Pressure sores vs. Bumblefoot

[barkingpig]

Hello everyone,
I was hoping I could get some advice about the sores on my Cayuga's feet. I sent a text to my vet with the attached photo and he thinks it is pressure sores from being landlocked which "could" develop into bumblefoot OR develop into long-term calluses which would be fine. My ducks aren't landlocked in that they have a koi pond liner that serves as a pool/pond. It is deep enough that they cannot touch. They use their pond frequently but choose to explore their coop (dirt/sand/mulch) and free range in the yard of grass/dirt/mulch/small area of pavers. I'm curious if 1) anyone has ducks that have developed calluses that look like these that never develop into a problem; 2) what is the best coop material to protect their feet? Part of their (covered) run is sand but the part with the pond is dirt and mulch. I found that sand develops an ice layer that seems dangerously slick. I'm trying to make whatever habitat modifications needed to prevent these pressure sores in the first place regardless of the treatment I choose.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much,
Rhonda

 

[Miss Lydia]

Any limping? Too me they look like bumblefoot. with the scabs in the middle which usually means soaking in warm Epsom salt water for as many days as it takes to loosen the scab so you can peel them off and remove the core [infection] Then pack with antibiotic salve wrap keep clean and dry checking every other day to make sure you got all the infection till completely healed. It's a process but only way I know to keep this from spreading into joints, bones and eventually into blood. Duck pus isn't runny so you have to pick the thick pus pocket out.

 

[Nola985]

That looks like bumblefoot. The simplest way to care for them is to purchase Prid. You can find it at Walgreens. Apply to areas at night when they are bedding down. In the morning, coat with pain free antibiotic ointment. Repeat for the week. Soon you should see those pockets clearing up and fresh looking skin replacing it. It doesn’t happen overnight but also there is no reason to pick and prod at those sites and risk additional inflection from opening a wound or causing the duck pain or stress.

 

[PicklesMom]

Agree with Bumblefoot. We have a duck with black feet who has some callouses, but they aren't swollen like that and no thick black scab. I recently tried decolorized iodine on a smaller bit of bumblefoot and it worked like a charm. I gently pick around the edges when she comes in from the pond and usually can get the scab to come out eventually with all the pus attached.

Our ducks also loved to play in our crushed stone driveway's puddles and run over stone walls into the woods so we have had to fence off an area of grass around the pond to keep them contained.

 

[barkingpig]

Any limping? Too me they look like bumblefoot. with the scabs in the middle which usually means soaking in warm Epsom salt water for as many days as it takes to loosen the scab so you can peel them off and remove the core [infection] Then pack with antibiotic salve wrap keep clean and dry checking every other day to make sure you got all the infection till completely healed. It's a process but only way I know to keep this from spreading into joints, bones and eventually into blood. Duck pus isn't runny so you have to pick the thick pus pocket out.

Thank you for weighing in!! I really appreciate it!

 

[barkingpig]

That looks like bumblefoot. The simplest way to care for them is to purchase Prid. You can find it at Walgreens. Apply to areas at night when they are bedding down. In the morning, coat with pain free antibiotic ointment. Repeat for the week. Soon you should see those pockets clearing up and fresh looking skin replacing it. It doesn’t happen overnight but also there is no reason to pick and prod at those sites and risk additional inflection from opening a wound or causing the duck pain or stress.

Do you wrap their feet in this treatment regimen....that's the hard part with ducks. I'm doing something similar with one of my chickens and it responded very quickly with no incisions needed.

 

[barkingpig]

Agree with Bumblefoot. We have a duck with black feet who has some callouses, but they aren't swollen like that and no thick black scab. I recently tried decolorized iodine on a smaller bit of bumblefoot and it worked like a charm. I gently pick around the edges when she comes in from the pond and usually can get the scab to come out eventually with all the pus attached.

Our ducks also loved to play in our crushed stone driveway's puddles and run over stone walls into the woods so we have had to fence off an area of grass around the pond to keep them contained.

Thank you so much for your advice!

 

[barkingpig]

Thank you for weighing in!! I really appreciate it!

Thank you for weighing in!! I really appreciate it!

Oh, no limping....although I have seen them stand on one leg which some have suggested is to relieve pressure on a foot that may be bothering them.

 

[PicklesMom]

Thank you so much for your advice!

p.s. - Regarding coop material. I have heard people say both straw and shavings. We had ducks developing issues when we used straw and switched to shavings (which our vet says is ok) but others have had the opposite experience. I can't figure out how to wrap a duck's foot to save my life, though I have wrapped horses and chickens, but we have used these - https://crazy-k-farm.myshopify.com/collections/poultry/products/birdy-bootie-hand-made-in-the-usa sometimes with a vetwrap over the top to secure it.

 

[KaleIAm]

It looks like classic bumblefoot to me.

2 of my 6 ducks developed bumbles from being on hard surfaces, and I took them to the vet who prescribed antibiotics/foot washes/ointment and had me put them in neoprene duck booties. They would heal up and then the bumblefoot came right back a few weeks after treatment was discontinued. Then my vet had me change their environment to soft substrate, 6 inches of straw inside their barn and grass only outside. I removed all rocks, pea gravel, boards, wood shavings, ect. And my vet was right - my ducks bumbles never came back for 5 years.

But like PicklesMom said, it seems to vary per duck. My last duck who had issues with bumblefoot passed away in the spring and I started using wood shavings again, because it is a lot easier to work with. My remaining ducks, who have never had bumblefoot aren't having any issues.