickens. Also, make sure zinc levels are balanced because zinc is necessary for vit A.

Clint

 

[Amiga]

Clint, if anything I am cautious about supplementing vitamins. I tend to use them during times of duress, and then rarely more than once a week or two. Interesting about zinc, as we so often hear about it in the context of poisoning.

And I think the autocorrect changed oil to day.

 

[Speceider]

Amiga yes, auto correct got me again. I really wasn't worried about you, but often people think that if more is needed, even more is better. There are suppliments with up to 100,000 iu, which should not be used on a regular basis.
NRC gives 60 ppm as the daily zinc requirment. Most minerals (except lead) have a physiological requirement, but quickly become toxic at higher levels.

Clint