My pekin duck is having foot problems!!!

[mrsEdic]

Hi, im new here, so i hope im doing this right. This is my first time owning chickens and ducks. My drake pekin has been having some foot issues. We live in a desert setting and are a little dry where i live. We have a mall kiddie pool for them to swim in. My duck starting with his feet cracking open and bleeding. I wrapped them with gauze vet wrap and kept them as clean as possible. I then leanred of Vetericyn, wound and skin care and bought that to put on his feet. Within a few days his feet cleared up. Yesturday morning my daughter found him stand "like a flamingo" on one foot and is limping around when let out. Sprayed his foot last night and again today and am noticing he has some swelling now. What should i do??!!!

 

[TLWR]

are they penned up? If so, what do you have on the ground. If dirt and it is dry and hard, provide some type of ground cover - leaves, grass clippings, pine shavings, pine needles, etc - something to give a little give under their feet.
Constantly being on hard ground is hard on their feet.

 

[mrsEdic]

They are penned up part of the day, but turned loose during the day. The ground in the pen is fairly hard but currently have pine shavings out there on top of the dirt.

 

[mrsEdic]

update 9/17/16

Not standing on his foot.

This is the bad foot. Swollen and warm to the touch.

 

[mrsEdic]

duck has also been penned up in a dog cage for the last few days so he cant be wondering.

 

[Amiga]

If it is swollen and warm to the touch, that sounds infected. A good duck vet would be best.

He may need oral antibiotics to get rid of the infection. A topical antibiotic may also help. There could be a splinter in there, or it could just be that the infection got ahead of you.

 

[mrsEdic]

I am starting think he is loosing circulation to his foot and it may be broken. Please help!!

 

[Amiga]

Well, I am not a vet or vet tech, so ideally a vet or waterfowl rehabilitator may be able to offer some help.

Have you been wrapping the foot? If so, perhaps you need to change approach.

Have you let him float in a tub of lukewarm water? That's very good for the circulation, and you can watch the feet carefully to help assess what's going on.

 

[mrsEdic]

Put him in my tub yesterday and doesnt seem to be using the foot much at all. He is using his wings to help balance when trykng to walk. Tonight when i picked him up to put them in for the night, as i have been keeping him in a dog cage during the day. His foot/ leg just flopped backwards, since i was holding almost like a baby.

 

[mikeru]

My question would be an x ray, I have been dealing with a floppy foot too! weather broken joint so a styrofoam base with waterproof tape to help the function of the foot. good luck