pink growth near outer corner of eye and bill of golden 300 duck

[alaskaducks]

@amiga

my friends, i have a flock of 24 ducks that have been very healthy. i feed them a high quality food. their coop is large and dry with deep straw bedding. i have noticed that they have been burrowing their bills into their straw inside their coop and outside in their pen. our climate is very wet and it froze frequently over the winter. i tossed straw into their coop on several occasions for both traction and to give them a place to lie down. the straw in their pen has, of course, gotten wet over time and they have walked and pooped on it although i try to keep it very clean. yesterday i noticed that one duck didn't seem to want to open her right eye and today i see that she has a very small pink growth near the lower outside corner of that same eye. i started examining the rest of the flock and there is another girl with the same pinkish growth right where her bill begins. did they get an infection by poking through their straw? i can't get near these girls without them going absolutely crazy, flying into the walls and fence, i have no idea how i am going to treat them.

i also have a girl who has started limping (actually she started this entire flock examination after i saw her). her middle toe seems swollen on the top of her foot, she has what looks like, from a distance, a white lump at the base of her heel, probably connected to that middle toe. i'm guessing it may be bumblefoot, but she has limped off and on for several months; it's only in the past day that she has been standing on one foot only.

i have tried everything to get these ladies to be friendlier with me, and in many ways they are, but when it comes to catching them, it's like they will kill each other and themselves just to get away from me. i am thinking of trying to toss a sheet over the ones i need to catch, i saw that suggested in another byc forum, but i have my doubts about the ducks' reaction and i am afraid of hurting them worse. the things they do to get away seem horrifying to me and i just can't see them hurt themselves. as i said before, i have no idea how i will even treat their medical issues is i can't even catch them. is there such a thing as ducky valium? help? i am at a loss and i don't have many (read as any) resources where i live.

thank you.

 

[Amiga]

Hi, @alaskaducks

Sometimes the @ sign doesn't work - if it turns blue, it works.

Also please feel free to send me a PM.

Anyway - about your flock.

Sounds like you may have some bacteria giving them a hard time. Winter is a challenge, for sure.

With my ducks that are very anxious around people, what I do is set up The Limousine at one end of their pen. I may even need to create a temporary pen, like a cattle chute, that leads to The Limousine.

It's a coated wire dog crate that is also covered with plastic poultry fence. But you might be able to use one of those collapsible mesh laundry baskets, too. A little less than perfect, but it might work,.

Anyway, I get behind the ducks and walk them into the Limousine. Then I can get them to the vet, or at least have them more confined so I can get ahold of them.

Ducky valium, hmm, that's a great idea. I will think about that. Don't know of any, though.

I have had to treat a mild eye irritation with one of my anxious ducks. I got some Vetericyn spray, set it to mist, and when she walked past me (again, I set up a chute so she would have to, to get out of the coop), I sprayed that side of her face.

A mild saline solution may be just as good. If they like treats, you could lure her with treats and mist that side of her face while she's nomming down.

It may have progressed to the point where you need to get some antibiotic eyedrops. In that case, see my notes below about getting ahold of an anxious duck. Once held, the eyedrops ought not to take but a few seconds to apply.

I feel that to treat the foot problem, you are going to need to use a chute, nab the duck and have another person holding a towel that you can then carefully wrap around her, one person holding her (remember feet and wings are susceptible to injury if the duck isn't held well and no it's not always easy). Then the person who is more vet-techy gets to examine the foot. If it's bumblefoot, a non-surgical way to treat it is to soak the foot for a while (this means getting the duck into some lukewarm water for 20 minutes or so - you don't have to hold her during this time), then do the impossible once again by getting ahold of her, and dropping a few drops of clear - clear - clear, not brown - iodine on the bumble. Blow on it a little so it dries. Then the duck can have the next few days off. Ideally, they would be in a safe, relatively warm, quiet place. But that may not be absolutely necessary. After five days or so, once again Mission Impossible, pick her up and examine the foot. There will likely be a black scab that can be soaked and then pulled off easily. If it doesn't pull off easily, more clear iodine, wait five more days, repeat.

