What does post bumble foot surgery tissue look like?

[CoriM]

I've got 3 ducks with bumble right now and I was trying to treat them topically but it looks like I'm going to have to start another soak/treat/wrap routine myself. Can you talk more about tricide dips and how you went about that? I'm open to trying some new techniques if you found something that seems to have worked well. How much do you make/how long do you soak etc?

Once I had success with a couple ducks who just had very tiny bumbles - not the big black scabs, or any swelling, and I just used a toothbrush with iodine and gave each bumble area a scrub a couple times a day, then kept them out of water for ten minutes. The bumbles healed up, but they were very small ones.

 

[Galaxyfalcon]

Once I had success with a couple ducks who just had very tiny bumbles - not the big black scabs, or any swelling, and I just used a toothbrush with iodine and gave each bumble area a scrub a couple times a day, then kept them out of water for ten minutes. The bumbles healed up, but they were very small ones.

Okay that sounds pretty doable. 1 of the 3 ducks has very tiny bumble and the other two are more developed, I'm always surprised how quick it can flare up. I've started doing weekly (or sometimes multiple times a week) foot checks just to see how everyone is doing and try to catch some early.

Are you still treating your ducks with larger bumbles/scabs? I feel bad for my large Pekin since he is the one who keeps getting bumblefoot and he's so heavy it makes treatment hard. What does your current treatment look like for the larger sores? I'm trying to get the infection under control with my big boy at home but may need to take him to get antibiotics if he doesn't improve.

 

[CoriM]

Yes, it sure can come on and progress quickly. I'm not treating anyone for bumble now, and haven't had a new case for about a year - knock on wood! But my pekin took about 9-10 months to get back to normal. I tried just about every treatment, except tricide neo. I did use the fish antibiotics once as well. My pekin got over the active infection pretty quickly, but a brown scab just kept growing back, with healthy tissue underneath, and her foot pad was very swollen. At one point I took her to the vet and he said it was maybe some calcifications in there that would never go away. He said he could do surgery to remove that, but it could come back. In the end the swelling went down and it all returned to normal, but obviously took forever and I thought it would never get better. It can be so hard with these pekins. I currently have TWO that are lame, not bumble, and no obvious reason.

 

[Nomoreducks]

I feel your pain. I read your post to my husband and he said it sounds like I wrote it. In fact my most recent post here was titled "I need a pep talk". I've had my first ducks for 2.5 years, and just added three babies this past August. That's a challenge right now in integrating the two groups. I love the duckling phase, but have had so many issues with my ducks overall. I've learned a lot here on BYC about dealing with their needs, but the learning curve keeps going. When I was contemplating whether to get ducks or chickens I read a few books and read the claim that ducks are hardier and don't get sick as much. I beg to differ! And my avian vet really doesn't seem to be in the know about ducks, so I feel like I'm just as well off to try to figure things out on my own. I'm a bit at the place where I want to give them all the happiest and most natural life possible, in the safest way I can, but I'm not going to spend thousands running to the vet with them, because I can't and it doesn't seem to make a huge difference. I love them and spend hours and hours taking care of their needs, but there's a limit to what I can do, and I need to keep perspective. I too would love to be just at a maintenance-only phase, and I guess I get that sporadically, or I wouldn't have taken on my new babies in August. A little bit though I was a worried some of my big girls were having reproductive issues and might not last long, so I was hoping to keep the flock a good size . Once you get through this bumble you will feel much better - it's hard because it's such a daily worry and effort. We love our ducks, but I'm pretty sure my husband gets a little tired of how often I angst over them, though he's a patient listener. It can be an emotional drain sometimes, but I do think you'll eventually get to a place where things are more settled and you're feeling better!

Hi CoriM- How have you been? How have the ducklings been coming along? I hope issues have been at bay. We currently have 22 duck eggs in the incubator….I know right?? 5 days till first pip! We are re-homing three adult ducks to make way for 2 babies and sell the rest. Trying to keep things from getting out of control. You know what I’m talking about! I haven’t cried over morning coffee in a long time.

 

[Nomoreducks]

Hi All! Just wanted to update on this thread I started so long ago. We continued tricide neo dips everyday for 10 min on each duck, followed by triple antibiotic and gauze with vet wrap. This worked to clear up any beginning bumble. Afterward, When we noticed a cut on the ducks foot we would iodine and scrub with tooth brush, add a dollop of triple antibiotic and send on their way. **However, our 2 Pekins did not respond as well. After the “surgery” removing the black scabs, things appeared to get better but the black scabs came back. The tricide neo dips didn’t seam to work anymore either. At this point I had to leave them be to save my sanity. It’s now been 7 months or so and both pekins still have black scabs (that have not gotten larger) but neither duck appears to be affected. They free range around the yard with the others and are healthy egg laying ladies. So I guess as long as the scabs aren’t infected and they seam healthy we will live on! Hope our experience helps anyone out there!

 

[CoriM]

Hi CoriM- How have you been? How have the ducklings been coming along? I hope issues have been at bay. We currently have 22 duck eggs in the incubator….I know right?? 5 days till first pip! We are re-homing three adult ducks to make way for 2 babies and sell the rest. Trying to keep things from getting out of control. You know what I’m talking about! I haven’t cried over morning coffee in a long time.

Oh wow, you're so brave! Please post pictures when they hatch! I'm glad things are going smoother and you're not crying over your coffee anymore - woohoo!!! Glad your pekins seem fine - I have read a thread on here before by someone saying their birds basically live with bumble and are just fine. I guess as long as they're not limping and it's not getting worse!

I don't have any bumble right now, so I'm very thankful for that! I have a couple of rough patches on one girl that I've been doing the iodine on, but that's about it.

Of the three ducklings I had last fall I only have one left. I ordered all females but two turned out to be males, and I did not keep them due to the chaos they were causing this spring. The female of the bunch fits in great with the older girls, and the hatchery sent me replacements in March, so I'll have some closer to her age. The new babies are all female - they are close to 8 weeks and about to get moved outside. Working on assimilating them with the older girls, which would be going smoother if not for one little stinker who chases them, and my pekin in charge, who stood her ground with the last set of babies, now is afraid and runs away thanks to the damage done by my drakes. This is definitely my last set of babies, so I've enjoyed them a lot!

Thanks for updating us - it's good to hear from you !