Minnesota!

[NathanZee]

Hey Nathan, A more personal welcome to BYC and this thread..

I am not a duck person. But I would try to move the to softer, less abrasive ground if possible. If you think they might be mites. which I kind of doubt they are, you could try some vegetable/garden dust on the birds ( if Ducks are considered birds).

I would suggest bag balm, udder balm or whatever you call the stuff in the green can, it really is a miracle cure, on their feet. The main thing though is finding out what they are walking on that is chewing their feet up so badly.

I think I know what is hurting their fee, a couple of weeks ago we chopped down all the weeds in the pen and now it is just stumps, apparently walking on those is hurting them, so I will remove those as soon as I can.

It isn't scaly mites, that is something you will see up on the legs, not the bottom of the feet. I would say the first step is getting the grass stubble down or out of their pen. You could soften their feet with the bag balm that Ralphie mentioned, but you'd have to put it on every day. What do you have for them for water, a pond or tank?

I'm glad its not mites! They have a small tank, next spring they will get a pond hopefully.

Here is something that was posted on another site that might be helpful! Funny it just showed up there today. It said used for abrasion and to prevent bumble foot from starting on waterfowl.

Thanks, I'll check it out. Do you know for sure that they don't have bumblefoot already? It doesn't really look like it to me but I want to be sure.

 

[KlopKlop]

@Minniechickmama
Going back to our discussion of my run and tarps... If I used furring strips to tack down the tarp that should help with the wind issues. What am still pondering is what to do about drainage from the two roofs. I wouldn't want my run to turn isn't a pond/ice rink on a sunny day this winter. Maybe some cheap vinyl gutters to direct the water away. Hmmmm

I didn't get home from work until well after dark last night so photos didn't happen to help my cause

 

[Bogtown Chick]

But are they any good?

No. I LOVE boiled eggs. I LOVE dill pickles. I had a bunch of beers at a bar once and decided I was hungry and tried a pickle egg....

Here is something that was posted on another site that might be helpful! Funny it just showed up there today. It said used for abrasion and to prevent bumble foot from starting on waterfowl.

Oh wow. I think that is the Duck Version of Hibiclens (used to prep skin for surgeries--and surgeons use to wash with it) It will help with staph...which I think is what those ducks have. Bumble feet.

I think I know what is hurting their fee, a couple of weeks ago we chopped down all the weeds in the pen and now it is just stumps, apparently walking on those is hurting them, so I will remove those as soon as I can.


I'm glad its not mites! They have a small tank, next spring they will get a pond hopefully.
Thanks, I'll check it out. Do you know for sure that they don't have bumblefoot already? It doesn't really look like it to me but I want to be sure.

I think they have a touch of bumble foot...but it may all be superficial enough to just treat topically with this stuff. Oiling down those legs with the bag balm or Vet Rx will help cut down the staph too. I don't have ducks so this is a different presentation of bumble foot for me...but I'll bet money with the stubble field they're on they are getting little openings and cuts for staph, IMHO. Good luck with everything!

 

[Minniechickmama]

I think I know what is hurting their fee, a couple of weeks ago we chopped down all the weeds in the pen and now it is just stumps, apparently walking on those is hurting them, so I will remove those as soon as I can.


I'm glad its not mites! They have a small tank, next spring they will get a pond hopefully.
Thanks, I'll check it out. Do you know for sure that they don't have bumblefoot already? It doesn't really look like it to me but I want to be sure.

They don't appear to have bumble foot, but I think if they continue to have this happen or it gets worse, the you may see some infections coming on. That last one really needs to get better, I think it could have something starting to look worse on the back point of the foot.

 

[Minniechickmama]

@Minniechickmama
Going back to our discussion of my run and tarps... If I used furring strips to tack down the tarp that should help with the wind issues. What am still pondering is what to do about drainage from the two roofs. I wouldn't want my run to turn isn't a pond/ice rink on a sunny day this winter. Maybe some cheap vinyl gutters to direct the water away. Hmmmm

I didn't get home from work until well after dark last night so photos didn't happen to help my cause

Furring strips can help, but they may still get shredded by Spring from wind. Fleet Farm has some decent heavy duty tarps for the best price I have found. They are silver on one side and black on the other. I tend to think that using the black side in winter helps to heat things and if it is pseudo roof, then will help melt off whatever snow you get on them.
Did you get the PM I sent? I don't know if you have the time or funds to put into what I roughly drew, but it is a good, more permanent idea for what you have.

