Bumblefoot or callous?

[HennyPenny44]

I’ve had ducks for only 4 months but it seems they are prone to foot injuries. My ducks have pine shavings in their house that I add to every day or two before I clean it all out every week and their run consists of aged wood chips from last year. They’re not sharp like fresh ones. I saw one of my boys limping and standing on one foot yesterday so I checked the foot in question this morning and this is what I found:

Along the central toe there seem to be two small bulges, one with a yellowish skin over it and the other with a slightly darker one. I did an epsom foot soak and tried removing the scab/skin but to no avail. I tried slight pressure but no pus came out so I just put on some iodine followed by antibiotic. I also found this on the other foot:

Is this bumblefoot? This isn’t the leg that seemed problematic. But I treated it the same nonetheless and no pus either. Please advise how I should proceed. Thank you!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I'd get some drawing ointment slather it real good wrap and keep him out of the water for a few days check again and see how it's progressing. Bumble takes a lot of patience and is a pain in the butt. But it's small on your ducks so hopefully you can take care of it with out cutting. Be sure to soak with warm Epsom salt water too. I haven't tried this yet although I ordered it but Epsom salt poultice is now available. I got it on ebay.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001OE3L8E?tag=bravesoftwa04-20&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1&language=en_US
@CoriM also has used it hopefully she'll see this tag and respond.

 

[HennyPenny44]

I'd get some drawing ointment slather it real good wrap and keep him out of the water for a few days check again and see how it's progressing. Bumble takes a lot of patience and is a pain in the butt. But it's small on your ducks so hopefully you can take care of it with out cutting. Be sure to soak with warm Epsom salt water too. I haven't tried this yet although I ordered it but Epsom salt poultice is now available. I got it on ebay.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001OE3L8E?tag=bravesoftwa04-20&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1&language=en_US
@CoriM also has used it hopefully she'll see this tag and respond.

Thank you for the advice! Does it matter if the drawing salve is for humans or animals? I notice there’s different concentrations. I don’t have a special duck boot so would a standard fabric bandage work, followed by waterproof tape? I’m very new to this.

 

[CoriM]

To me the first foot looks good - but maybe the start of a bumble by that little scab. When they are small I use a toothbrush, dip it in some colorless iodine (which I buy from Amazon) and give it a scrub a couple times a day, keeping the duck out of the water for ten minutes or so afterwards while it dries. Keep this up until the scabs disappear. Sometimes ducks sprain their legs and you just need to rest them for a couple days by keeping them in a smaller area where they're not ranging very far - always keep them with a friend because they will crazy isolated.

The other foot looks more problematic and you should treat that. Here is what I did most recently for a bumble not too different than that. Soak a couple times if you can in warm epsom salt water to try to soften up the scab. My duck wasn't having much of that and I could only keep her in maybe 5 minutes. I then moved her to a towel I had already set up with two strips of 1 inch vet wrap - maybe about 15 inches long each - and a piece of gauze. I held her over my leg, under my arm, and pulled the foot back toward me. Try to gently pull the scab off and squeeze to get whatever is there to come out of the foot. Have a paper towel on hand to stop the blood, I sprayed the wound with vetricyn, then slathered with this epsom salt poultice:

(I got it off Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Durvet-Epsom...1pAnSA==&sprefix=epsom+salt+po,aps,230&sr=8-3)

Then put the gauze over and wrap the foot with vet wrap. I usually go around the ankle once, then kind of criss-cross over the foot, trying to keep the web spread out so that she can walk normally. Take the second piece and go over it again, covering the areas you missed. Toes will stick out. It's a bit of a trick and takes some patience, but once you get used to doing it it's not hard.

I have my ducks on very soft pine shavings, some pea gravel by their pond, grass in the yard, and old wood chips that they love digging through. I've rounded edges for their concrete steps also, but they still get bumble - just try to keep an eye on their feet, checking every week or two so you can catch scabs early and just do the toothbrush iodine method. Attached is a photo of the recent bumble I worked on - it became quite swollen but the scab actually almost disappeared. I ended up having to use a scalpel and make a tiny incision at a spot where I could see a bubble under the skin - clear liquid spurted out then lots of blood and I have been using the epsom salt poultice to draw the infection out and it's getting better. The other photos are a different duck who had a bumble on the heel pad, so I wrapped it a little differently, but you get the idea. Some supplies you should definitely keep on hand are: 1 inch vet wrap - you can get like 12 rolls for $6 on Amazon, a roll of soft gauze, colorless iodine and a toothbrush, triple antibiotic ointment, vetericyn wound spray, epsom salts, and the epsom salt poultice.

