Ducks/Bumblefoot/some questions

[Herb n Duck]

1. Must we cut out the core in order for the Bumblefoot to go away?
2. After a duck goes lame from the Bumblefoot, is it reversible?
3. Biggleswade appears to be losing his skin on his feet. We are finding orange pieces in his wrappings. Is this caused by too much Epsom salt in the soaking water, or what?
4. Two contributors to Bumblefoot that I've read about are hard-packed ground and wire flooring. We have both. I have paths among native plants and raised beds of herbs. My neighbor, with whom I share the ducks, has 1/2 yard of (trampled) grass & 1/2 dirt. There is too much shade to grow grass. We are in small 1920's urban lots. Are we perpetually sunk with these environs? [We have put hay down on the coop floor for the last several days now.]

Re: question 1. We have tried in order: oregano oil in coconut oil, diatomaceous earth, nix-all, vetericyn and neosporin.

We are newbie owners of 7 Ancona ducks who are 6 months old.

Thank you, thank you for any guidance.

 

[MelissaTXRn]

Bumping up

 

[BantamLover21]

1. Must we cut out the core in order for the Bumblefoot to go away? Depending on the severity of the bumblefoot, you may or may not have to. However, you seemed to have tried a lot of external remedies, with little success. So I think it may be necessary for you to surgically cut out the core in order for your duck's bumblefoot to fully heal.
2. After a duck goes lame from the Bumblefoot, is it reversible?I have never experienced bumblefoot in a duck, so I am not sure. But at least in my experience with chicken bumblefoot, lame birds (as long as there is no major bone damage due to the infection) do recover once the bumblefoot is gone.
3. Biggleswade appears to be losing his skin on his feet. We are finding orange pieces in his wrappings. Is this caused by too much Epsom salt in the soaking water, or what? I don't really know. I would think that it might be being caused by irritation to the foot, probably either because of continuous soaking in salt (which will dry the foot out) or the material of the wrappings. Unless the orange pieces appear to be dead tissue that is falling off of the foot?
4. Two contributors to Bumblefoot that I've read about are hard-packed ground and wire flooring. We have both. I have paths among native plants and raised beds of herbs. My neighbor, with whom I share the ducks, has 1/2 yard of (trampled) grass & 1/2 dirt. There is too much shade to grow grass. We are in small 1920's urban lots. Are we perpetually sunk with these environs? [We have put hay down on the coop floor for the last several days now.]

Re: question 1. We have tried in order: oregano oil in coconut oil, diatomaceous earth, nix-all, vetericyn and neosporin.

We are newbie owners of 7 Ancona ducks who are 6 months old.

Thank you, thank you for any guidance.

 

[Herb n Duck]

Thank you for your input! I am feeling like I am sinking.

We have been dealing with this for 20 days with very little progress. They seem pretty infected to me. Although there is no redness or heat, most bumbles are 1" in diameter , with black scabs. Everyone has at least 3.

How long on average does Bumblefoot take to go away? We are feeling the pain of buying multiple bandages & medicines, not to mention all the time it takes to deal with the feet twice daily.

We have noticed the last few days, since we have not Epsom soaked Biggleswade's feet, that the skin peeling has abated. He is still lame and seems to be ultra sensitive when that foot is touched. Does that mean the staph has gotten into the joint?