Limping Pekin...could use some advice

[clmschke]

One of your pekin ducks is limping badly. We brought him inside to check him out and noticed a large lump on top of one of his toes.
It looks like there is a small scratch on the bottom of his foot..applied antibiotic ointment there


Pic of the swelling, which is warm to the touch:



He is inside in the pet cage for the night (and probably a few days so he can rest the foot.

Ideas? Advice?

 

[Amiga]

What a darling!

Looks like bumblefoot to me. You need to think about whether you can get him to a vet, but in the meantime and in any case, right away there are things you can do.

First, apply a warm Epsom salts compress to the foot for as long as the two of you can stand it. Five minutes good, ten minutes better, three minutes better than nothing. And I would start three times a day for this one.

Slather the foot and leg after the compress with triple antibiotic ointment (without pain reliever).

Consider oral antibiotics in case the infection gets into the bloodstream, going systemic, which can be serious.

Consider whether you want to open the foot to get rid of some of the chunky pus, but I don't like to do that - haven't had to, since we have been blessed to catch it early around here. Opening a duck's food vastly increases risk of infection. But then, you're already dealing with what I would call a serious case of bumblefoot, which is an infection.

There may be a splinter still in the foot. Epsom salts compresses help draw out splinters, but if you have someone with that kind of medical gift, have them look for signs of a splinter and remove it if found.

You might want to let him swim in lukewarm water for 20 to 30 minutes before applying the compress, to soften the skin a bit.

Keep him in a clean sick bay area with comfy bedding, fresh water and food. Consider putting some poultry vitamins in his water to boost his immune system.

 

[clmschke]

Brenda here, Dave's at work.

So we decided it was time the flock met the Vet, so we had him come out and take a look at Tony. The Vet agreed it was an infection and prescribed Epsom Salt Baths and Baytril. 1cc 2 times a day for minimum of 4 days. Since this is the start of our flock - 2 sets of breeding pairs- we decided it was time to get a connection to the Vet. I've also ordered up one of those goose/duck neoprene boots from the lady on Etsy so that we can have in stock for use on Tony as well as any other duck in the future. As you see there, he's been pretty calm about the whole thing. He's taking a nap now.

 

[Amiga]

Bravo! Glad you were able to get the help and good advice and antibiotics.