Bumblefoot?

[HeatherKellyB]

Hello! This foot belongs to my Pekin Drake, Reggie. He is almost 16 months old. He was a week old whenever I got him and his ankle/foot was a wreck. He was barely getting around due to a deformity that had him walking on his ankle. With some help from the amazing and wonderful folks here at BYC, I was able to get him mobile and walking on his foot. He still walks a bit odd (I figured some of the problem was from that week of no treatment to his joint) but nothing has changed recently. I've been so preoccupied with my Pekin Duck Hen, Honey Boo Boo, that Reggie's foot is worrisome now. He hates to be messed with in any way, so I do try to let him be, if possible. The first time I noticed the scab on the side of his foot was a couple of weeks ago. I was able to remove the scab easily but didn't see anything alarming under it. Last night I caught him to check his feet again and found this. This is the foot that was deformed.

My question is...... Do I need to start the beginning bumblefoot treatment of soaks, neosporine and wrapping his foot every other day/everyday? I've circled the 2 places that I'm concerned about. This guy is going to hate this, but I do not want him to be in the same situation as Honey.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and for any information you can provide.

One last question that I have..... Why would my drakes be eating oyster shell? I've got 2 bowls that fit into the side slots of a cinder block. One has grit and one has oyster shell. They don't bother much with the grit, but they go through the OS fairly quickly. My Pekin Duck eats a lot of oyster shell but I've watched my Cayuga Drake eating it a few times. I'm just wondering about this and if I should do anything about it. Thanks again

 

[Friendly_Lurker]

I have tried just about everything for bumble foot and nothing works. Is he getting around okay?

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I have tried just about everything for bumble foot and nothing works. Is he getting around okay?

Hi. Thank you for your time and reply. Yes, Reggie is getting around really well. He's a very big boy and walks funny from his hatch deformity, but he gets around easily. Oftentimes I will help him into and out of their pool (no longer free ranging all around the pond because I'm afraid Honey Boo Boo will get hurt with her chronic problem. If I have one up in my fenced in yard, they all will stay huddled up along the fence without any predator protection and the pond is too far away to be the large breeds safety, although it's not far) but he can and does get in and out. I only discovered these places on his feet because I was overdue in doing everyone's feet checks.

 

[Isaac 0]

Especially on the left core, there looks to be some Pododermatitis going on, which can be described as inflammation, and swelling of the dermal surfaces of the bird's feet. That can be brought on by several things, but you're likely to see the occurrence in birds housed on unforgiving grounds, like gravel, concrete, etc. Ducks with preexisting leg problems that causes them to apply more pressure to one foot than the other can cause Pododermatitis to develop as well.

As of now, the infection looks to be fairly localized, and may not cause any problems if left alone, but it's also possible it may start to spread further into the leg, and become a more serious problem hence it may be good to be precautious here, and implement some sort of treatment.

Soaking the foot in Epsom salts may help, but it may not reach the source of infection if the bacteria are encapsulated underneath the skin, so it may be necessary to lance the area with a sharp scalpel, squeeze out any puss/if present, and pack the area with an antibacterial ointment, or something like Silver Silvadene cream. You could then wrap the whole foot in gauze, and bandage the foot using vet wrap, or duck booties.

If you do a small incision, you shouldn't need to leave the bandage on too long.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/wrapping-feet.1255043/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/duck-feet-bandages.1424682/

As for your drake, as long as he's not eating the oyster shells excessively, I wouldn't worry.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Especially on the left core, there looks to be some Pododermatitis going on, which can be described as inflammation, and swelling of the dermal surfaces of the bird's feet. That can be brought on by several things, but you're likely to see the occurrence in birds housed on unforgiving grounds, like gravel, concrete, etc. Ducks with preexisting leg problems that causes them to apply more pressure to one foot than the other can cause Pododermatitis to develop as well.

As of now, the infection looks to be fairly localized, and may not cause any problems if left alone, but it's also possible it may start to spread further into the leg, and become a more serious problem hence it may be good to be precautious here, and implement some sort of treatment.

Soaking the foot in Epsom salts may help, but it may not reach the source of infection if the bacteria are encapsulated underneath the skin, so it may be necessary to lance the area with a sharp scalpel, squeeze out any puss/if present, and pack the area with an antibacterial ointment, or something like Silver Silvadene cream. You could then wrap the whole foot in gauze, and bandage the foot using vet wrap, or duck booties.

If you do a small incision, you shouldn't need to leave the bandage on too long.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/wrapping-feet.1255043/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/duck-feet-bandages.1424682/

As for your drake, as long as he's not eating the oyster shells excessively, I wouldn't worry.

I feel like I need to do something with the area they are staying in now. It's certainly large enough but the ground is my concern. It's just a grassy yard. I do have a few of those large round stepping stones (aka pavers, I believe) that lead from the fence door to the porch, that they walk over occasionally, but there's nothing else rough. Maybe it's the muddy yucky area around the pool contributing to problems. Thoughts on that? Especially with Honey having chronic problems and now Reggie showing issues. I am concerned about this and want to provide them with an area that is suitable for them.


