Blanche has always been a little "extra waddley" and slower than the other ducks in our flock. But last week I noticed that she was just sitting/laying and not slurping in puddles or chasing bugs like everyone else, and often left behind when they moved on to new spots around the yard. Upon further inspection, I saw that she had a big ol sore on her foot.
At that point I separated her and started 2x daily 15-min soaks in epsom salts. I got the black scab off of her pad and some off the toe. I'm not sure the toe is bumblefoot -- it looks like the nail got torn off at some point, and when I try to remove the black "scab" it doesn't remove, just bleeds. The pad did not have a "kernel" in it, it was already flattened and floppy when I got to it and from the after picture seems to be doing pretty well. After the soak, I apply antiseptic spray to the foot and a piece of gauze, and then wrap the foot in vet wrap. She doesn't seem to mind it too much.
My concern now is that the entire foot including the webbing feels warm to the touch even after soaking in cool water, but there's no sign of infection or discoloration. She also isn't really eating much, if anything. She even ignored the mealworms I put on her food. I've got her isolated in a meat bird tractor that just happens to be empty right now, but it's near her friends and they stay fairly close by and check on her regularly. Depressed? I'm thinking about letting her out for a while after work this evening, especially since there doesn't seem to be any open sores.
Am I handling this correctly? What else can/should I be doing? Is the toe thing something I should be concerned about and soak/cut at more?
Looks like bumblefoot, to me? But, I'm still relatively new to this, and haven't had to worry about it with any of our critters (bunnies or poultry), yet. I've researched it, just in case, but that's all.
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Ouch! Poor Blanche. It looks like you've done a good job cleaning it out. I'm no expert, as like Carla, I've only read about dealing with bumblefoot. I have however dealt with minor staph infections on myself (bumblefoot is usually a staph infection). Maybe you could add an activated charcoal poultice to what you're already doing? Since you're already wrapping her foot, all you'd have to do is mix activated charcoal with a small amount of water to a good consistency, put it on the gauze (not in the wound itself) and wrap it like you have been with vet wrap. This will help pull out and kill any bacteria that may still be in there. I would think that would be a lot gentler than cutting into the foot trying to get it out. But again I'm no expert. Here's a video showing how to make the poultice, if you decide to go that route:
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