NEED ADVICE: Foot Friendly Ramp

[Aunt Angus]

Howdy. I'm dealing with a couple of cases of bumblefoot in my duckies. I am trying to be a better duckie mama and fix this. I'm treating the bumblefoot best I can with soakings, antibiotic ointment, and bandage changes, and we have a vet appointment next week (soonest I could get).

Now it's time to fix their environment. Here's my plan:

• Switch to pelleted bedding. It's super duper soft, super absorbent, relatively affordable. I use it for my goats and looooove it. Shoulda made this switch sooner!
• Move the swimming pool (afflicted duckies can't access it until feetsies get better) closer to their house so they don't have to walk as far. Don't worry: they have buckets they can dunk their heads in.
• Lay an old kitchen rug as a path from the run out to the pool.
• Plant more grass today! It all died because of the drought. County-imposed water usage fines be damned! It's better than sick duckies!
• Deep clean and disinfection of the coop. Imma start doing this more often. I sweep out the coop weekly, but I don't always disinfect.

Last thing I need is a duck foot friendly ramp into their pool. Right now, I use pavers that make stairs up to the side of the pool. I think that may be contributing to the problem. Might even be a root cause of it.

I've been perusing the web for ideas, but most I see are wood ramps with slats. I'd like something softer, and it has to be movable since their pond is emptied and moved every other day. Maybe use fake grass or outdoor rugs on a wooden ramp??? Idk.

Ideas? What do y'all use?

 

[HollowOfWisps]

What about a wooden ramp and then attach a rubber mat to it like the type they use for snow mobile and atv ramps? It would be easier to hose off and sanitize too.

https://www.amazon.com/Caliber-1321...t=&hvlocphy=9018394&hvtargid=pla-569929719331

 

[CoriM]

Is it one of the plastic pools? When I was using that for my ducks I used a wooden ramp with wood blocks underneath to support it. If I was using that long term I would probably cover it in the fake grass stuff you can buy at home depot - it gives them traction and is soft on their feet - like you said. Also, do they have a block to stand on that's inside of the pool. You just don't want them to do a lot of jumping as that can be hard on the bigger breeds. I use the astro turf on a ramp my ducks use to get into their coop - it gets dirty but you can spray it off if you want and it works great.