Duck with bumble foot, please advise!

[BelovedBirds]

Update: she doesn't seem to be getting any worse, but that swelling and heat hasn't gone down so our vet wants us to bring her back in for x rays (radiographs can help assess tissue damage and whether the bone is being affected), we will almost certainly be moving to a stronger antibiotic treatment, potentially surgery too but he is reluctant to jump to it too quickly as he would want to remove all infected tissue from inside the foot and it would leave quite a nasty wound on her foot which would be tricky to keep wrapped. Which I can appreciate, but we may still push for the surgery if we don't see improvement soon. I know taking the scab off is better than nothing, but we're going to take his advise for now and see if we can cure it less invasively.
I just want my sweet girl better

 

[BelovedBirds]

We had good news from the vet today, he thinks she's improved a little bit since he first saw her and no longer thinks the x ray will be necessary. The bumble hasn't improved yet but the swelling in her leg is down slightly so the heat and swelling is more local to the bumble now-
We're going to continue as we are with the antibiotics and we're going to double her pain relief because she's still in such a state, I can see it really hurts her.

What do you think about surgery? We have this as an option, especially if the bumble doesn't start to go. But they would use anaesthetic and knock her out for it- and that comes with some risk. He considers it low risk, but I want to get your opinions. Is it too risky, should we wait, or is it probably necessary? Our vet was very on the fence and just said that we should do it if the bumble doesn't improve soon. I'm scared about having her under anaesthetic. Opinions?
@azygous @TwoCrows

 

[TwoCrows]

We had good news from the vet today, he thinks she's improved a little bit since he first saw her and no longer thinks the x ray will be necessary. The bumble hasn't improved yet but the swelling in her leg is down slightly so the heat and swelling is more local to the bumble now-
We're going to continue as we are with the antibiotics and we're going to double her pain relief because she's still in such a state, I can see it really hurts her.

What do you think about surgery? We have this as an option, especially if the bumble doesn't start to go. But they would use anaesthetic and knock her out for it- and that comes with some risk. He considers it low risk, but I want to get your opinions. Is it too risky, should we wait, or is it probably necessary? Our vet was very on the fence and just said that we should do it if the bumble doesn't improve soon. I'm scared about having her under anaesthetic. Opinions?
@azygous @TwoCrows

Putting birds under anesthesia is risky business, some birds don't survive it. If the vet wants to perform the surgery, it would be best to give her local anesthesia in the leg, then do the surgery. I have done numerous bumblefoot surgeries on birds with no anesthesia, I'm sure it's uncomfortable but the birds were very cooperative, they handled it well, their stress levels were minimal.

If this infection does not heal on its own, it should be surgically dug out of there. Infections can kill by wearing them down or going systemic.

Id keep up with the antibiotics, even using them longer than normally prescribed and see how she does.

 

[BelovedBirds]

Putting birds under anesthesia is risky business, some birds don't survive it. If the vet wants to perform the surgery, it would be best to give her local anesthesia in the leg, then do the surgery. I have done numerous bumblefoot surgeries on birds with no anesthesia, I'm sure it's uncomfortable but the birds were very cooperative, they handled it well, their stress levels were minimal.

If this infection does not heal on its own, it should be surgically dug out of there. Infections can kill by wearing them down or going systemic.

Id keep up with the antibiotics, even using them longer than normally prescribed and see how she does.

We'll ask if it can be done with a local anaesthetic, but I suspect he will say no

We could always get a second opinion from another vet, maybe we will find someone who is willing to take the scab off- for now we will continue her antibiotics and hope for the best

 

[TwoCrows]

We'll ask if it can be done with a local anaesthetic, but I suspect he will say no

We could always get a second opinion from another vet, maybe we will find someone who is willing to take the scab off- for now we will continue her antibiotics and hope for the best

It never hurts to get a second opinion, some vets know a ton about birds, others not so much. Once you find one that knows a lot about birds however, latch on and never let go!

 

[BelovedBirds]

It never hurts to get a second opinion, some vets know a ton about birds, others not so much. Once you find one that knows a lot about birds however, latch on and never let go!

Our vet feels a local anaesthetic would be unwise due to ducks having a lot of nerves in their legs/feet- I don't have any elaboration on this as my partner was the one who had the conversation with him. I'm not sure if he thinks it would be less effective or something? However he did reassure us that the anaesthetic, though there is always some risk, should be safe with their modern knowledge and care.
I'm going to email another vet this evening or tomorrow morning, to ask their treatment options and availability. Our current vet is an exotics vet who is experienced with birds, but the other vet (a bit further away) is solely exotics and avian- you can't take a dog or cat there, it's all reptiles, birds and aquatics. So they may have someone very specialised in poultry.

In other news, we have finally sorted indoor housing for the ducks, so we can monitor Sprightly closely and keep her clean and warm. Only having two ducks makes it awkward as Dougie would be too lonely outside by herself, so it's double trouble stinking up our lounge. At least she is resting much better

 

[TwoCrows]

Our vet feels a local anaesthetic would be unwise due to ducks having a lot of nerves in their legs/feet- I don't have any elaboration on this as my partner was the one who had the conversation with him. I'm not sure if he thinks it would be less effective or something? However he did reassure us that the anaesthetic, though there is always some risk, should be safe with their modern knowledge and care.
I'm going to email another vet this evening or tomorrow morning, to ask their treatment options and availability. Our current vet is an exotics vet who is experienced with birds, but the other vet (a bit further away) is solely exotics and avian- you can't take a dog or cat there, it's all reptiles, birds and aquatics. So they may have someone very specialised in poultry.

In other news, we have finally sorted indoor housing for the ducks, so we can monitor Sprightly closely and keep her clean and warm. Only having two ducks makes it awkward as Dougie would be too lonely outside by herself, so it's double trouble stinking up our lounge. At least she is resting much better

Keep us posted on things!

 

[BelovedBirds]

One thing I'm concerned about is she is not eating much at all, she's lost just over 70g over the past week I think. I've been watching her very closely now she's indoors, and she's hardly touched her food at all. She will eat treats, she's been getting mealworms at the end of the day after her evening soak- but aside from that she's not getting much at all. At what point do I need to be thinking of force feeding and how do you go about it?
I'm optimistic and hopeful it won't come to that, as she is trying to stand today with both feet, for the first time in a week or so. Not putting much weight on it, but her toes touch the ground which may indicate she's feeling a bit better?

 

[BelovedBirds]

It's now 6pm here and she's still barely touched her food
She nibbled at some oats that I topped up with vitamins, and she will eat mealworms happily
Everything else is a no- even peas. She has no interest in eating her food, I'm worried about her. Should I be force feeding? This is the second day of monitoring her food intake more closely and it's clear she's not been eating much at all.

 

[BelovedBirds]

Any advice?
@azygous @TwoCrows