A duck’s feet and legs are even more delicate than those of a chicken, making them susceptible to injury and infection. One of the most common hind limb issues that duck owners face is bumblefoot. Despite the innocent-sounding name, bumblefoot is a serious poultry disease that can lead to discomfort, loss of function, and even death.
Fortunately, bumblefoot is an easy disease to spot and cure. Here, we’re going to go over how to treat bumblefoot in ducks and how to prevent future issues in your flock.
What is Bumblefoot?
Bumblefoot is easy to spot around the pad of your duck’s foot. It starts as an inflamed cut or abrasion, often covered in a dark scab. If left untreated, the affected area will continue to swell until there is a noticeable growth.
Any bulbous lumps around a duck’s toes or around the heel may indicate the presence of bumblefoot in the area. You don’t often see lesions limited to webbed skin, but they may spread into the area.
Causes of Bumblefoot in Ducks
Bumblefoot occurs when a duck cuts or injures the soft pad of its foot. It only takes a minor lesion or abrasion to invite in opportunistic bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus. Birds can cut their feet while foraging on rocks, loose nails, wire, and more lying around their pen. Even something as simple as a splinter can invite infection.
A high jump and a hard landing can also cause enough damage to lead to bumblefoot, especially in heavier breeds. It stresses the legs and feet while potentially causing tears and abrasions in footpads.
As bacteria invade the wound site, it begins to swell, sometimes filling with fluid to make walking painful. Over time, the infection can spread from the foot to other parts of the body, often with deadly results.
How Do I Know If My Duck Has Bumblefoot?
Bumblefoot is fairly easy to spot in ducks, even for novice owners. As long as you’re vigilant, you can usually catch infections before they cause long-term damage to your duck or spread within the body.
Signs of Bumblefoot in Ducks
Often, the first sign of bumblefoot that owners notice in their ducks is behavioral changes. Bumblefoot is a painful condition, and it can affect the way a duck walks. It might display lameness or a limp early on in the progression. With severe bumblefoot, ducks may become lethargic and stop foraging or exploring.
Other signs of early stage bumblefoot in ducks can include a hardened abscess or boil on the pad of the foot. These often occur in cases where a foreign object such as a splinter enters the skin. However, hard boils can also show up at the site of infected cuts and abrasions.
There will be swelling and fluid buildup at the site of the infection, which is often around the duck’s toe or heel area. You may also see a dark, hardened scab around the offending cut or lesion.
Swelling becomes progressively worse if the condition is allowed to develop without intervention or treatment. Eventually, sites become so large and inflamed that the duck can no longer place weight on the area.
How Do You Prevent Bumblefoot?
Unfortunately, it’s not always possible to prevent bumblefoot in ducks. The skin of their feet is incredibly delicate, and it’s easy for birds to damage the pads during routine foraging. However, you can help to reduce the likelihood of cuts and lesions by removing all sharp objects such as rocks, nails, and even sticks from your flock’s living and foraging areas.
Bumblefoot can also result from too high a jump to and from a duck’s roost. Keeping their living quarters close to the ground helps to protect duck feet from the stress of a hard landing. If you prefer to keep your flock’s coop off the ground, consider adding a ramp or stepping stone to make it easier for ducks to get up and down without damaging their feet.
How to Cure Bumblefoot in Ducks
Once you notice the signs of bumblefoot in your duck, it’s important to act fast. The disease can progress quickly and may end up proving fatal if left untreated. Read on to discover how to treat bumblefoot in ducks.
Antibiotic Treatments
As a bacterial infection, the most common treatment for bumblefoot is antibiotics. Vets may prescribe medications such as Baytril, clindamycin, doxycycline, amoxicillin, or another common antibiotic. Most of these are also human medicines that you can find at your local pharmacy.
If you decide to treat bumblefoot with antibiotics, keep in mind that it will kill good as well as bad bacteria. To maintain gut health during treatment, it’s a good idea to give your birds probiotics. You can find specially formulated options at pet or feed stores, or you can supplement your duck’s diet with probiotic yogurt.
Bumblefoot Natural Treatment
Antibiotics can carry a whole host of side effects for sensitive birds, and so many owners opt to treat their flock naturally. Essential oils such as oregano, lavender, and rosemary have antibacterial properties that can help treat early stage bumblefoot in ducks at the site of the infection. Many owners also treat the site topically using colloidal silver.
Treating Bumblefoot With Drawing Salve
Another safe and natural way that poultry owners treat bumblefoot is by using a drawing salve. Material such as charcoal paste can work to draw out small objects under the skin’s surface. A drawing salve can be particularly useful in early bumblefoot cases caused by splinters or other foreign items.
Duck Bumblefoot Surgery
In cases of severe bumblefoot, your duck may require surgical intervention. Your vet can do this, or you can perform the surgery at home. If you choose to treat the bumblefoot yourself, it’s important to know how to do so safely.
First, soak the affected foot in warm water to soften the skin and scab. Adding Epsom salts can help to make skin even more supple. Once it’s soft enough, gently scrape or tweeze the scab away. Squeeze all pus from the infected area until clean, lancing if necessary. Once you finish, wash the area with a diluted iodine solution.
After surgery, your duck will need time to recover. You should cover the area and keep your bird away from the water. One of the best ways to safely bandage a healing foot is by using duck booties for bumblefoot.
What Happens If You Don’t Treat Bumblefoot
The best way to combat a case of bumblefoot is to treat it as early as possible. However, many owners wonder what the worst-case scenario is if they let the infection play out. Here, we’re going to discuss what happens when you let bumblefoot run its course.
Can Bumblefoot Heal On Its Own in Ducks?
In some instances, healthy ducks can ward off a case of bumblefoot themselves. Their immune system may be healthy enough to heal over tiny cuts before any infection is able to take hold. In these cases, the issue often resolves itself before a duck’s owner is any the wiser.
Is Bumblefoot Fatal?
Unfortunately, in most cases where bumblefoot is left untreated, it leads to lifelong complications and eventually death. The infection can spread from the initial site and to the bloodstream, causing osteomyelitis in the tendons and joints, tenosynovitis, and septicemia. The best way to ensure that your ducks will live a long and healthy life is to treat cases of bumblefoot as soon as possible.
In Conclusion
As a backyard poultry owner, it’s important to know how to treat bumblefoot in ducks. It’s a fairly common issue that’s easier to cure the earlier it’s spotted. With due diligence and proper care, you can keep your flock healthy, happy, and free of bumblefoot.