Were at a loss here...

[Haunted55]

Were at a loss here. We have had such a tough run with these boys I just don’t know what to do anymore and I seriously regret getting these ducks.
Ill try to keep this long story short….
We have 4 male Peking ducks that are almost 2yrs old. Three of them from the start have singled one (Rubber) out, bullied him to the point of a serious leg injury/infection which kept him inside with us for almost a year. He is now back outside but in his own separate area. The other three have now ganged up on eachother to the point that they are all limping with leg injuries, one (Mighty)has a very swolen –not broken-leg is now in with Rubber who does not bother him. Mighty is on Metacam to help with the leg.
Our other issue is with their feet…. I really don’t get this “bumble foot” and how else to prevent it other than laying down pillows & clouds for them to walk on. The interior and exterior of their pen has a THICK layer of soft dry straw down which we change out frequently, their pen is never “dirty”. Before we just had the straw inside with sand outside but because they were having feet issues we changed to straw all over. When we let them out to roam they are in the yard…in the soft grass. All of them have callus like knots on the bottom of their feet. Poor Mighty has one that is cracked (on the other leg) and very sore for him to walk on so needless to say he is pretty much immobile. Last year we purchased shoes for them but they will not keep them on.
We are absolutely dumfounded by their aggressive behavior and the issues we have had and are still having with their feet. We really don’t know what else to do and cannot afford to keep running them back and forth to the vet, Rubbers bill alone was about 2k so far.
Why are their feet so sensitive? How do ducks out in the wild manage? I don’t know how else to prevent this. Any advise yall could give us would be very much appreciated. Thank you

Were at a loss here. We have had such a tough run with these boys I just don’t know what to do anymore and I seriously regret getting these ducks.
Ill try to keep this long story short….
We have 4 male Peking ducks that are almost 2yrs old. Three of them from the start have singled one (Rubber) out, bullied him to the point of a serious leg injury/infection which kept him inside with us for almost a year. He is now back outside but in his own separate area. The other three have now ganged up on eachother to the point that they are all limping with leg injuries, one (Mighty)has a very swolen –not broken-leg is now in with Rubber who does not bother him. Mighty is on Metacam to help with the leg.
Our other issue is with their feet…. I really don’t get this “bumble foot” and how else to prevent it other than laying down pillows & clouds for them to walk on. The interior and exterior of their pen has a THICK layer of soft dry straw down which we change out frequently, their pen is never “dirty”. Before we just had the straw inside with sand outside but because they were having feet issues we changed to straw all over. When we let them out to roam they are in the yard…in the soft grass. All of them have callus like knots on the bottom of their feet. Poor Mighty has one that is cracked (on the other leg) and very sore for him to walk on so needless to say he is pretty much immobile. Last year we purchased shoes for them but they will not keep them on.
We are absolutely dumfounded by their aggressive behavior and the issues we have had and are still having with their feet. We really don’t know what else to do and cannot afford to keep running them back and forth to the vet, Rubbers bill alone was about 2k so far.
Why are their feet so sensitive? How do ducks out in the wild manage? I don’t know how else to prevent this. Any advise yall could give us would be very much appreciated. Thank you

Okay, I'm a day late and a dollar short and a lot of what I have to say may have been addressed already but please bear with me.

One thing all of us forget is that bumbles are usually caused by Staph and Staph can be highly contagious under the right circumstances. An open sore or wound, scratched skin, lowered immune system...a lot of different things can cause trouble. Having the straw down is great, unless you have any of the afore mentioned issues going on. The Staph can live on the surface of the straw and reinfect or infect one of the birds when they are walking or lying on it. It's just the way it is. Now not sure if it has been mentioned or not, as I haven't read the whole thread, you need decolorized iodine to treat the wounds. Another thing you might want to think about is wood ash or barn lime to sprinkle on top of the straw. This will help kill the Staph bacteria on it and along with the iodine should get this gone once and for all.

 

[davekayse62]

I wish I caught this sooner. I wish I caught this sooner.... I am horrified that this got to this point. The vet took xrays and called me with the news, the bumble has eaten away at the bone, the toe will need to be amputated. Nothing can be done to the toe until the other leg heals. Blood test came back with extremely high white cell count (obviously shows a sever infection) and he is anemic. Im devastated to say but we have thought this through and financially we are exhausted (I got ripped a new one for spending as much as I did the other day - which ended up being 800 not 900, expensive regardless) , we just don't have the means to continue him down the long hard road of a questionable recovery . Financials aside, if he survives the infection and antibiotic treatment we would have to wait to do the amputation until the other leg fully heals so he can support himself on it. Then there is risk of infection at the amputation site and if he is supporting himself on just one leg he is compromised further, he could reinjure the leg and or then cause another bumble to form from the pressure. And then...if he survived all of that will he ever be able to walk without pain?
I burst into tears when I saw the xrays. Im so heartbroken. Im so sorry Mighty, im so so sorry.

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

Oh Dave, I'm so so sorry. I think that by posting the X-ray pictures and by sharing your experience, you help others. I must share honestly that it would be outside my abilities to spend that kind of $ on my ducks, assuming we are talking US Dollars. And then one must consider the pain threshold and what the Vet has told you is a reasonable expectation for your duck's treatment and recovery. Once again, I am sorry this has happened and I thank you for sharing your experience.

 

[Miss Lydia]

So very sorry..

 

[Amiga]

 

[veronicasmom]

I am so sorry. Please stop beating yourself up. Many of us have been in some form of the same situation you are in. Please try to forgive yourself, he already has. Every once in a while stuff happens that we cannot not control, because we don't have the knowledge or funds. I know you are hurting, but doing the right thing now is what is important. I hope you understand what I am trying to say. Please accept my deepest condolences and I hope your heart heals soon.

 

[Haunted55]

I am so very sorry about the situation you had to face here. I wish it could have been otherwise. I would like to give you some information that may help with the sadness and grief over this. Pekins were bred to be meat birds and as such, have issues inherent with all creatures that are 'designed' to provide a product that gives a larger ratio of meat. It is because of this, their legs take a real beating during their lifetime. Even without the Bumbles and subsequent systemic infection, it is very possible that leg problems would have shown up anyways. Now you can beat yourself up over this, we all do at some point when we invite these creatures to share our lives, or you can accept that your part in this wasn't as big as it seems to be now. Truth...I also have Pekins, both Grand and regular and they have problems and I have had to process a few of them because of this. It just is.

I know this doesn't help much right now and probably won't for a bit, but soon you will know that you did all that you could do at the time and that is all any of us can be expected to do in the end.