# Duck Foot issue



## LV426 (May 13, 2008)

First off I'm not a rehabber of ducks. Normally I do tortoises and other reptiles. However over the summer I ended up getting some baby ducklings and they ended up staying with me. They have all been in good health and are now 9 months old. 

Last month one of my cayuga girls stepped on something and got a hole in her foot. I noticed her limping around so I brought her in and cleaned it up and put some antibiotic cream on it. It seemed to clear up except for a lump under the skin but she wasn't limping anymore so I thought it was ok. Well today she was sitting on my lap and I noticed a tiny drop of blood so I flipped her over to look at her foot and there was what seemed to be a scab. So I pulled at it to see if there was a huge cut and this big chunk of fiberous cyst like stuff came off. I assume at this point she had/has bumblefoot? Underneath was pink skin and just the edges of the hole were bleeding. So I came in and cleaned and flushed out the hole. it's about the size of a pea but only about 1/8 of an inch deep. I trimmed off the excess dead skin and didn't see any puss or infection in the wound. There was no skin to cover it back up so there was a gaping hole and I was worried about infection. I've packed the wound with antibiotic cream and placed a pad of duoderm over it. It's such a pain to keep duck's feet clean so she's now inside on a straw bedding with a bucket to drink from. Unfortunately my local vet won't see ducks and I don't have a duck vet near me so I was hoping maybe someone could tell me if what I have done will work or if I need to do anything further. I can give her antibiotics, I have baytril, doxycycline, and tetracycline on hand if I can give her that. She doesn't seem to be suffering any ill effects. She's a little light but I chalked that up to her excessive egg laying and I upped her feed. Her plumage is in good condition, she's eating and drinking well. I feed them all mazuri waterfowl diet and they are free range to forage in the yard. 

Thanks for any advice you can give.


----------



## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

The fibrous piece of junk you pulled out is bird pus. It's thick with more the consistency of cottage cheese. I had a similar thing happen with a beloved hen. Every other night I cleaned out the wound on her foot, put antibiotic cream, from the vet, inside the wound and bandaged her up. She was also on baytril. In her case it was difficult to clear up because of her weight [ she was a friar that was never destined to be fried]. It never did clear up and that routine continued until she passed a year later.
It is critical you keep the wound clean and check it at least every other day and clean it out. Do you have a vet that will sell you the appropriate antibiotic cream? I would also start the duck on baytril.
I doubt your duck is as heavy as Matilda. She weighed 15 pounds, which really complicated her recovery. I would expect your duck will make a full recovery.


----------



## LV426 (May 13, 2008)

Yes I can get the antibiotics. Since I work with reptiles I can pretty much call in and tell my vet what I need and he gets it for me. I have injectables and oral meds so that's not a problem. I pretty much do daily maintenance on wound care for my critters but tortoises are easier to keep clean than duck feet. Is there anything I need to look out for in particular when I clean the wound that will indicate that she needs more aggressive treatment? I don't want to let things get too far out of hand.

Also the thing that came out of her foot wasn't cheese like it was hard like a rock. Once it was removed there was no other secretions in the wound, just a small amount of blood. I suppose it could have been hardened pus. 

She's also not a heavy duck, not like my Pekin. She's probably about 4.5-5 lbs? That's guessing of course since I don't have a scale for her.


----------



## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Keep checking for pus. If you find some, clean it out. Because it's thick, it won't drain like human pus would, so you need to clean it out. How much does the duck weigh?


----------



## LV426 (May 13, 2008)

Here are some really bad pictures of her foot but she doesn't really like to have a picture of her foot taken. She thinks it shows a bad side of her.


----------



## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Poor ducky. Tell her I think she is quite lovely.
Tell me what you have in baytril.


----------



## LV426 (May 13, 2008)

I've got Baytril in Injectable Solution 2.27% and 2.5% Oral Solution.
I also have 100mg tablets.


----------



## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Looks like you have done a great job in treating your lovely duck. Ditto to what Charis has posted.

The Baytril dose is 15 mg per kg of weight twice per day. You can use any of what you have that is easy for you, but I wouldn't give injections .. give either the tablet form or the oral form.

Terry


----------



## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

The injections cause brusing.


----------



## LV426 (May 13, 2008)

It also tends to be quite painful which is why I don't prefer its use but sometimes injectable is better. 

Thanks for the assistance. I will keep treating her and see how she does.


----------



## LV426 (May 13, 2008)

I just wanted to let you know that B's foot cleared up and she's doing fine. The tissue is no longer hard and the hole has sealed up. It looks like she's recovered completely. Thanks for all your help.


----------



## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Fabulous news!!!


----------