This is labor intensive. However, it does not cost much and it can be done by duck keepers without loads of special equipment.

Wet weather can bring this on - especially cold wet weather. Do what you can to keep them dry - maybe more straw? A tarp over a section of pen? Or get some help and pull out the wet stuff and replace it with dry.

 

[alaskaducks]

@amiga (once again not turning blue)

thanks for the great advice. i will follow all that you said immediately. i know if i don't treat the bumblefoot it will just progress and will eventually kill her, so i might as well give it that mighty effort and capture her. i have an excellent extra-large dog crate (finally) that will make an excellent place for her to spend a few days. does bumblefoot normally take quite a while to progress to this stage? she has been limping off and on for a few months and i always thought it was her ankle or her foot.

i'll let you know how everything turns out and as always i appreciate you and your advice. thank you.

 

[Amiga]

@alaskaducks the blue letters just doesn't always work. I can never get it to work from my phone, and sometimes doesn't work from the laptop.

So please do PM me if you want to.

I am subscribed to this thread now, so I should be getting notifications. It's after 11 pm here now, so I plan to turn in soon.

But before that,

It could have been bumblefoot all along, there could have been a sprain just before the bumblefoot started. Hard to know at this point, and ducks hide illness and injury and those that won't let us near make it harder on all of us....

If it is at all possible to take a photo and upload it, that can help.

If it's been long enough, systemic infection is a risk and you may want to start looking into getting some Duramycin-10 or similar antibiotic to protect her from it getting into her bloodstream, or clearing it up if it already has. I believe you can get some and add it to her drinking water. No eating her eggs for a while - check the labels for how long to wait, if she is laying. She may not be, this time of year.

I found clear iodine at a Walmart. You may need to order it. In your neck of the woods, sometimes I would imagine you can find useful things, other times, it needs to be flown in.

Please keep us updated on how it goes. There is this thread, just the first post, that explains how Haunted55 discovered what clear iodine can do for bumblefoot.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/807777/bumblefoot-new-ideas-on-treatment-with-pictures

 

[alaskaducks]

@amiga

i just sent you a pm regarding duck bath.

 

[Amiga]

Got it, sent response.

 

[alaskaducks]

@Amiga

i just found this post regarding the duramycin-10. i actually ordered some and it arrived yesterday. should i start her on the d-10 now? her foot is no better, actually seems worse. if i put the d-10 in her water, her companion duck will probably drink it, also; so, should i separate them? she still does not have any black spots or scabs on her foot where it is swollen. hubby thinks we should lance it, but i don't know; it seems pretty sore when i press on it lightly, so i can't imagine cutting into the lump, aarrgghhhh. what do you think??

 

[Amiga]

I don't think lancing will help because the ous is usually more like cottage cheese and won't run out.

I would get her on the duramycin - don't know if you can subdivide the area to keep her buddy nearby but with separate food and water.

 

[casportpony]

@Amiga


i just found this post regarding the duramycin-10.  i actually ordered some and it arrived yesterday.  should i start her on the d-10 now?  her foot is no better, actually seems worse.  if i put the d-10 in her water, her companion duck will probably drink it, also; so, should i separate them? she still does not have any black spots or scabs on her foot where it is swollen.  hubby thinks we should lance it, but i don't know; it seems pretty sore when i press on it lightly, so i can't imagine cutting into the lump, aarrgghhhh.  what do you think??  

Can you post a picture of it?

-Kathy

 

[alaskaducks]

I loaned my phone to a friend and won't have it back until next week. it is a large bump on her heel with obvious swelling to her middle toe. there is no scab and i can't see or feel anything in it other than that large solid bump. i am using dermavet until clear iodine arrives, hopefully soon. i've been giving her warm water baths, but she just seems to be getting worse. i am starting her on duramycin-10 today and i hope that helps her. i'll keep you posted. and thanks!