Please help! My duck is limping and has a swollen toe

[juliafish16]

Hi everyone,

I have five female Pekin ducks and I noticed that one of my ducks has been limping for the past couple of days. I read that ducks heal fast so I was hoping that she would just heal on her own but today the limp was extremely severe and she was barely walking. I picked her up and saw that one of her toes were swollen. Could it be that her toe is broken or could it be that she has bumblefoot? If so, what should I do to treat it? I gave her an epson salt bath but she really hates being away from the rest of the ducks and kept struggling and trying to get away, I'd hate to isolate her. Please help!

 

[CoriM]

In the third picture it looks like bumblefoot on the left toe (my left when looking at it). What I usually do is try to get them in a shallow pan of epsom salt water twice a day for ten or 15 minutes and then put neosporin on it. Sometimes this can takes weeks, so takes lots of patience. I would try to soak her in the run with the other ducks so she's not as scared maybe? All of my ducks have been good soakers except one of my pekins, and she actually does better when I bring her in the house. If the bump goes down and scab goes away, great. If it gets worse you'll probably need to pry the scab off and get the infection out. I'm no expert but I'm currently dealing with three cases of bumblefoot, and have had to get meds from the vet for a couple stubborn cases.

 

[juliafish16]

In the third picture it looks like bumblefoot on the left toe (my left when looking at it). What I usually do is try to get them in a shallow pan of epsom salt water twice a day for ten or 15 minutes and then put neosporin on it. Sometimes this can takes weeks, so takes lots of patience. I would try to soak her in the run with the other ducks so she's not as scared maybe? All of my ducks have been good soakers except one of my pekins, and she actually does better when I bring her in the house. If the bump goes down and scab goes away, great. If it gets worse you'll probably need to pry the scab off and get the infection out. I'm no expert but I'm currently dealing with three cases of bumblefoot, and have had to get meds from the vet for a couple stubborn cases.

Ok, thank you so much! I will try that! But it does not look broken right? When I picked her up I was a bit surprised about how swollen it looked so I am a little worried. I was looking at the toe and I could not tell if it was a scab or dirt, and she would not let me touch it without flailing all over

 

[Miss Lydia]

I don’t think that is just going to go away is that an opening on there where it’s swollen. Soaking in Epsom salt water keeping her confined in a pen where she doesn’t over do. If you can get a better pic that would be great.

 

[CoriM]

If she's flailing a lot you could wrap her in a little towel so she can't flap.

 

[CoriM]

And what Miss Lydia said, keep her walking to a minimum for a little bit.

 

[juliafish16]

I don’t think that is just going to go away is that an opening on there where it’s swollen. Soaking in Epsom salt water keeping her confined in a pen where she doesn’t over do. If you can get a better pic that would be great.

I think it is an opening. I have been soaking her in epsom salt water everyday for the past couple of days and I also poured some hydrogen peroxide where it was swollen. She has not gotten much better. I tried to confine her in a bucket because I recently built a pen for them but it is not ready yet. I hoped it would keep her there but she just flew out and I did not want to put a lid on it because it would probably scare her. I will try to get a better picture soon!

 

[juliafish16]

And what Miss Lydia said, keep her walking to a minimum for a little bit.

Sorry, do you have any suggestions on how to do that? I have been soaking her in the salt baths with her duck friends nearby and she is still very feisty around me. I put her in a see through bucket once and she just flew out. I dont know how else I should try to keep her from moving around much.

 

[Miss Lydia]

You have to put her in the bucket feet first with warm water an epsom salt mixed just up to her knees. You have to hold her in the bucket she won’t stay on her own.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Don’t use peroxide it’s only for initial wound cleaning if you keep using it it will damage healthy skin tissue.