Duck with twisted foot need help diagnosing/treating

[Dwen]

I have some duramycin on hand in powder form. The directions say approx. 1/8 tsp per gallon of water, but I have read on here that you need to do about 4x the recommendation in order for it to be affective. (and, btw, using the directed amount had exactly 0 effect on my respiratory sick chickens)

 

[Dwen]

I don't understand why it's so twisted. I've had another birds with a limp and swollen/infected feet, but her leg didn't twist like this. Has anyone had this happen before?

 

[Amiga]

No I haven't seen such twisting. Might depend on how she fell, and what she has done in the meantime. Perhaps she injured an injury?

I use comfrey sometimes - if you prefer herbals. It is said to heal bones. You can make a tea and wrap cheesecloth or clean rags dipped in the cooled tea around the leg as a compress, or you could soak some dried comfrey and apply it as a compress, or chop fresh comfrey and use it as a compress.

 

[Miss Lydia]

It almost makes me think broken, but I'm sure you've felt it all over for breaks. you might try putting a splint on it. you know the stuff that can be used to cover pipes from freezing it's soft and cuts easy you might try something like that using vet wrap to hold it in place. or just trying vet wrap. and you can make a shoe by using a thin piece of card board or plastic and covering to keep it from getting wet[cardboad] or cutting her [plastic] lay her foot on it and cut around to make it fit right then vet wrap it in place it may take a few days but it might help straighten the foot out. and Comfrey salve I couldn't think of that for nothing and I even made some a while back per Amiga's instructions. Or plain comfrey, can she put any weight on her leg and foot at all?

 

[Miss Lydia]

I think I'd start with an antibiotic and go with your gut if you feel it needs to be stronger than what is recc. but be sure to give her a probiotic after because this stuff is hard on the gut. sure looks like it needs something and asap. How often have you soaked or used the ES wraps now?

 

[Amiga]

I agree with Miss Lydia. Ducks can hide problems for so long, then by the time they show any symptoms, infections have gotten a toe hold. I am not keen on giving antibiotics unnecessarily, but based on how long this is going on and how it looks, I would be ready to use oral antibiotics.

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

Ya, I agree.

 

[Dwen]

So far I have soaked the foot twice yesterday(I put her in our utility sink so she's floating and her weight is off it), and last night I wrapped the joint in a vaseline/fresh crushed garlic paste to fight infection. This morning she soaked in the ES solution for an hour before church, and I just put her in again now.
I have gone over her before feeling for breaks, and I did again just now, but the bone feels whole. She is either putting weight on it, or using it as a balance check, but it is hard to tell which since it is so twisted. It doesn't look like she can move her toes.
It almost looks as though it broke at the joint and healed cock/eyed. The swollen part didn't feel hot to the touch, just warm. I am hesitant to try the antibiotic...

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

Well if you aren't comfortable with the idea of using antibiotic, then by all means, do not use it. But be ready to if you start to see signs like the swelling, redness, heat, like you already know. If by some chance, this is some sort of deformity that your duck was born with, then an antibiotic wouldn't really help that anyway. I'd advise you to stay the course, keep doing what you're doing. I'm curious about your garlic/Vaseline. I'm wondering how well that could work for someone like me whose ducks are outside in damp conditions at times... Interesting!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Honestly we don't give advise on treating with antibiotics unless we feel it's needed but understand completely if you don't want to.
I was just worried if there was infection it could spread rapidly and might be too late to treat .
If she is soaking in ES water then there's a big chance she is drinking the water which is a no no, since it works as a laxative also. Hows her appetite?

Have you thought any more about making a shoe for her to see if you can get the foot to straighten out?