I thought this went through last night. My apologies! I need to add another reply but I posted this. It must have been my internet connection.
Thank you so much for everything. I really appreciate all of the time, knowledge and suggestions you've helped me with for some time now. Thank you so so much

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Would you suggest the silver silvadene over triple antibiotic ointment (withOUT pain reliever of course)? I'm trying to decide if I should go ahead and lance it tonight since we're having a spell of cold weather, at least for us in NC. If the silver silvadene is better, I'll go ahead and order it tonight and do the procedure the day it comes in.
I watched Reggie for a while today and he really walks oddly. The deformed foot kind of twists in and drags as he walks. I'm wondering if this could be part of the cause. I need to video him actively walking. I have to plan on hanging out for a while since he isn't trusting of any human and tends to act differently. Once he finally sees that I'm not doing anything, he'll relax and start acting more normal. I can't blame him for disliking me so much after having to go through so much as a duckling. Poor guy. Thankfully he is a gentle giant although he did bite me while I was taking pictures, but it was a one time thing and he could have used force if he wanted to. He makes me realize how vulnerable ducks are without much to work with if attacked. How could anyone dislike ducks?

Thanks again @isaac o

 

[Isaac 0]

I feel like I need to do something with the area they are staying in now. It's certainly large enough but the ground is my concern. It's just a grassy yard. I do have a few of those large round stepping stones (aka pavers, I believe) that lead from the fence door to the porch, that they walk over occasionally, but there's nothing else rough. Maybe it's the muddy yucky area around the pool contributing to problems. Thoughts on that? Especially with Honey having chronic problems and now Reggie showing issues. I am concerned about this and want to provide them with an area that is suitable for them.


I thought this went through last night. My apologies! I need to add another reply but I posted this. It must have been my internet connection.
Thank you so much for everything. I really appreciate all of the time, knowledge and suggestions you've helped me with for some time now. Thank you so so much

If you want to post a few pictures, of what their setup area looks like, that may be helpful in determining what might predispose them to develop leg problems. Overall, even if you do provide them with a perfect environment, it's hard to prevent problems with these heavyweight breeds since they tend to be rather inactive and apply a lot of pressure to their feet.

Would you suggest the silver silvadene over triple antibiotic ointment (withOUT pain reliever of course)? I'm trying to decide if I should go ahead and lance it tonight since we're having a spell of cold weather, at least for us in NC. If the silver silvadene is better, I'll go ahead and order it tonight and do the procedure the day it comes in.
I watched Reggie for a while today and he really walks oddly. The deformed foot kind of twists in and drags as he walks. I'm wondering if this could be part of the cause. I need to video him actively walking. I have to plan on hanging out for a while since he isn't trusting of any human and tends to act differently. Once he finally sees that I'm not doing anything, he'll relax and start acting more normal. I can't blame him for disliking me so much after having to go through so much as a duckling. Poor guy. Thankfully he is a gentle giant although he did bite me while I was taking pictures, but it was a one time thing and he could have used force if he wanted to. He makes me realize how vulnerable ducks are without much to work with if attacked. How could anyone dislike ducks?

Thanks again @isaac o

Either one would work, however, I tend to see silvadene cream recommended/used more often by vets.

Preexisting leg problems do often predispose them to develop Bumblefoot.

I'm interested in seeing a video of him walking.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

If you want to post a few pictures, of what their setup area looks like, that may be helpful in determining what might predispose them to develop leg problems. Overall, even if you do provide them with a perfect environment, it's hard to prevent problems with these heavyweight breeds since they tend to be rather inactive and apply a lot of pressure to their feet.




Either one would work, however, I tend to see silvadene cream recommended/used more often by vets.

Preexisting leg problems do often predispose them to develop Bumblefoot. I'm interested in seeing a video.

I'll reply more thoroughly as soon as I get everyone locked up but I wanted to ask a quick question. I know this is impossible to answer with complete accuracy and I completely understand. In your opinion, do you feel like Reggie will be OK to wait until I can get the silver silvadene? I'll order it tonight but from what I'm seeing, it will probably be delivered on Saturday.

I need to find pictures of his leg/foot/joint whenever I first got him. I know these sweeties can recover from a lot, but I'm surprised he's doing as well as he is. Of course I tend to be amazed and get excited over the little things, so it might be just me

 

[Isaac 0]

I'll reply more thoroughly as soon as I get everyone locked up but I wanted to ask a quick question. I know this is impossible to answer with complete accuracy and I completely understand. In your opinion, do you feel like Reggie will be OK to wait until I can get the silver silvadene? I'll order it tonight but from what I'm seeing, it will probably be delivered on Saturday.

I need to find pictures of his leg/foot/joint whenever I first got him. I know these sweeties can recover from a lot, but I'm surprised he's doing as well as he is. Of course I tend to be amazed and get excited over the little things, so it might be just me

I don't know that the Silvadene will be that much more effective, so I think it may be best to just lance that area sooner rather than later, and apply the Neosporin to it, and bandage. If you want you could still order the Silvadene, and apply that to it once you get it, but I doubt they'll be much of a difference.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I don't know that the Silvadene will be that much more effective, so I think it may be best to just lance that area sooner rather than later, and apply the Neosporin to it, and bandage. If you want you could still order the Silvadene, and apply that to it once you get it, but I doubt they'll be much of a difference.

Sounds like a perfect plan. Thank you so much. I'll get the other information asap and keep you posted. I really appreciate your help