LAllen1118
Chirping
Hi all! New here! A little introduction, I have four ducks; two Cayuga hens, one Welsh Harlequin hen, and one Black Swedish drake. All hatched at Metzer farm 9/24 and arrived home in middle Georgia 9/26. Everything has been perfect with the flock, well, until now! We (my family) are new duck parents, so of course we are still learning the ropes.
One of our Cayugas, Seneca (appropriately named after the lake in NY State), had an unexpected injury on 3/29 within hours of being unsupervised in our backyard. We believe she stepped on something sharp, be it a pinecone, wire, rock... we aren’t sure. She presented a limp which caused concern, and while I was out to put them in for the night the evening took a detour. I brought Seneca in, and put the three others up for the evening.
Her limp progressed, and with further inspection her right foot seemed to be the root of the cause. We brought her to the bathroom to prepare an epsom salt soak when I finally got the chance to get a good look. (Photo is from night of the injury, 3/29. I will update with new photos as the days go by)
[pic 1]
There is a thin, but decent cut under her middle toe, middle joint, on her right foot. It was swollen. Oh so swollen. And probably the hottest skin I had ever touched. Now I do have Veterinary Assistant history— and I recalled all the signs lining up to be the onset of infection. I’m glad we caught this after it had just happened, though I’m still baffled at the lack of blood from a fresh injury, especially from a body part that seems to be extremely vascular from my research.
So we soaked her foot, cleaned her up with saline and fortunately had both Veterycin and Polysporin on hand. On facebook I am a member of several poultry specific pages, which are great for new duck owners like me! There was a learning unit posted of how to wrap feet... which are surprisingly difficult to bandage. I made sure to pad it up for her for extra comfort!
[pic 2]
Now 3/31 things seem to be going for the better. We had to isolate her due to the amorous drake who heads her flock, which unfortunately has made her a happy house duck! Lol. Today was the first day we allowed the wound to really breathe with the aerosol bandage “AluShield” protecting it (I’m not a fan of Blu-Kote; I know lots of people swear by it, but I’ve heard my share of cons that equally outweigh the pros. Veterycin and Chlorhexidine is how I make up for it). We promptly ordered booties made for ducks, and she will be wearing these once they arrive so we can allow her back outside with her flock with peace of mind.
So the purpose of the post here— nearly three days later, swelling and heat have both gone down significantly. She still limps, which I had expected. She seems BAR, her typical feisty self. Though there is a dense knot and stiffness around the physical injury and joint. Not much progress has been made with the wound itself and to me it still appears the same just a couple days later after frequent soaks, bandage changes, and medication application. From the MANY posts I have read with the knowledgeable answers and advice, I would not call this a case of bumblefoot. But a second opinion would be greatly appreciated!
Is there a possibility something is broken or fractured? She acts normal, seems unbothered by the wound until we start to mess with her to clean it up. Should I be expecting to see any physical improvement in the next couple of days? I haven’t seen many threads that really correlate to my experience with this particular type of wound (as much are unexpected bumblefoot).
Thank you so much for making it this far with me! I’m a paranoid duck momma, and I’m sure I’m not alone here with the anxiety over it.
One of our Cayugas, Seneca (appropriately named after the lake in NY State), had an unexpected injury on 3/29 within hours of being unsupervised in our backyard. We believe she stepped on something sharp, be it a pinecone, wire, rock... we aren’t sure. She presented a limp which caused concern, and while I was out to put them in for the night the evening took a detour. I brought Seneca in, and put the three others up for the evening.
Her limp progressed, and with further inspection her right foot seemed to be the root of the cause. We brought her to the bathroom to prepare an epsom salt soak when I finally got the chance to get a good look. (Photo is from night of the injury, 3/29. I will update with new photos as the days go by)
[pic 1]
There is a thin, but decent cut under her middle toe, middle joint, on her right foot. It was swollen. Oh so swollen. And probably the hottest skin I had ever touched. Now I do have Veterinary Assistant history— and I recalled all the signs lining up to be the onset of infection. I’m glad we caught this after it had just happened, though I’m still baffled at the lack of blood from a fresh injury, especially from a body part that seems to be extremely vascular from my research.
So we soaked her foot, cleaned her up with saline and fortunately had both Veterycin and Polysporin on hand. On facebook I am a member of several poultry specific pages, which are great for new duck owners like me! There was a learning unit posted of how to wrap feet... which are surprisingly difficult to bandage. I made sure to pad it up for her for extra comfort!
[pic 2]
Now 3/31 things seem to be going for the better. We had to isolate her due to the amorous drake who heads her flock, which unfortunately has made her a happy house duck! Lol. Today was the first day we allowed the wound to really breathe with the aerosol bandage “AluShield” protecting it (I’m not a fan of Blu-Kote; I know lots of people swear by it, but I’ve heard my share of cons that equally outweigh the pros. Veterycin and Chlorhexidine is how I make up for it). We promptly ordered booties made for ducks, and she will be wearing these once they arrive so we can allow her back outside with her flock with peace of mind.
So the purpose of the post here— nearly three days later, swelling and heat have both gone down significantly. She still limps, which I had expected. She seems BAR, her typical feisty self. Though there is a dense knot and stiffness around the physical injury and joint. Not much progress has been made with the wound itself and to me it still appears the same just a couple days later after frequent soaks, bandage changes, and medication application. From the MANY posts I have read with the knowledgeable answers and advice, I would not call this a case of bumblefoot. But a second opinion would be greatly appreciated!
Is there a possibility something is broken or fractured? She acts normal, seems unbothered by the wound until we start to mess with her to clean it up. Should I be expecting to see any physical improvement in the next couple of days? I haven’t seen many threads that really correlate to my experience with this particular type of wound (as much are unexpected bumblefoot).
Thank you so much for making it this far with me! I’m a paranoid duck momma, and I’m sure I’m not alone here with the anxiety over it.
it makes me more at ease knowing I have the BYC experts at my back!
Not a problem! We're really one big fowl family 
How long have you had ducks? How do you like your cayuga and swedish? I am getting those breeds soon...
