Limping duck?

[Stamper]

I also posted this in the emergency section but it was suggested I post here... 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

 

[Amiga]

That looks like bumblefoot to me. She needs to start getting antibiotic ointment a couple of times a day until it clears up. Looks like you may have found it early enough not to need surgery, which would then require her to be confined a little bit until the foot sealed up again.

Do you have someone caring for the ducks who can simply wipe some triple antibiotic ointment on her foot?

And I know with some ducks, "simply" isn´t.

 

[Stamper]

ha ha! She's not too hard to catch, especially while she's limping.

So just a regular OTC triple antibiotic ointment will help? Should I soak it in peroxide or anything?

 

[Amiga]

What I do when I first spot it is give the foot a good cleaning just so that I can really look at it. From the photo, looks like the toe on the left (which would be on her right, right?) seems to have a bit of infection in it as well.

With bumblefoot, there isn't pus as I usually think of it. The texture has been described as more like cottage cheese. Very lumpy, so it cannot be squeezed out through a pin hole. If it has progressed too far, the foot needs to be cut a bit, and some people pick the chunks out with tweezers. There are a few discussions about this. Mildred the duck's story is one worth reading, IMO.

Anyway. Yes, I would give it a good cleaning, and slather some OTC triple antibiotic ointment on it, two or three times a day to start. With my ducks, often within two days they stop limping (could be she coincidentally has a pulled muscle, so don't rule that out). But to get rid of it, it often takes five or six weeks of daily antibiotic treatment.

And you might check the rest of the flock. Sometimes there is an outbreak of bacteria and multiple ducks get it. Catching it early, you can save quite a bit of time treating it.

Please let us know how it goes! If it is not treated and gets into her system, it could be life threatening. So I pray you can keep it at the run-of-the-mill injury level.

 

[Stamper]

I brought her in and she's soaking in the bath right now. I'm a little concerned because she feels a bit thin to me, I'll have to grab one of her sisters to compare. I lost a duck earlier this year to an infection (from a puncture wound) and it went on for some time before I caught on that something needed to be done about it. Now I have Pen-G on hand, if I need to go that route. She had the same crease down the center of her breast that I assume means a skinny duck.

So you think her left-most toe or the toe in the left of the picture is also problematic? I see two callous looking things and then the white spot. There was nothing cottage-cheesy about the white bump, it was a solid bump. Do the other two look anything like bumble-foot? If there is an infection in that toe, what do I do about it?

 

[Stamper]

I gave her a good soak in the tub and then cleaned it out with some hibiclens. Then I put some antibiotic ointment on her. All of her toes on that foot do look swollen compared to the other foot. Can this really be cleared with topical ointments? It seems like some systemic antibiotics might be in order....

 

[Amiga]

Stamper, I agree, with the entire foot a bit swollen, and her underweight, I would probably go with more than just the topical antibiotics. You say you have some on hand, while it is your decision, my gut is that I would begin a round of antibiotics for her.

I lost a duck to egg yolk peritonitis, and was told there was no way I could have known in time. So, while I consider antibiotics a last resort, I don't like to wait till the last minute because with ducks, as you know so well, we don't get much if any warning.

I have not had to give mine antibiotics yet (other medicines, but not that). So go with what you know, and if you need additional help, please ask. Sometimes the Emergency forum is helpful, too.

Blessings and prayers for you both.

 

[Stamper]

Thank you! I do have a post in the emergency forum as well.

I am curious about any suggestions for what type of antibiotic might be effective for this infection. I have pen-g in the fridge and I hope I can still find my notes about the dosing for poultry....

 

[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.

 

[Stamper]

and now I have another limping duck

She has a more definite infection area though so I'm going to try and cut it out... I still need advice about the bandaging though.