HELP! Foot infection, should i open it up? Can i use orejel?

[nettie]

I noticed my poor MingMei was standing on one foot a lot. Last night i picked her up to check and i noticed one of her joints in her foot is swollen and has a yellow looking scab in the middle. It looks full of puss and she appears to be in a lot of pain. I then noticed a smaller scab on the same joint of her other foot. I have her in the tub right now soaking.

I was told i could sterilize a sewing needle and open it up. Drian the puss and clean it out with some peroxide on a cotton ball, then bandage it up.

So is this a good route to go? My vet couldn't see her today, but said she could come in tomorrow... But she's in so much pain and i'm worried abut her getting "Bumblefoot" where the infection spreads to the bone. So i have a few questions-

1.) Can I Put some oreljel (or something similar) on it to numb her foot before i cut it?

2.) Is peroxide okay?

3.) How do you banage a duck's foot without her kicking the bandage off? (My other duck had a cut on his foot once and her kept knocking the bandages off) Is it okay to use something sticky, like a bandaid, rather than gauze?

I know this is a duck and techincally this is a chicken topic, but i couldn't seem to get as much help in the waterfowl topic. I was hoping that someone with a chicken who's had this probem might be able to help.

I have no clue how she got this infection... Most on BYC know me as that crazy lady who's ducks live inside (And they do, they have an indoor pen and spend most of their time wandering the house, rtaher than outside). She walks on shavngs or carpet most of the day. or shes walking on grass. She gets a bath in the tub every day, and her main pen is maintained. It's like she's got precious little princess feet that are delicate and get hurt upon walking. lol. Anyone who can help would be appreciated!

 

[nettie]

Oh, here are some pictures if it will help.... I just took these now:

Here is bth feet from the top, notice the inside toes are swollen...

Here's the bad foot...

Here's her other foot that isn't as bad... Notice the yucky yellow scab...

Here's both feet for comparison...

 

[redhen]

poor duckie! i dont know what to tell you, sorry! but i dont think i would use anything with a pain block in it... i dont know for sure but i think i read somewhere that it can kill a chicken..dont know about orajel though..

 

[Alley]

I wouldn't pop it with a needle. It might open if you soak it in warm epson salt water. Hopefully others with much more knowledge on this subject posts to help you out. Good luck.

For what it's worth, I had a racoon bite my chickens toe to the bone. It looked aweful and she held it up for weeks and weeks. I kept it clean, washed it with peroxide daily and kept it soaked in neosporin. It looked black, yellow and pussy looking for a long, long time but I don't think it was puss. She's now fine with one fat toe.

Good Luck!

 

[nettie]

THe people in the duck forum told me i shuld do this... That it'll help to get the puss out. She's been soaking all day and they have't opened... They seem to have some tough scabs on them....

 

[SandraChick]

soaking is good.

You already have bumble foot..but frankly, it doesn't look very bad.

Since you already have a vet appointment....DO NOT OPEN IT.
Let the doc do it. Ask them for a PenG shot.

For future reference...you can use vetwrap to keep a piece of gauze with antibiotic ointment on. It sticks to itself. Have the vet show you how.

Also...I'm not a fan of peroxide as it eats the good cells too. I use a betadine soak/flush...mix betadine with water to a tea color. I would ask the vet about that too.

PLEASE DO NOT OPEN THE WOUND IF YOU"RE ALREADY GOING TO THE VET.

Let us know how it goes.

 

[kycklingar!]

This is a condition known as bumblefoot. It can get really bad if you don't catch it early. Good thing you did!
The cause is usually dampness in their run and smooth perches. If they don't have air running to the bottoms of their feet, they get these sores. So, start by drying out the run where she lives, maybe laying pea gravel or something so water can drain and not sit in the run. Then, give her perches with lots of texture and in a variety of sizes - branches with rough bark, etc.
Now the care part:
OK, so start her on a regimen of TONS of vitamins, and then, decide how vetty you feel. If you are confident in your abilities to handle her, you can lance the sores, but only if you can keep her in a REALLY dry area (like a dog carrier with fresh towels) for a few days. It also helps to put a big gauze pad under the foot and wrap it up with vetRap - a super pet bandage. It sticks only to itself, and is stretchy... ever used it?
Anyway, let me know what you try to do. I'm happy help however I can from a distance!

 

[nettie]

thanks guy for the info! We took her out of the tub and checked her feet out. One of her scabs, the big yellow one, came off. Her other more swollen foot wouldn't open even if i tried! it's rock hard and dry looking. We cleaned off both feet with alcohol pads. On her swollen toe, i put a O shaped foot cushion around it (like the kind for corns and bunions, but unmedicated). I then put neosporin on both feet and covered with bandaids. After that i wraped some water proof medical tape around the bandaids to help keep them dry and on her feet. Our vet appt is at 3pm tomorrow, so we'll make sure to ask for a penG and the vet wrap.

I feel bad, as this was probably my fault. I had major surgery 2 and a half weeks ago. I was recovering, and i'm the normal duck keeper. I usually have a layer of pellets down in their pen, with shavings on top. I usually put some new shavings down daily on icky looking spots. (the tend to poop in the same spots). When certain spots get bad, i shovel out those spots and put down new bedding in between major cleanings. They were due for a major cleaning about 2 weeks after my surgery. I was out of commission for the first week and a half two weeks. During this time my fiance was in charge of duckie chores, on top of caring for me and going to law school full time. I forgot to stress putting down new shavings, due to not feeling well. So it got wet and icky and smelly. We completely cleaned it out a week ago, so it's dry and fresh now.

Right now she's in the pen with my best friend victor. I put down a towel on top of where she normally sleeps. I also took another towel and wadded it up a bit for extra cusioning. Hopefully she'll be okay until tomorrow!

 

[tiki244]

Sounds good so far. I would not give her any oragel or anything for pain. She will make it through. This could harm her. Other than that, PenG is good to give for a treatment. You will have to continue to soak and care for it until it(the bumblefoot) is completely healed. Possibly a regimine of penG and soakings with epsom salt and antibiotic ointment and bandages.

 

[chilling in muscadine]

I would let the vet check out the ducks feet since you are already going. I myself do not think peroxide will hurt to much but benadine is better to use. If your duck is in pain you can do a search for the proper amount of asprin to use to ease the pain. I don't know about ducks but I do know that using a product on chickens that has caine in it is toxic so I would think oragel is not a good idea for you duck. Soaking in ebson{sp} salt could not hurt. Just wait until tomorrow and see what your vet has to say. Good luck and let us know what the vet says.