Help! Duck with swollen toe!

[Bryntee]

Yesterday I noticed my black Swedish wasn't walking well and kept holding up one leg. I picked her up and noticed the middle toe on the one foot is completely swollen from top to bottom and a little on the side where the webbing is. I don't know know technical terms so forgive me if I sound like a dumby lol. But I tried putting her back down gently and she just collapsed and laid there. she had a cut there probly a couple months ago but I cleaned it up and put a bandaid on it and she never had any problems since. Could there be an infection now? Or could she have just reinjured the toe?

 

[iwiw60]

Almost sounds like the beginning of bumblefoot. Check this out in case it is:

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/search?q=bumblefoot



Good luck...keep us updated!

 

[Bryntee]

the dark spot towards the bottom kinda looks like where the cut was.

 

[Bryntee]

Took Charlie to the vet almost a week ago. She's been on pain reliever and antibiotics for 7 outta 10 days. We were hoping the swelling would go down with a 10 day round but it doesn't seem to be doing much. Very hard to get the full dose if pills down her tho! She's very clever and can pick the pills outta the treats lol. Baytril is the antibiotic. They are going to try finding a liquid antibiotic I can try before surgery being an option. I'm nervous for the surgery tho! I don't want to lose her but I also don't want her to lose her foot/leg if the infection spreads to her bone. Any thoughts, suggestions, etc??

 

[Amiga]

A few thoughts. The cut could have introduced bacteria that eventually caused an infection. Or maybe not.

That toe does not look like it needs to be cut, to me, but I am not a vet.

Duramycin, I am told, is good at getting to the extremities (like feet and toes). Ask if that might be used in this case instead of the Baytril. The Baytril is a gold standard for antibiotics, so I am not saying it is not good. It also has a reputation for being very hard on the digestive system. So at least get some probiotics to help with that.

Soaking in Epsom salt (in a small flat-bottomed bowl, or using compresses because E.s. is a laxative, don't let the duck ingest it), then following with either a few drops of clear iodine (emphasis on the clear), letting that dry, then soaking again three to five days later is something that some of our members have tried with good success.

I have so far used the soaks followed with triple antibiotic (no painkiller), and that works - slowly, but it works - without cutting.

Here is how Haunted55 found out about the clear iodine.

On July 1st, I found one of my Pekin ducks with what I would consider a bad case of Bumblefoot. Both feet were involved and I'm ashamed to say, the only way I found it was she was limping. One foot had 7 and the other had 3. I was able to grab her and bring her into the house and put her into a warm bath to clean and soak. Two water changes later and softened feet, all I had time to do was paint the bumbles with colorless iodine, grabbed the wrong stuff, and put her into a dog crate in my house until I could get everything ready to operate and get them gone. Did I mention the thought of this scared me half to death?

Sad to say it took 6 days before i was able to get everything together and someone to help out with the 'cure'. The following pictures are what we found after the bath we gave before the planned surgery to remove these things.




















As can be seen, there really wasn't much to operate on, even though I was prepared to do just that. No matter how much squeezing or prodding or soaking, there just wasn't anything more to come out, it was all on the scabs that were covering the sores. The swelling was down from the 'marbles' I saw when I first found them. I poured betadine over the ones I had opened and painted the ones that I hadn't again with the iodine and put her back into her crate with clean bedding.

the next pictures are of the same Pekin and anothe duck, Dottie the Mallard, who was also found limping.












As can be seen in the first two pictures, the bumbles have been dramatically reduced on the Pekin with just the iodine application and the smaller ones totally gone. The last four pictures are of the Mallard who is still under going the iodine applications.

As can be seen, this is how the left and right foot look tonight on the Pekin duck. The heels being the worst are still showing infection and need for more treatment. tomorrow, I will again give a bath and pull/cut out the scabbing and treat with straight iodine this time. These spots are now flat or as flat as they should be considering the part of the foot they are on. I will still touch up the places that had the spots before as well.

 

[Bryntee]

The swelling from the pic I took that you see is way worse now. Its very swollen! And tonight when I was looking at the scab on her toe she kicked and it got caught on my nail and flung off. Now there's a hole. I put a band-aid on it and bandage taped it until I can get to my mother-in-laws for better first-aid items in the morning lol. Nothing came out of the hole tho. Thanks for the info I will be sure to use it! Also the vet said she was certain this is not bumble foot and just an infection. :S idk.

 

[Amiga]

IDK either, since bumblefoot is by definition an infection . . . but I suppose some might say bumblefoot is a lump of pus, and there might be infections without lumps of pus . . . .

What did the hole look like? Pink inside? Bloody?

Don't mean to be gross, just trying to learn more about this kind of thing so we can help others.

 

[Bryntee]

here is her foot this morning.

 

[Bryntee]

The hole was bigger yesterday when it opened up but now it seems to be closing. The hole looked like it was more red towards the way bottom inside. Nothing came out except just a small bit of clear liquid. So confusing lol I have no clue what's up with it!

 

[Amiga]

The clear fluid may have been lymph, it sounds to me like it is healing up.

I would stick with the antibiotics from the vet, I would also soak the foot once or twice a day in Epsom salt water (don't let her drink it, it is a laxative, I try to write that whenever I mention E.s.). And then maybe a drop of iodine afterward, or a dab of triple antibiotic ointment, or a squirt of Vetericyn, since she is on oral antibiotics.