Please help with Duck's foot

[vlapinta]

I noticed one of my calls has something differant than the other two on the bottom of her feet. It is on both feet by what I would call the heel. They are on 1/2" hardware cloth with access to fresh swimming water daily. They are never on dirt. I have been taking them in at night and piutting them in a box in my garage with pine shavings. It almost looks like cuts. She is not acting any differant. It doesn't seem to bother her. It doesn't look rgiht to me. Can you please tell me what I need to do?

Vicki

 

[Happycheese]

Looks like the beginning of bumblefoot, a small crack that got infected. One of my females had it on a toe joint, I just opened it up with a razor, got out the infection with the end of a needle, put pressure on it with a paper towel til it stopped bleeding and put some antibacterial on it once a day. To keep it from getting re-infected i used liquid bandage, it looks like glue and makes a water tight seal.
I know it doesn't look like much now, but within a week it can make a limp, sometimes even hurting so much that he will just sit

to keep their feet from cracking, i put some b1, beta carotene and naictin(sp?) in their water once a week.

 

[Kim65]

It might be bumblefoot (a kind of abscess), or just irritation from the hardware cloth, like an allergic reaction to the metal maybe? Is her pad more swollen on that side than the other? My best guess is bumblefoot just by the pic.

 

[nettie]

I'll get your shoes you ordered done pronto! They will help heal that infection.

 

[vlapinta]

Quote:
There is no way I can use a razor on her foot. I am too squeemish. Can I try something like neosporen on her foot and cover it with liquid bandaid? Should I take her to the vet, or just keep an eye on it for now? I looks to me like her foot was not tough enough for the hardware cloth and the pressure of her walking on it cut her foot. She has it in the exact spot on both feet. The other two look fine. I can keep her off the hardware cloth but she is going to be miserable by herself. Any suggestions?


Vicki

 

[Amiga]

How about that soft no-skid shelf liner stuff? You might be able to buy a roll and just roll it over the wire. I think Wifezilla does that in her brooder. Then you might need to remove the liner, shake off the yuck, and put it back periodically.

Also, sometimes warm soaks in epsom salts water can help open up a wound. Tricky, but don't let her drink it. A small container where she can soak her feet should work. This stuff is so labor intensive, but it is worth it, I think.

Yes, put some kind of triple antibiotic (no painkiller) on the wound. A little of it may soak in. And since you caught it somewhat early, I am not entirely sure you need to open it surgically (I am speaking from what I have read, not as a veterinary expert).

If there is an avian vet, or wildlife rehabilitator you can contact, their input might be helpful.

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
There is no way I can use a razor on her foot. I am too squeemish. Can I try something like neosporen on her foot and cover it with liquid bandaid? Should I take her to the vet, or just keep an eye on it for now? I looks to me like her foot was not tough enough for the hardware cloth and the pressure of her walking on it cut her foot. She has it in the exact spot on both feet. The other two look fine. I can keep her off the hardware cloth but she is going to be miserable by herself. Any suggestions?You can of course try your way first, it MIGHT stop growing and slowly reasorb back to almost nothing. That is assuming that it is in fact bumblefoot, the picture has not convinced me that it is. Usually bumblefoot will cause enough pain to the bird that it doesn't act right and the keeper looks to see what the problem is. Exact spot on both feet suggests to me that your little duck may walk a little funny and is starting to develope calluses (Sp) on the pressure point. I used to have an experienced poultryman that I could take questions to, most of what I thought was bumblefoot was rejected by him as being calluses, normal thickening and toughening of the walking surface.
The sense of touch sometimes works better than the eyes. if they feel hard and tough and the bird doesn't have distress when you press on them they aren't bumbles. I don't know if you have ever had an abscess of your own, but they are fairly soft puss filled nodules that hurt when you put pressure on them ( like a giant pimple ). Duck puss is often described as being like cottage cheese, much less liquid than human puss. human abscesses can often be drained with a large bore needle, a duck bummble needs an incision because the puss is not liquid. You can wait and see if you want, either way it will not disappear overnight. ~gd

Vicki

 

[L0rraine]

I didn't 'pop the plug out' (as my vet calls pulling out the hard center of the bump) of my last duck with the beginnings of bumble foot. I just put her in a separate pen with lots of clean straw for a few days (meant to have my husband help with the lesion but he kept getting home too late) and then she just stopped limping and seemed much better and I put her out with the others and barricaded them from the muddy area of the pen for a week or so; and refilled the pool two or three times a day with clean water (instead of once) and she recovered and saved me another huge vet bill. So I don't think it hurts to give it a try.

Otherwise "popping the plug" with tweezers, applying antibiotic, and treating, if necessary, with oral antibiotics worked wonders for my duck that seemed to have a more severe infection. AND, of course, Nettie's booties sound as if they work wonders. I keep thinking I need to get some just to make my duck pics more entertaining for Facebook friends.

 

[vlapinta]

Thanks for all your responses. From what I have read about bumblefoot, and I am no expert, it does not look like bumblefoot. I don't see anything that looks like an abscess. It appears to look more like a cut from pressing on the hardwate cloth. Maybe her feet were delicate and she didn't have enough callous. I pressed on it and she didn't seem too bothered by it. It just looks differant than the other two. Today I took a quick peak at it and on one fooot it actually looks like it has closed and healed a little. I think I am going to get triple antibiotic ointment and start putting that on her feet and see how that goes. I will definately be keeping a close eye on it.
I do have a question. I don't want to seperate her at this point and really stress her out. The three of them are so close. When I start to take them out of the pen at night to put them in my garage, the first one I take out peeps like crazy until the next one is with them and then the third and last one starts peeping because it thinks it is being left behind. Its comical.
Also what should I use over the ointment? Should I try the liquid bandaid or just wrap her foot with medical tape. I am thinking she might pick at the medical tape. What do you think? Thank you all soo much once again. You are all ausome!

Vicki