Duck with Bumblefoot

[Chantay]

Cotton is a one year old Pekin Duck. I searched bumblefoot and he definately has it. I cut off the black spot as gently as possible and pulled out a hard white thing with tweezers. I could see more hard white things in the opening but I was not sure if it was infected tissue or something that needed to be removed. I cleaned his foot before and after and it is wrapped up for the night. I separated Cotton from the other ducks but his BFF Daffy (mallard) is with him. I don't want either of them to be sad or lonely. I read several threads about chickens with bumblefoot having a big yellow core that you have to pull out. Is that the same for ducks? I am not too certain what I am looking for so that I can remove it. I will soak his foot in the morning and try to get out the core. Also, Cotton's other foot keeps rolling under when he walks. It was rolling under before surgery. That is actually the reason I checked his feet. The foot that is rolling under looks fine. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Cotton has been attacked by a possum, a rooster, and broke his foot in the past and this wonderful site has helped me doctor him through it all. Thanks in advance for all your help!

 

[RAWR]

aww poor little guy
i dont know much about ducks, but im sure someone here does... :3
sending him a bunch of warm wishes and a quick recovery!

 

[CityChicker]

It sounds like you are on the right track. Try to get out that core if you can. Bumblefoot in ducks is extremely common. About the best thing you can do is separate them and clean out the foot daily by flushing it with water. After that, apply neosporin. Keep their bedding extremely clean and dry. Nettie on the duck board also makes booties for ducks (I'm telling you, she is the next Temple Grandin with those booties! She should sell stock in her company, LOL!) that are healing from foot problems. Several people have had awesome luck with those. Some people also recommend using a few drops of bleach in their swimming water. It all just depends on what you can do and the size of the area you can put them in. I tend to give mine with Bumblefoot fresh swimming water a couple times a day and I think it helps them heal faster (breeds like Runners that often don't like to swim as much as other ducks sometimes seem to be more inclined when isolated and with foot or eye problems).

I suspect the foot problem in your other duck is the remnants of club foot or curled toes as a duckling. I have seen what you are describing a few times and that has been the ducks it happens to. Sometimes it goes unnoticed though to someone that hasn't raised a lot of ducks. Some people think it may be genetic, others think it is more a problem with incubation temperatures or injury at hatch. I wouldn't worry terribly if the bird is able to go about without much trouble. HTH.

 

[Chantay]

Thank you!