Limping duck

[Stamper]

I hope it's ok to put duck problems in this section. I have a duck who is limping badly as of this morning, I hadn't seen any signs of her limping before. She is walking but really does not want to put her right foot on the ground.
I tried to squeeze the white bump but it seems hard and not pussy, there was something that could have been a little splinter in there but it was really small, and I did get that out. It was in the white bump, if that wasn't clear. Then there are those other two callous areas. Is that bumblefoot? They don't look *that* bad to me considering the amount of limping that she is doing. Her leg seems ok, it may be a little hot, but it appears to be able to move normally.

Any advice? I have to go on a trip for the weekend so I'd like to do something to help her before I go!

Thank you

 

[scratch'n'peck]

If one of her joints feels warmer than the joint on the other leg it could be a strain, which would mean she would need to rest her leg some to help it heal. But I suppose a splinter could hurt pretty baldly even if it doesn't look bad.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to post in the duck section, to get more duck owner's opinions.

 

[Stamper]

ok, thank you. I did post it in the duck section as well

 

[CMV]

Her foot is fine. I will bet she is a victim of an overzealous mate or a pecking order casualty. It's that time of year.

I see nothing to worry about in the pic. A few days of hobbling about and she will be right as rain after.

Good luck.

 

[Stamper]

well there aren't any males but there she is definitely not the top of the pecking order. I sure hope she feels better soon!

 

[Stamper]

I want to bump this back up to ask for advice about giving a systemic antibiotic... The foot is significantly swollen compared to the other foot and I'm worried that she feels thin (though not terribly). I don't want to let it go on too long because I know they can go downhill fast.

After my other duck died of an infection several months ago, I got some pen-G to have in the fridge. Would that be the antibiotic of choice? I also can't find where the dosing information is for poultry.... anyone have a link to that here?

 

[scratch'n'peck]

I can understand your concern. I came across this link that has dosages including Pen G.

http://ultimatefowl.atwiki.com/page/Poultry Disease

I still have some difficulty figuring out what antibiotic is best. I know that Pen G is typically recommended for tissue infections especially wound treatment.

 

[Stamper]

So the duck is still alive but not improving. She has been behaving the same for the last 5 days, which is to say that she only walks when she absolutely has to and uses her wings to limp along. She is not wanting to bear any weight on that foot. She is still quick and hard to catch though!

So I think I've been giving her Pen-G and bactrim now for 5 days (I gave the pen-g for a day or two before as well). It's hard to know how much bactrim she is getting because I'm giving it orally and she spits a lot of it out. I've also been giving her a shot of B-complex for a boost and appetite stimulant. I also have been giving her a clean bath every night to soak in and throwing some comfrey in, which she really seems to gobble up.

So what now? How long can I keep her on the antibiotics? I've been really afraid to slice into her foot much for a few reasons...

I don't really see a localized "head" that I could easily drain. I picked off all the scabs and couldn't get anything out. It was just a hard white lump underneath (not infection looking, more like a callous) and when I did try to cut it out, it bled like crazy, so I stopped.

I don't know how I will be able to bandage her foot other than just wrapping all her toes together and keeping her isolated for a week (which seems VERY stressful for her).

I can try to post another picture. Her foot is so swollen. I would be so thrilled if I could pull her through this.