Help! Bumble foot in ducks?

[HannahDolding]

So my ducks looked like they were walking funny (I'm not sure if this is related), but I decided to check their feet and I only managed to get a good photo of one of my ducks:

Does anyone know if this looks infected, is it bumble foot? If it is what should I do to help?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It looks like Bumblefoot to me.

Perhaps @DuckyDonna and @Isaac 0 can give you some tips on treatment.

 

[Isaac 0]

I see two area's of interest, the one on the middle toe looks to be stage two Bumblefoot which will require treatment before it worsens, you can also see bumble foot developing on the very right toe (Our side) which is only flaking as of now, but if left untreated will worsen.

Minor cases like this are fairly easy to treat, I would first go about soaking her leg in some Epsom salt water for a few days to loosen up the scabbing, then for a week or two apply an antimicrobial cream to the wounds every day. I don't see any cores in the photo, so surgery and bandaging shouldn't be necessary it looks like fairly minor bumblefoot in the photo.

If you have other ducks make sure to check their feet too, and if they do appear to have swelling or any cores please post some more pictures.

A lot of people fail to mention why the Bumblefoot was caused in the first place, so people end up treating the duck, and it ends affecting other birds or infects the same duck once again.

Bumblefoot (Podermatisis) is most often caused by hard rough bedding, but can also be caused by a nutritionally incorrect diet, obesity, poor hygiene, wet substrate, a traumatic injury that is causing them to put more pressure on one side of the leg/foot, or any other underlying condition that is causing some of the problems mentioned above like a niacin deficiency. I suggest you make a few adjustments to your management practices so this doesn't happen again.

 

[HannahDolding]

I see two area's of interest, the one on the middle toe looks to be stage two Bumblefoot which will require treatment before it worsens, you can also see bumble foot developing on the very right toe (Our side) which is only flaking as of now, but if left untreated will worsen.

Minor cases like this are fairly easy to treat, I would first go about soaking her leg in some Epsom salt water for a few days to loosen up the scabbing, then for a week or two apply an antimicrobial cream to the wounds every day. I don't see any cores in the photo, so surgery and bandaging shouldn't be necessary it looks like fairly minor bumblefoot in the photo.

If you have other ducks make sure to check their feet too, and if they do appear to have swelling or any cores please post some more pictures.

A lot of people fail to mention why the Bumblefoot was caused in the first place, so people end up treating the duck, and it ends affecting other birds or infects the same duck once again.

Bumblefoot (Podermatisis) is most often caused by hard rough bedding, but can also be caused by a nutritionally incorrect diet, obesity, poor hygiene, wet substrate, a traumatic injury that is causing them to put more pressure on one side of the leg/foot, or any other underlying condition that is causing some of the problems mentioned above like a niacin deficiency. I suggest you make a few adjustments to your management practices so this doesn't happen again.

What is the best type of bedding? Also could u explain what a niacin deficiency is?
I managed to get a better look and unfortunately one of my ducks has worse bumble foot, and another has cores - I will follow your treatment, would taking them to a vet do any good?

 

[Isaac 0]

What is the best type of bedding? Also could u explain what a niacin deficiency is?
I managed to get a better look and unfortunately one of my ducks has worse bumble foot, and another has cores - I will follow your treatment, would taking them to a vet do any good?View attachment 2171933View attachment 2171934

Dry, Soft, and Clean bedding, and for Ducks many people including I will either use Wood Shaving's, Straw, or Hay changed often.

You can check out this thread I made about niacin deficiencies in ducks for more info,

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/niacin-deficiency-in-waterfowl.1367557/

A vet is always a good option, but if you want to do this yourself. The core on the one duck will probably need to be removed and then bandaged, and the duck will need to be kept in a sterilized environment to prevent another infection until the sore begins to heal.

Let me know if you want to do this yourself and I can give you some further instructions about surgery, bandaging, and keeping the wound clean.

 

[HannahDolding]

Dry, Soft, and Clean bedding, and for Ducks many people including I will either use Wood Shaving's, Straw, or Hay changed often.

You can check out this thread I made about niacin deficiencies in ducks for more info,

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/niacin-deficiency-in-waterfowl.1367557/

A vet is always a good option, but if you want to do this yourself. The core on the one duck will probably need to be removed and then bandaged, and the duck will need to be kept in a sterilized environment to prevent another infection until the sore begins to heal.

Let me know if you want to do this yourself and I can give you some further instructions about surgery, bandaging, and keeping the wound clean.

I think I'll start with the vet and see what they can do first, but in the meantime I need some help working out what caused it because I do not want it happening again; what sort of diet is correct? I usually give them pellets and vegetables like spinach and lettuce. How often should I clean out their pen, I clean their floor and pond close to once a day, but their sleeping area I clean out once or twice a month because I run out of straw, and I don't notice it getting too dirty. What's wet substrate?

 

[Isaac 0]

That would be great.

Could you post a few pictures of your setup?

 

[HannahDolding]

That would be great.

Could you post a few pictures of your setup?

Definately, however you might have to wait a few hours because it's 1am here and I don't think the pictures would look very good in this light

 

[HannahDolding]

That would be great.

Could you post a few pictures of your setup?

This is what it looks like a before I clean it (so a day and a bit of mess)

(I struggled to get everything in the photo) the water bowl is on the far left behind that plant, and the food bowl where I put dry pellets in, is in the orange box (to keep it dry from rain)

this is what the nest box is usually like - they start with more straw but for some reason they take it out and replace it with twigs and leaves.

This is what it looks like after it's been cleaned which happens every day for the floor and water, every other day for the pond and about once a month for the house(that's how much straw I usually put in there)

They can't wander around the garden due to predators but we put them in this run (that gets moved around the grass) every so often with a mini pool

I usually hand feed them the vegetables so they normal just go on the floor.

Please help me figure out what I need to change (sorry this was so long, I just want to be thorough, I have a duckling that's due to hatch more or less today so it's very important to me)

 

[Isaac 0]

No problem, It's nice to see duck owners that care about their animals well being, and so open to new suggestions. First off you have some beautiful Calls, I have around fifteen myself. I am a bit surprised Bumblefoot is so prevalent throughout your flock, reason being Calls don't generally suffer from leg issues since they are so light-weight they don't apply as much pressure onto the ground.

The main issue I see with your setup has to do with the first picture, I see quite a bit of waste accumulation on the floor which can contribute to bumblefoot, but the main problem I see is the lack of cushioning on the floor, when waterfowl spend a majority of their time on hard compacted flooring they are at an increased risk for developing Bumblefoot (as in your case), arthritis, it may also contribute to obesity, and poor hygiene.

I would probably start adding a soft bedding material to the whole coop area, pine shavings, straw, and hay are great choices. It'll also need to be cleaned fairly regularly.