Please help asap! duck has cut on foot, not bumblefoot?

[ha6774459]

Hi, my name is Lanae and I am new to BYC. I have a 5 year old Peking male duck. Two days ago, I accidentally closed his right foot into the door of his pen. He has a small scratch on the top of his toe which I put antibiotic cream on and it is fine now. However, on the bottom of that toe, in the crease of the webbing, there is a deeper cut. I didn't notice it until a few hours later, after he walked in dirty mud. I'm afraid its infected. I took him in the house, he has been in the bathtub since. He won't walk with the foot or lay on it because it hurts. I lost one duck to bumblefoot, I dont want to lose this one ... my question is how do I take care of it? I have cleaned it two or three times a day, tried to use tweezers to clean the infection out, and used iodine, peroxide, antibiotic cream, and a little bactine spray. It's been bandaged for about half of the time. He has had a dark quiet place to rest but I dont think its getting better. I dont want it to scab over with some infection still left inside but I dont want to keep picking at it and hurting him or making it worse. I will attach a recent pic. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I feel so terrible and want nothing more than to fix this. Please help!

 

[JadeComputerGal]

Hi, my name is Lanae and I am new to BYC. I have a 5 year old Peking male duck. Two days ago, I accidentally closed his right foot into the door of his pen. He has a small scratch on the top of his toe which I put antibiotic cream on and it is fine now. However, on the bottom of that toe, in the crease of the webbing, there is a deeper cut. I didn't notice it until a few hours later, after he walked in dirty mud. I'm afraid its infected. I took him in the house, he has been in the bathtub since. He won't walk with the foot or lay on it because it hurts. I lost one duck to bumblefoot, I dont want to lose this one

... my question is how do I take care of it? I have cleaned it two or three times a day, tried to use tweezers to clean the infection out, and used iodine, peroxide, antibiotic cream, and a little bactine spray. It's been bandaged for about half of the time. He has had a dark quiet place to rest but I dont think its getting better. I dont want it to scab over with some infection still left inside but I dont want to keep picking at it and hurting him or making it worse. I will attach a recent pic. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I feel so terrible and want nothing more than to fix this. Please help!

If you're using colorless iodine, Neosporin without pain reliever (or generic equivalent) and keeping it clean and bandaged, those are the same things I would have done. I definitely wouldn't keep doing things with tweezers, etc., if you're not removing foreign matter like a thorn or something. You can't do anything to remove infection with instruments like that. Has it gotten better, worse, or stayed the same since you started treating it? @Amiga , what do you think?

And, Lanae, for your own protection, please remove your email address and phone number from this post. There are bots and other things on the Internet that search social networking sites for this type of information. You should never, ever put this information in a post like this. I'm saying this only for your own good.

Edited to remove personal information of OP.

 

[ha6774459]

@JadeComputerGal Sorry, I'm new to this whole forum thing. I clicked edit post and deleted the info but I'm not sure if it worked or not. Thank you for the words of advice.

I couldn't find colorless iodine around town but found a red/brown iodine and added a few drops into his epsom salt soak. I'm not sure what the difference is between colorless and colored iodine. Percentage of iodine maybe? Should I try harder to find colorless iodine? I could order it online. As for the neosporin, I have been using the generic equivalent but it says "+ pain reliever" ... should I not be using that? Otherwise, it has been kept clean and bandaged for most of the time. The cut on the top of his foot (not pictured) has gotten better, but the bottom cut (pictured) has stayed about the same. I only messed with the tweezers once, there were a few pieces of dirt that didn't quite get flushed out with the peroxide, and I just tried to lightly scrape it out. Maybe I'm being too aggressive, I am just worried and want to do everything possible. Should I look into penicillin injections? I have saw that on a few posts regarding bumblefoot and puncture wounds from being attacked. I'm not sure if those are necessary but I don't want to wait until last minute to treat an infection either.

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond, I greatly appreciate it.

 

[JadeComputerGal]

@JadeComputerGal Sorry, I'm new to this whole forum thing. I clicked edit post and deleted the info but I'm not sure if it worked or not. Thank you for the words of advice.

I couldn't find colorless iodine around town but found a red/brown iodine and added a few drops into his epsom salt soak. I'm not sure what the difference is between colorless and colored iodine. Percentage of iodine maybe? Should I try harder to find colorless iodine? I could order it online. As for the neosporin, I have been using the generic equivalent but it says "+ pain reliever" ... should I not be using that? Otherwise, it has been kept clean and bandaged for most of the time. The cut on the top of his foot (not pictured) has gotten better, but the bottom cut (pictured) has stayed about the same. I only messed with the tweezers once, there were a few pieces of dirt that didn't quite get flushed out with the peroxide, and I just tried to lightly scrape it out. Maybe I'm being too aggressive, I am just worried and want to do everything possible. Should I look into penicillin injections? I have saw that on a few posts regarding bumblefoot and puncture wounds from being attacked. I'm not sure if those are necessary but I don't want to wait until last minute to treat an infection either.

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond, I greatly appreciate it.

You definitely don't need to apologize to me. I can't remember if what you did even breaks any rules here. I just know from being in the Internet for 20 years that it's very risky to post personal information like that. There are sophisticated processes now that scan websites for that type of information to use for purposes you wouldn't like.

