The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: Smee on January 06, 2020, 02:32:49 pm
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Hi, any advice gratefully received. One of my ducks has been lame for a while. The pads on both feet are swollen but not with any black scabs. I've tried doing the soaking with Epsom salts, ointment and vet wrap thinking it was bumblefoot starting but no improvement. I've asked at our vets but they dont seem to be very up on poultry. She's eating ok but just cant get around at all well..using her wings to support. I'm getting a bit desperate now on what to do next? I've worked her with vermx.
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I remember reading somewhere that ducks can go off their legs because of a worm burden. Verm-X isn't a proper wormer- you could try Flubenvet?
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The fact that here pads are swollen could be a sign of TB. I have only seen it in hens, but what you have described is typical. They get what looks like bumblefoot and can only walk if supported by their wings. They gradually get weaker and die after a long illness. Have you tried lifting her? Another classic sign is that they lose weight, which often goes unnoticed under the feathers. Another sign is that the droppings take on a distinctive odour and stick to the vent more than is natural.
I have kept poultry since I was 5 and in my youth have nursed sick birds - sometimes for months. But I've always found that where they go off their feet as you have described, and also where they have lost a lot of weight - they never recover. So depending on how bad she is, I would consider putting her to sleep to prevent further possible infection to the rest.
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Than you for the replies. I eventually found a specialist avian vet (expensive!) to have a look at her and he thinks its something to do with her hip joint, definitely not bumble foot. So she's on metacam now but yes I suspect the outcome will be as you described... :( but we'll see. You have to try, dont you.... she's eating well and drinking.