 

[KlopKlop]

Furring strips can help, but they may still get shredded by Spring from wind. Fleet Farm has some decent heavy duty tarps for the best price I have found. They are silver on one side and black on the other. I tend to think that using the black side in winter helps to heat things and if it is pseudo roof, then will help melt off whatever snow you get on them.
Did you get the PM I sent? I don't know if you have the time or funds to put into what I roughly drew, but it is a good, more permanent idea for what you have.

Yes, I got it and I liked the drawings. I don't know if this shed will be in its current location long term or not. it is on skids and we have talked about moving it, so we will see where that goes. With our plans to build a home next year we are also leary to invest in projects right now. trying to save up what we can. If we did move it that would probably be best because then the covered run wouldn't have 2 roofs draining onto it and we could pitch it to match the shed roof.

I also like the tarp selection at fleet farm. I was thinking the cheaper green/brown ones would do the trick with the assumption that it may or may not be in one piece come spring. I want to do clear plastic on the ends to allow light in, again using furring strips to hold it down.

 

[Cluckies]

Ralphie you can work on catching up on those 600 posts when you are having morning coffee and we aren't posting enough.

Oh man, if he does this he'll see all the posts about how worried everyone was and get a big head. Wait, what am I saying? That may not be possible for the man who is always right...

@Minniechickmama
Going back to our discussion of my run and tarps... If I used furring strips to tack down the tarp that should help with the wind issues. What am still pondering is what to do about drainage from the two roofs. I wouldn't want my run to turn isn't a pond/ice rink on a sunny day this winter. Maybe some cheap vinyl gutters to direct the water away. Hmmmm

I think the gutters are a great idea to direct the water away from the tarp, or have you given any thought to corrugated roofing panels to let more light in? They would be stiffer, and if placed at a slant, as mentioned, wouldn't cave in...

 

[Minniechickmama]

Yes, I got it and I liked the drawings. I don't know if this shed will be in its current location long term or not. it is on skids and we have talked about moving it, so we will see where that goes. With our plans to build a home next year we are also leary to invest in projects right now. trying to save up what we can. If we did move it that would probably be best because then the covered run wouldn't have 2 roofs draining onto it and we could pitch it to match the shed roof.

I also like the tarp selection at fleet farm. I was thinking the cheaper green/brown ones would do the trick with the assumption that it may or may not be in one piece come spring. I want to do clear plastic on the ends to allow light in, again using furring strips to hold it down.

There is a site called Tarps Plus I get clear ones from. The price isn't terrible, but they aren't cheap. The brown and green from FF are cheap, as are the blue ones. They will be tearing out the grommets halfway through winter. I have used them a lot for smaller stuff. Then again, it depends on how you use them. However for that size run, you might not have a choice but to go with the silver and black ones. I have a 12X16 I used on the turkey hoop this summer. It held really good except where there were sharp edges on the ends of the rods that make up the cattle panels. Corners and sharp edges will cause those cheap ones to shred. The other thing is that when they do, sometimes chickens will eat that plastic "string" they weave them from, or they tangle them on their feet and legs. Hubby calls me the Tarp Queen. I thought I would use tarps to close in the chain link kennel panels I used 3 winters ago. Well, let's say it was not the most successful thing I have tried.
If you are thinking of moving it though, you sure don't want to go through all the work of what I sent you.

 

[Minniechickmama]

I just watched a weather segment that said we are supposed to be warmer and have less snow this winter. So, maybe Klop, that will be to your advantage this year?

 

[NathanZee]

No. I LOVE boiled eggs. I LOVE dill pickles. I had a bunch of beers at a bar once and decided I was hungry and tried a pickle egg....

Oh wow. I think that is the Duck Version of Hibiclens (used to prep skin for surgeries--and surgeons use to wash with it) It will help with staph...which I think is what those ducks have. Bumble feet.

I think they have a touch of bumble foot...but it may all be superficial enough to just treat topically with this stuff. Oiling down those legs with the bag balm or Vet Rx will help cut down the staph too. I don't have ducks so this is a different presentation of bumble foot for me...but I'll bet money with the stubble field they're on they are getting little openings and cuts for staph, IMHO. Good luck with everything!

Is this the right stuff? http://www.amazon.com/VetOne-Chlorhexidine-2-Ointment-oz/dp/B006XZW5XG If I remove the problem that is hurting their feet, could they heal naturally?

They don't appear to have bumble foot, but I think if they continue to have this happen or it gets worse, the you may see some infections coming on. That last one really needs to get better, I think it could have something starting to look worse on the back point of the foot.

I think I will use that Chlorhexidine stuff on at least him, and maybe some that have it bad as well. I am going to remove the weeds today, so that should help if they have soft smooth ground to walk on.