Traveling with a Duck

[HeatherKellyB]

I just found the foot wrapping thread made by Isaac. Exactly what I needed. Thank you

 

[Isaac 0]

@Isaac 0 i wanted to tag you for my reply above since we've spoken about Honey. Thank you for your time that you shared with me in my attempts to help her. I am cherishing every moment I have with her.

Also, I wanted to ask everyone about making Honey a shoe. Of course I need a lot of padding for her and I'll need to change it a few times a day. My problem is finding a firm/stiff/lightweight but soft material to use on the bottom of her foot. I tried Styrofoam most recently and it worked really well with helping to wrap her foot securely while keeping her foot flat but since it's not flexible and isn't able to curve around the back of her ankle, it worked itself free in no time. I've been wrapping her foot but her foot doesn't lay flat after being wrapped with the self adhering vet wrap. Thank you for any thoughts, tips, tricks, suggestions. Honey and I appreciate it

Did you figure something out?

 

[PioneerChicks]

Glad to hear Honey is acting well!

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Did you figure something out?

I ended up using a piece of Styrofoam (used the styro tray that usually holds ground beef, chicken, turkey, etc you buy in the markets heavily scrubbed and washed) to make the bottom of the "shoe". I then attached a menstrual Liner (thin pad) to it for cushion, and the Liner that wasn't attached to the styro, I put the soft part along the back of her foot and up her leg. I put a 2x2 that was heavily coated with a lot of triple antibiotic ointment, directly on her foot pad and then used 3 more 2x2's for cushion. The styro/liner shoe was then applied to her foot with some medical tape and then wrapped with self adhesive vet wrap. I'm hoping to find a better way to do this, but it's working for now.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I'm also hopeful the solid bottom of the "shoe" will help with the problem from the damaged digit bone. Honey seems to be doing well this morning. I was watching her and Tom (my Buff hen) looking around for treats and Honey is so fast! Last night I was only able to catch 6 minnows. The drakes kind of stand back and let the girls have the minnows. Honey and Tom stand by (just like dogs waiting on their treats) and wait for me to bring whatever I catch for them. As soon as the minnow hits their tub, Honey scarfs it up. Even if she's on the other side of their "dining area (too small to be a run and it's just used to get them full before lock up)" Honey still gets them before Tom has a chance. I have to hold on to Tom's and let her take them from my hand. To be big and unwell, Honey amazes me with her speed and accuracy

 

[HeatherKellyB]

We are having a nasty wet and rainy day. Her foot is going to get wet :-(

 

[KaleIAm]

We are having a nasty wet and rainy day. Her foot is going to get wet :-(

I never was able to figure out a solution for keeping bandaged feet dry.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I never was able to figure out a solution for keeping bandaged feet dry.

That makes me feel better, I guess. Not that I want anyone going through anything like this but, I don't feel like I am failing her in not correctly bandaging her infected foot. I figured that I will need to be sure that I clean her foot really well (I clean it well before wrapping but I just meant that I need to be extra diligent since it's been wet and nasty all day today), before wrapping it up tonight

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I just wanted to update the thread. Honey is still waddling along. One odd thing I noticed is that her foot seems far more tender the days that i soak and wrap her foot daily. Whenever i soak and wrap her foot every 48 hours, she seems to be able to move around more comfortably. I'm not sure what this means. One noticeable difference is that the vetwrap seems to harden almost like a cast but not as hard, if it stays on her foot longer than 24 hours. I'm not sure if that's the difference or not. I figured soaking daily and new wraps would be beneficial but I wanted to ask what you all thought. I have been soaking her foot in warm water with epsom salt and I've also started using doxycycline powder (the stuff for fish) in the water for her foot soak (and noticed an improvement, although it could be a coincidence). Then i spray her foot with vetericyn and place a thick glob of triple antibiotic ointment on 3 stacked 2x2's (any more and a buldge is created which makes it more difficult to walk). I tape the 2x2's to the bottom of her foot with medical tape and then wrap with vet wrap. I've got duct tape to place over the vet wrap but this will be started tonight.
I've also noticed that Honey seems to worsen if i don't give her vit B complex (0.5 ml am & pm). She had a bad day and the vitamin B was the only thing I didn't give her recently, so i started that again and by the next day, she was much better. It's almost like something is keeping her deficit and the 1ml makes a HUGE difference in her well-being. I certainly don't mind giving it to her especially since it's making such a significant difference.
If you have any thoughts, please share them. Thank you for your time

 

[PioneerChicks]

I just wanted to update the thread. Honey is still waddling along. One odd thing I noticed is that her foot seems far more tender the days that i soak and wrap her foot daily. Whenever i soak and wrap her foot every 48 hours, she seems to be able to move around more comfortably. I'm not sure what this means. One noticeable difference is that the vetwrap seems to harden almost like a cast but not as hard, if it stays on her foot longer than 24 hours. I'm not sure if that's the difference or not. I figured soaking daily and new wraps would be beneficial but I wanted to ask what you all thought. I have been soaking her foot in warm water with epsom salt and I've also started using doxycycline powder (the stuff for fish) in the water for her foot soak (and noticed an improvement, although it could be a coincidence). Then i spray her foot with vetericyn and place a thick glob of triple antibiotic ointment on 3 stacked 2x2's (any more and a buldge is created which makes it more difficult to walk). I tape the 2x2's to the bottom of her foot with medical tape and then wrap with vet wrap. I've got duct tape to place over the vet wrap but this will be started tonight.
I've also noticed that Honey seems to worsen if i don't give her vit B complex (0.5 ml am & pm). She had a bad day and the vitamin B was the only thing I didn't give her recently, so i started that again and by the next day, she was much better. It's almost like something is keeping her deficit and the 1ml makes a HUGE difference in her well-being. I certainly don't mind giving it to her especially since it's making such a significant difference.
If you have any thoughts, please share them. Thank you for your time

Sounds like you are an amazing duck mama! I probably wouldn't commit myself to something like that. Please tell Honey hello for me!