If you don't have all the supplies you need, in the meantime you can use a human drawing salve like Prid, or you could just do the epsom salt soaks a couple times a day - I would start with whatever you can right now.






iodine method.

 

[HennyPenny44]

To me the first foot looks good - but maybe the start of a bumble by that little scab. When they are small I use a toothbrush, dip it in some colorless iodine (which I buy from Amazon) and give it a scrub a couple times a day, keeping the duck out of the water for ten minutes or so afterwards while it dries. Keep this up until the scabs disappear. Sometimes ducks sprain their legs and you just need to rest them for a couple days by keeping them in a smaller area where they're not ranging very far - always keep them with a friend because they will crazy isolated.

The other foot looks more problematic and you should treat that. Here is what I did most recently for a bumble not too different than that. Soak a couple times if you can in warm epsom salt water to try to soften up the scab. My duck wasn't having much of that and I could only keep her in maybe 5 minutes. I then moved her to a towel I had already set up with two strips of 1 inch vet wrap - maybe about 15 inches long each - and a piece of gauze. I held her over my leg, under my arm, and pulled the foot back toward me. Try to gently pull the scab off and squeeze to get whatever is there to come out of the foot. Have a paper towel on hand to stop the blood, I sprayed the wound with vetricyn, then slathered with this epsom salt poultice:

(I got it off Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Durvet-Epsom-Salt-Poultice-Net/dp/B001OE3L8E/ref=sr_1_3_pp_mod_primary_new?crid=2CPJOCALVJYMU&keywords=epsom+salt+poultice+horse&qid=1690384789&sbo=RZvfv//HxDF+O5021pAnSA==&sprefix=epsom+salt+po,aps,230&sr=8-3)

Then put the gauze over and wrap the foot with vet wrap. I usually go around the ankle once, then kind of criss-cross over the foot, trying to keep the web spread out so that she can walk normally. Take the second piece and go over it again, covering the areas you missed. Toes will stick out. It's a bit of a trick and takes some patience, but once you get used to doing it it's not hard.

I have my ducks on very soft pine shavings, some pea gravel by their pond, grass in the yard, and old wood chips that they love digging through. I've rounded edges for their concrete steps also, but they still get bumble - just try to keep an eye on their feet, checking every week or two so you can catch scabs early and just do the toothbrush iodine method. Attached is a photo of the recent bumble I worked on - it became quite swollen but the scab actually almost disappeared. I ended up having to use a scalpel and make a tiny incision at a spot where I could see a bubble under the skin - clear liquid spurted out then lots of blood and I have been using the epsom salt poultice to draw the infection out and it's getting better. The other photos are a different duck who had a bumble on the heel pad, so I wrapped it a little differently, but you get the idea. Some supplies you should definitely keep on hand are: 1 inch vet wrap - you can get like 12 rolls for $6 on Amazon, a roll of soft gauze, colorless iodine and a toothbrush, triple antibiotic ointment, vetericyn wound spray, epsom salts, and the epsom salt poultice.

If you don't have all the supplies you need, in the meantime you can use a human drawing salve like Prid, or you could just do the epsom salt soaks a couple times a day - I would start with whatever you can right now.






iodine method. View attachment 3589704View attachment 3589705View attachment 3589706View attachment 3589707View attachment 3589708View attachment 3589709

Thanks for all the great info and photos! I’ll be going to Tractor Supply and Walmart today to buy what I can and order the rest. I don’t check my ducks’ feet since I have to chase them just to hold them but I’ll try to do it now that I know this is a common problem. I’ve had chickens for over 4 years and they’ve never gotten bumblefoot but I notice ducks have their own set of problems.
After I soaked my duck’s foot and disinfected it, the first thing he did was jump into the pool. So it’ll be tricky to keep those feet dry.

 

[CoriM]

I don't know what your set up is like, but my ducks spend a good deal of time in a run and I have a fence that goes down the middle that I can close to section off a smaller area. This makes it easier to catch them and also confine anyone who has an issue in a dry, cleaner area. I hope it all goes well for you!

 

[HennyPenny44]

I don't know what your set up is like, but my ducks spend a good deal of time in a run and I have a fence that goes down the middle that I can close to section off a smaller area. This makes it easier to catch them and also confine anyone who has an issue in a dry, cleaner area. I hope it all goes well for you!

Yes, I can fence it off. I got some of the items already and will start the treatment tonight.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thanks to @CoriM for adding her info, I haven’t been able to get back to BYC till now.

 

[CoriM]

Thanks to @Miss Lydia for helping every single person in the duck forum!!