Bumblefoot! What do I do?

[suburbanduckmom]

Over the weekend I noticed my jumbo pekin laying down much more often than usual and she has been much more tolerant of being pet. Tonight as I was putting the ducks to bed a little voice in my head told me to check her feet. I managed to get her cornered and get her on her back and I saw swollen areas around the joints on one of her feet. One of them has a big black spot. From looking on here I think it is bumblefoot. I can't get pictures...just getting this big gal to show me her feet is hard enough.


So my question is...What do I do now?

Tomorrow I will be by the feed store and can pick up medicine but I don't know what to buy or how much to give her. From some of the posts on here I have seen a few different medicines mentioned.

I will soak it tomorrow and get my husband to help put medicine on it.

Can someone give me a treatment plan?

I feel like a terrible mother for not checking her feet sooner when my instincts told me something was up. I used to do it once a week but she is just so big it is nearly impossible to do alone.

 

[Funky Feathers]

There are several posts on this topic. In summary: buy Tricide-Neo powder to soak the feet in (buy online or at a fish store, it is for Koi fish), mix it w/DISTILLED water, soak feet for 5 min./day. Then you can apply Neosporin or Bacitracin ointment and get some duck shoes (closed toe) from Nettie (www.indoorducks.com). Have him wear them all the time except while swimming. Do all this diligently for 1-2 weeks and recheck/reassess the feet. You can also try oral Cephalexin 250mg caps (from your vet, pharmacy or online or fish store), 1 cap twice a day, down the throat. Good luck. I caught it in the late stages, so it took me 2-1/2 months to get rid of.

 

[nettie]

i think Joe, aka Duck_feeder has been compiling a bumblefoot list of treatments and recovery options... I'll ask him to post what he has so far... If you are interested in shoes to help with recovery, feel free to pm for info...

 

[suburbanduckmom]

I'm going to the feed store to pick up these items.

When do you know if you need to cut out the bumble?

Update: I can't find the foot soak or the antibiotics anywhere in town. I went to the only feed store in the area, a few pet stores, a fish store, and a pet clinic. I can order it online but I want to start to help her right away. Epsom salts ok? What else?

I am so worried. The poor girl just spent five minutes giving me snuggles.

 

[janastasio]

Epsom salt would be fine to use. Also a diluted solution of half peroxide and water to kill bacteria. Better to keep her quarentined inside on clean bedding to help the situation. I always used my kids socks and taped them at the top. They usually lasted 1-2 days. I also have used a diluted solution of betadine to irrigate the wounds with. Good luck.
-Jaime

 

[suburbanduckmom]

Ok. So I'm having a hard time finding Cephalexin. I have found it online as Fish Flex http://www.amazon.com/Fish-Flex-Cephalexin-250-count/dp/B00061MQWI

Is this what I am looking for?

My friend is a vet tech and thought she could get some for me but she couldn't. The fish specialty shop didn't have any. BLARG!

 

[Amiga]

ditto janastasio on the epsom salts and so forth.

To help you sort it out, generally what is needed, depending on how advanced the infection is, is disinfecting the foot, soaking it to help it open up and drain, applying topical antibiotic especially for early infections, bandaging the foot to keep antibiotic on the site of the infection, keep the site cleaner, and pad the site for comfort.

For more advanced cases, an oral antibiotic may be necessary, and cutting open the infected pocket on the foot and removing the . . . well, for lack of a better term, yuck that is in the swollen part. The cutting may cause some bleeding, so having very clean instruments, something to stop bleeding, and being ready with bandages is needed.

I am looking forward to seeing Duck_feeder's compilation.

 

[Funky Feathers]

Quote:
YES, Fish-Flex is the same thing. Get it. 250mg capsules.

 

[suburbanduckmom]

Thanks I ordered it.

I went to Walgreens to get Neosporen and they had something called StaphAway for staph infections. I thought about getting it but I don't know how safe it would be. It has a pain releaver in it so I didn't buy it.

Anyone heard of this stuff? It is a gel that goes on the infection site.

 

[Funky Feathers]

I used Staph-A-Septic gel on mine's feet for weeks, worked fine, no adverse effects. I would go ahead & use it.