Is this Bumblefoot?

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i noticed one of my ducks limping today. Picked her up and it looked like she had a piece of poo stuck on the bottom of her pad. i went to pick it off but it started bleeding. Looks like she has a thick sore on her foot. It probably didn't get like that overnight, but i am outside about a hundred times a day every day, and no limping before today. i cleaned it up, put Blu-kote on it, and gave her a dose of metacam for the pain. i've never seen bumblefoot. Is that what this is? Any other ideas? Suggestions on treatment?

 

[CatDaddyAlbert]

Yep

That is what ya' got. bumblefoot... otherwise known as Pododermatitis.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Oh my.

Did a lot of searches and looks like someone is going to have to go in there and dig something out. Made an appointment with my vet for Tuesday morning. i hope she will be okay until then.

 

[jen5680]

Lots of people so this themself. Maybe you could give it a shot?? Lots of info on it!!

 

[chickenbottom]

thats a big one theres a little one in the middle to just clean it out the best you can.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i did read the threads on how to clean it out. i just don't think i'm up to cutting into that. My concern is the wait until Tuesday. i did clean the surface and put Blu-Kote on it. But wondering if i should try to isolate her inside to try to keep it clean until then, and to keep her from walking on it too much. She's a big duck and i don't have a crate big enough for her to be comfortable. Erg! What to do, what to do.

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

seeing as its saturday now, if she were mine I'd would go ahead and remove both infections myself tonight or first thing in the morning. I said two, as she has another one starting on the middle toe (where that black scab is) - the sooner you get it since its opened up, the better. You can put her on dry clean foor, ( even just make a makeshift run in a corner somewhere on clean grass) for her. blukote, and a series of antibiotics for a week would be in order to prevent infection. Honestly bumblefoot is simple and easy to do yourself, also for the potential of your girl getting infected being with the open sore now, I'd feel better doing it now not waiting.... and honestly its so simple, its not worth the 100-150$ vetbill your going to get out of this

 

[cocosandy]

Ducks are hard because you cant bandage them properly. I put mine in the guest bath tub and she stayed there for weeks! I put paper towels down and cleaned them up alot...but also ran the tub full a couple of times per day to let her swim. You can let her swim with epsom salts and then spray some bactine on it and see if you can get it out. its harder in ducks than in chickens and their feet are more sensitive...so use bactine.
Also, there is an outfit called, the indoor duck dot com and they sell duck shoes made of neoprene. put in an order for a pair of those because they take a long time to get and it takes a long time to heal!! there isnt going to be any way that the vet can bandage her and Ive found that its not bad to let them swim in a clean basin a little anyway. A shoe on it will allow you to pack it with antibiotic ointment and keep it clean. But the bumble does have to be cut out.
My ducks have calluses and also little bumbles...its only when they start to hurt that I treat them. If a duck is sitting down and in pain, then I take it in...but Ive found that opening them is a no win situation. once its open like that, you have to treat it or cull. the treatment goes on and on, and I dont know of a vet around here that would touch that for less than $3-400...and maybe try to do a surgery on it...
not worth it!! the outcome is likely the same.
Order some tylan 50 and small needles and inject half a cc into her thigh or breast daily after you cut it out (use a sharp xacto and god tweezers; it will bleed and you can wash it under runing water)....and try to keep it clean when you arent cleaning it by letting her swim.
Ive used baggies and rubber bands overnight but you have to change them frequently. You have to get all the gunk out or it will keep coming back. go for it, but be careful of the tendons.

the shoe is the best way to go. I now keep some on standby.

 

[3chimama]

I have done this on one of my chickens too. It wasn't fun but it also wasn't that hard to remove. I had my husband hold her while I cut it out with an exacto knife and then I poured peroxide over it and then neosporin. This was a year ago and no problems since then. Good luck with your duck. You seem like a caring owner.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Thank you so much for all the informative replies. When i looked at Zsa Zsa's foot last night, the wound had sealed over. But she is still in distress when trying to walk. i put more blu-kote on it and let her sleep with her buddies. i made sure the coop had plenty of clean, dry hay. Although many of you are saying how easy it is to cut the infection out, i am feeling quite nervous about it. Not looking forward to a big vet bill, but i really trust my vet. She's experienced with poultry and waterfowl, as she has them herself. i just don't want to make things worse. i do have Baytril and Tylan, but don't want to start a course of antibiotics then have my vet tell me there is something else that would be better to use. So i'll have to just keep treating the wound with the blu-kote until Tuesday.

i do think i need to get her inside today, though. i can see it pains her to walk, and i can't stop her from wanting to keep up with her buddies. i may have to take over one of our bathrooms, or build a large crate so she has a little room to move. i can also continue the metacam. i have it on hand from a prescription for another one of my ducks, so know i have a safe dosage. My vet said that ducks are very sensitive to pain, much more so than chickens or other animals.

i did look on the indoor ducks site. i'm their friend on Facebook, too. It looks like Nettie has some health problems and that an order can take 3-4 weeks to fill. i may put an order in nonetheless for a pair of shoes, so i will have them here if needed in the future. Not sure i will get them in time for this situation.

It also sounds like this will take some time to heal. So i may have an indoor duck for a while. Maybe i should order some diapers from Nettie, too? Anyhow, i will let everyone know how things go.