Bumblefoot - can I ignore it?

[Henrik Petersson]

Oh, that looks bad...No, you cannot just ignore that! Poor thing...

Good thing we did treat it then.

Here is the man, sitting alone in his coop today... Probably bored and lonely out of his duck mind, but otherwise looking hale and hearty.



His name is Hjalle (the H is silent).

 

[dotknott]

I love the windows! Glad he's doing well!

How are his feet healing up?

 

[Henrik Petersson]

I love the windows! Glad he's doing well!

How are his feet healing up?

Thanks! The window is a bit of a double-edged sword, actually, since the ducks have tried to walk out of it on several occasions, not to mention the fact that Hjalle has tried to interact with his mirror image when outside of the window (we don't know in which way he wanted to interact, he just stood there and hissed).

We haven't looked at the under-side of his feet since it's such a hassle to pick him up. We thought we'd just let him out after a couple of days.

 

[DancingWthDucks]

Good thing we did treat it then. Here is the man, sitting alone in his coop today... Probably bored and lonely out of his duck mind, but otherwise looking hale and hearty. His name is Hjalle (the H is silent).

I've never been really keen on Muscovies, but he's gorgeous! I love the coop aswell.

 

[Henrik Petersson]

I've never been really keen on Muscovies, but he's gorgeous! I love the coop aswell.

Thanks! Yeah, I prefer muscovy drakes that don't have too much caruncles. I like his color as well. He's not to big either (he's a decent flier actually.) Also, when they have chicks, he is never mean to them, which I have read some drakes can be. He's a real catch!

 

[Henrik Petersson]

By the way, I have another question, I'll take it here instead of starting a new thread. How much of a problem is short-term (say, up to 2 weeks) isolation for such a gregarious animal as a muscovy duck, and if it's a big problem, how best to solve it?

I was originally thinking that we should have put another female in there with him. But we thought "better that one animal suffers than two" - plus that another duck would have meant a lot more poop to step in, which can't be good for convalescent bumblefoot.

I guess another solution would have been to hang out with him - maybe just sit with him for a while a couple of times a day, maybe reading or playing on the phone. Is human company an okay substitute for a duck here? It would be a nice opportunity to make him tamer, and kill to birds with one stone, so to speak.

 

[Bills vs Beaks]

By the way, I have another question, I'll take it here instead of starting a new thread. How much of a problem is short-term (say, up to 2 weeks) isolation for such a gregarious animal as a muscovy duck, and if it's a big problem, how best to solve it?
I had a chicken rooster alone for a couple weeks (he was new, so he was in quarantine) and after a while he started not eating, no crowing, just sitting around, he even started molting...I moved him within sight of the other chickens and he perked right up.

I was originally thinking that we should have put another female in there with him. But we thought "better that one animal suffers than two" - plus that another duck would have meant a lot more poop to step in, which can't be good for convalescent bumblefoot.
I would put another in there. The space looks big enough, and if you keep the bedding clean the poop shouldn't be a problem. And you could even rotate them so each can have a turn inside with him and then outside foraging or whatever.

I guess another solution would have been to hang out with him - maybe just sit with him for a while a couple of times a day, maybe reading or playing on the phone. Is human company an okay substitute for a duck here? It would be a nice opportunity to make him tamer, and kill to birds with one stone, so to speak.
Hopefully "so to speak"!! LOL
But I think it will help him to be tamer, and by all means do those things, I would still put another duck in for the times you aren't there though

 

[dotknott]

By the way, I have another question, I'll take it here instead of starting a new thread. How much of a problem is short-term (say, up to 2 weeks) isolation for such a gregarious animal as a muscovy duck, and if it's a big problem, how best to solve it?

I was originally thinking that we should have put another female in there with him. But we thought "better that one animal suffers than two" - plus that another duck would have meant a lot more poop to step in, which can't be good for convalescent bumblefoot.

I guess another solution would have been to hang out with him - maybe just sit with him for a while a couple of times a day, maybe reading or playing on the phone. Is human company an okay substitute for a duck here? It would be a nice opportunity to make him tamer, and kill to birds with one stone, so to speak.

I'm in a similar situation actually! I've got a gal on the mend living on my screened in porch. She's actually OKAY now, but her eggs aren't safe for human consumption, so she's separated. She's up there 24/7 so I've decided to use the time to do some selective breeding.

The first 2 weeks she was there I spent about an hour or so with her. She definitely got tamer, and at one point she started to present to me when I'd go out on the deck.. Then I gave her a few days with my nicest looking drake, and every day I make sure she's got a female companion to spend time with. I'm getting eggs daily, and have about 3 more weeks of her being separated so I'll move the drake back in with her again next week.

 

[Henrik Petersson]

Clever answers. Thanks!

 

[Henrik Petersson]

Hey guys... Hjalle is out and about since a few days, and hasn't shown signs of limping. We haven't looked under his feet again, but I'll be sure to do it within a few months to see how he's progressed. If the problem is back, I'll coop him up for longer (with company, as you suggested).