Most drug stores carry both varieties of iodine. It can be labeled decolorized or white. I've been told that WalMart keeps it in the pharmacy and you have to get it from them even though it doesn't require a prescription. I have no idea why. If you do happen to get it somewhere that they keep it behind the pharmacy counter, please ask why they do that and let me know when you get a chance. I'm very curious about it. I very much prefer the decolorized type because it doesn't cause the horrible staining the other variety causes. That one stains so badly that it's hard to tell the status of the wound you're treating.

You don't want to use the + pain reliever with ducks. Do you have, or can you get, some of the same thing without the pain reliever? Also, you mentioned penicillin shots. Does that mean a vet is an option? If so, I'd have your vet look at it, but I tend to be very cautious with my animals.

 

[Amiga]

Let's drop back, here. Welcome, Lanae, and thanks, JadeComputerGal for the headsup.

I am in the middle of canning some tomatoes - so not in front of computer much today.

Anyway. Lanae, covering it is not entirely necessary if he is being kept in a clean dry place, like a nice big sturdy box or crate. I would keep him in a crate or similar, with clean bedding, fresh water, good food, and not cover the foot for a couple of days.

For treatment, Epsom salt soak or compress (it is a laxative, be careful) three times a day should clear that up. If the foot is warm, the area starts to swell and be pinkish, then infection may be spreading and an oral antibiotic like Duramycin10 is what I would use.

I must dash, please @ me if and when you want a response - I will check back in a while...

 

[ha6774459]

@JadeComputerGal -I went to Walgreens and they had only the red iodine on the shelf, but it could be the same thing as with Walmart keeping the colorless in the pharmacy. I will call and ask. I will let you know as soon as I find something out, because I am also curious as to what their reasoning is. I will also get the neosporin without pain reliever.

I mentioned penicillin shots because I saw on a few posts of members injecting it themselves. My local feed store has the penicillin in stock so I thought about doing that. I also saw they have duramycin in stock so I might go that route instead. I was just looking for input one way or the other. There is no avian vet nearby, I live in an extremely rural area, but if it gets any worse I won't hesitate to take him in.

@Amiga -Aww thank you so much for the welcome. I enjoy canning as well, I recently finished canning pickles

I have had the bandage off for most of the day today because I have seen similar advice to yours, to leave it open. He is in the corner on my bathroom floor laying on some folded towels, with food and water beside him. I have kept his foot clean and dry. The lights are off except for a nightlight and he seems quite content... except for when he wants to walk, then he has a limp. There was slight bruising and swelling yesterday but it went away after a cool water soak. His affected leg was slightly warmer than the other leg yesterday, but I just felt it a few minutes ago and they seem to be about the same temp now. It doesn't look pink, but as you can see in the photo, the dark colored stuff worries me. I am going to the local feed store to get the duramycin. Thank you so much!

 

[JadeComputerGal]

Let's drop back, here. Welcome, Lanae, and thanks, JadeComputerGal for the headsup.

I am in the middle of canning some tomatoes - so not in front of computer much today.

Anyway. Lanae, covering it is not entirely necessary if he is being kept in a clean dry place, like a nice big sturdy box or crate. I would keep him in a crate or similar, with clean bedding, fresh water, good food, and not cover the foot for a couple of days.

For treatment, Epsom salt soak or compress (it is a laxative, be careful) three times a day should clear that up. If the foot is warm, the area starts to swell and be pinkish, then infection may be spreading and an oral antibiotic like Duramycin10 is what I would use.

I must dash, please @ me if and when you want a response - I will check back in a while...

@JadeComputerGal -I went to Walgreens and they had only the red iodine on the shelf, but it could be the same thing as with Walmart keeping the colorless in the pharmacy. I will call and ask. I will let you know as soon as I find something out, because I am also curious as to what their reasoning is. I will also get the neosporin without pain reliever.

I mentioned penicillin shots because I saw on a few posts of members injecting it themselves. My local feed store has the penicillin in stock so I thought about doing that. I also saw they have duramycin in stock so I might go that route instead. I was just looking for input one way or the other. There is no avian vet nearby, I live in an extremely rural area, but if it gets any worse I won't hesitate to take him in.

@Amiga -Aww thank you so much for the welcome. I enjoy canning as well, I recently finished canning pickles

I have had the bandage off for most of the day today because I have seen similar advice to yours, to leave it open. He is in the corner on my bathroom floor laying on some folded towels, with food and water beside him. I have kept his foot clean and dry. The lights are off except for a nightlight and he seems quite content... except for when he wants to walk, then he has a limp. There was slight bruising and swelling yesterday but it went away after a cool water soak. His affected leg was slightly warmer than the other leg yesterday, but I just felt it a few minutes ago and they seem to be about the same temp now. It doesn't look pink, but as you can see in the photo, the dark colored stuff worries me. I am going to the local feed store to get the duramycin. Thank you so much!

I feel a little silly and appropriately embarrassed. I forgot to say

 

[ha6774459]

@JadeComputerGal Haha, no worries, thanks!

P.S. Walgreens doesn't carry colorless iodine. Walmart does, and it is NOT kept behind the pharmacy counter. It is on a shelf next to the pharmacy section. The employee I spoke with says that they do not keep any sort of iodine behind the counter, so maybe they only do that at certain locations? I'm not sure.