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Bumblefoot

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  1. m40mo
    Administrator

    one of my new girls developed a limp on Thursday, as it was late afternoon I spoted it I left her to see how she was after a nights sleep, Friday morning she was fine, by the afternoon she was limping even worse and when standing tucked the foot up under her wing, after advise I checked her foot and had it confirmed as bumblefoot
    she was taken that evening to the vets,they kept her in to cut away the infection and planed to put staples in the wound, thankfully it was spoted and treated so quickly there was hardly any infection to remove and she came home the same evening without the need for staples or stitches,
    we have to bathe her feet twice a day for a week or two in an iodine bath with warm water
    the vet advised that I not only check the feet of the other ducks but also photograph them to keep a record of them and check every now and again for signs of change, which I did this morning, the other 2 new girls were showing very early signs of it starting so all had the iodine bath you just have to make them stand in the water for 2 to 3 mins so not to big a challenge
    here is a photo of the first girls feet to maybe help people spot bumblefoot in ducks, hope its of help, by the way the total cost at the vets was only £40 and to me worth every penny

    <imgsrc="http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/427978_1929190206164_1734500763_916332_1246038165_n.jpg" />

    well as you can see the photo hasnt worked despite my doing it the way we always used to hope Sara can use her magic wand lol

    mo x
    Posted 1 year ago #

  2. Katydid
    Member

    Pleased to hear Kathy is ok, Mo. Is it all 3 of the new girls with problems?
    KT

    No holidays, too many birds.
    Posted 1 year ago #

  3. campbell ridge
    Administrator

    Sarah L
    Posted 1 year ago #

  4. campbell ridge
    Administrator

    You had put a + instead of = Mo.

    Sarah L
    Posted 1 year ago #

  5. m40mo
    Administrator

    thanks sarah

    mo x
    Posted 1 year ago #

  6. m40mo
    Administrator

    right day one of the treatment over, a 3 minute foot bath per girl morning and night, needs to be done but so stressful for the girls, and me, well I can still taste the iodine lol

    I have had my other five duck for 2 years now without a problem and feel very lucky and greatful to be able to say that so this has been quite a shock and many days of treatment to go
    I have to say the vet and others have told me the girls had this condition before I got them and its been said they could be returned, of course there is no way I could do that, not only because they are already MY girls but because im pretty sure what their fate would be if they went back, no one would spend the time or money treating a duck that they could only sell for £18 which is what I paid,
    the place I got them from seemed lovely as did the lady, I did everything I knew to do checked the feather condition and looked for clear eyes etc, it never crossed my mind to turn them upside down and check their feet, if I ever buy more ducks in the future I have learnt something new from this and the feet will be one of the first things I check...oh well one day down at least 6 to go but lol they are so worth it just really hope the treatment works x

    mo x
    Posted 1 year ago #

  7. Katydid
    Member

    Bumblefoot is something any ducks can get Mo. The most likely cause is hard standing causing rubs to the underside of the foot, Hard mud can do it if the birds are normally kept on grass.
    I had a problem last year with ducklings. They had to be kept in for 24 hours when we were away overnight and I'd forgotten to put extra straw down, their feet rubbed on the paving slabs. I learnt a valuable lesson that day. They all recovered just fine once they had something soft to walk on.

    Your girls are very lucky to have you to care for them and you are probably right about their fate if you took them back.
    KT

    No holidays, too many birds.
    Posted 1 year ago #

  8. Lorna
    Member

    Mo I have had ducks that have limped and one of the call drakes had big calluses, I put cocao butter on them and htat softened the callsus. I reckon the problem with mine is that they ahve to go across the yard and the hard ground can make the problem worse. Maybe at the farm they were on hard ground some of the time.

    Posted 1 year ago #

  9. Mama
    Member

    Mo ,You got some of yours as ducklings and then added the others .We all know bumble can happen but do beleive your new girls had it already as the vet said .It can also be caused by being on very soft ground from young and their feet are so soft that the minute you bring them home anything at all hard even a step will make it worse .Thanks for sharing and posting the pics and info too ,for new or old memebers wanting to buy ducks if only we had hind site but we don't.We all do our best in the conditions we have and NO way would you take them back .Do think though you should do a new post under a heading for all who are thinking of buying ducks or whatever as it may help people who are just starting out .I do know Mel has had dreadful probs and she won't mind me saying so and hope she comes on and sees this post .Mama

    Goose Girl
    Posted 1 year ago #

  10. m40mo
    Administrator

    thanks all, think I was just a shocked all 3 new girls having it as you can imagine, the vet did suggest they only walk on grass but that would mean confining them to a small pen and not free ranging around the garden, they have to walk over the patio from their shed before they can even get to the lawn, the garden is a mixture of patio, decking, gravel beds, soil beds and the lawn so I really hope this treatment works and their feet can toughen up to the conditions as my other 5 clearly are, I would hate to have to confine them

    He did babble on about wild ducks spending most of the day swimming so not getting it, and said get mine to swim more,well these arnt wild ducks, they have the water but I cant force them to swim more than they do now, these are foraging ducks and thats what they do for most of the day

    I have made some changes already, rough steps to the pond have been replaced by a ramp covered in the thick rubber tiles you put around childrens trampolines so hopefully no heels been caught on the edge of steps when jumping down
    the highest side of the decking (not massively high)which sometimes they do jump off now has netting along so they cant do that, but I cant rip up all my garden to create all grass
    well its made our mind up on one thing we do still really want to move to somewhere with more land for them and so after a bit of work on the place the house will be going back on the market, we took it off before christmas with Laura moving back home and bobby being so ill, just wish the housing market wasnt so awful at the moment x

    mo x
    Posted 1 year ago #

  11. Katydid
    Member

    Mo, don't worry. Their feet will harden up. It may just be that IF they came from somewhere that was all soft they reacted to a little bit of hard standing. My ducklings were as right as rain once they had time to adjust. Also you will always need some pathing.

    I also don't think the vet is right about the swimming. As you say, these are not wild ducks and would not spend most of their time on the water.

    I wish you luck with the house move. Only problem is - your family will grow you know!!

    No holidays, too many birds.
    Posted 1 year ago #

  12. m40mo
    Administrator

    I checked all 3 girls feet this morning before their iodine foot spa and happy to say they are all looking alot better already so treating the other 2 girls has been worth it

    and Katy thats the plan with the house move lol

    mo x
    Posted 1 year ago #

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