Does my Pekin have bumblefoot, and if so, how do I treat it?

[HollyDuckFarmer]

How's your duck today?

 

[Gwokakotta]

I apologize for not getting back to you sooner, but we had a sudden problem with another duck. On Friday morning I noticed one of our Rouens, Billy, wasn't acting right. While the other ducks were happily free ranging, he was just standing off by himself. When he walked, it was slower than usual. I suspected he may have gotten into something toxic, so I put all of the ducks back in their coop as a precaution. He wouldn't eat anything, wasn't quacking, and just wanted to lay down.

We called a vet and she gave us some injections to give him (one was Banamine, don't know about the other one). Poor Billy just kept getting weaker, and later that night I noticed some reddish-brown discharge coming from his nares. Sadly, he died Saturday morning. He was so friendly and would always be the first one to greet me when I went out to visit them. We really miss him.

Judging by the symptoms he had, my first thought was that maybe he had been poisoned, but since then I've read about all kinds of respiratory infections and noticed some of the symptoms seem to match. Does anyone have any idea what could have killed him? It all happened so quickly, and I just felt so helpless as he was slipping away.

 

[Amiga]

Ducks often show no clear symptoms till they are very very ill.

A necropsy is the way to know what happened. For the sake of the rest of the flock, it would be a good idea.

 

[Gwokakotta]

The vet told us that we would not get him back if we sent him in for a necropsy. We couldn't bear the thought of not even being able to bury his body, so we decided against that.

It's amazing how attached a person can get to a bunch of silly, quacky ducks. :'(

 

[Gwokakotta]

On a happier note, our duck with the bumblefoot is doing a lot better! He's been off penicillin for a few days, and the black scabs are starting to come off and the swelling seems to be going down. Also, he appears to be eating now that we're no longer giving him antibiotics. I'm going to keep going with the Epsom salt soaks for now, though.

I wanted to say thanks to all of you for taking the time to help me treat my ducks. This is my first experience raising ducks, so each problem that comes up is entirely new to me. Everyone here has been so helpful and patient in answering all of my questions.

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

That is such a nice compliment. I am sorry about your lost duck, but super pleased to hear the Bumblefoot is improving.

 

[Amiga]

The vet told us that we would not get him back if we sent him in for a necropsy. We couldn't bear the thought of not even being able to bury his body, so we decided against that.

It's amazing how attached a person can get to a bunch of silly, quacky ducks. :'(

I understand. I had the option of cremation.

 

[Aplaceforall]

My Peking, Canard, has contracted bumblefoot this season. Probably my fault as she was well over weight. She did stop eating her feed and scratch mixture because of antibiotic injections that upset her stomach balance. I added probiotics to her water, along with fresh oregano, and supplemented her feed with sweet potatoes, peas, cabbage, melon, bananas, applesauce, just about anything I could find she liked. Mealworms added protein to her diet also. She is holding her weight now and avid for her meals. She also has returned to her layer feed!
We are still working on the bumblefoot and she did have surgery last week. Our vet remove a large puss capsule and we are treating the foot daily. She is coming around very well.