swollen joint with fever

[janetsally]

I have a peeking duck that was returned to me 3 months ago, that apparently attacked by other ducks. I think it was something different, but thats what i was told. I received him back with his butt tails missing, one web foot has some of the web missing, and he limbs badly. His joint at the top is swollen and very warm. I started attibiotics, but nothing seems to be working. Any help? My vet doesnt do ducks, and there are no vets for ducks

[Charis]

Where do you live and I'll try to find you someone near by?
What antibiotic are you using and how much?
Can you post a picture?

[plamenh]

If it is joint injury AB treatment won't help. I would immobilize limb (carefully thare not to cut blood circulation) start her on Arnica pills and keep her closed in semi-dark quiet space.
It is possible that she has foreign object (thorn, splint...) in the leg, sprained joint or some disease such as salmonella. Vet should be able to help more.

[TAWhatley]

We'll try to help you as best we can here, but you really need to be going to duckrescuenet.org in addition to us.

I also rescue ducks and at first thought would say there is an infection in that leg that has become septic arthritis (the severely swollen joint). This is something that can be extremely difficult to cure in ducks. Baytril or equivalent is often the drug of choice, but we really need to have a better idea of what is going on.

As Charis posted, pictures would be extremely helpful as would be knowing where you are located.

Terry

[alhowiriny]

Butt tails will grow back provided the butt is safe.

Missing web foot won't heal back if its wide, but can be fixed (stitched) if its medium, or will heal from it self if its small. you want to clean the foot with soapy water and disinfect it and applying an AB ointment on it (dialy for a week).

Limping can be caused by several incidents, the most are:
1- Bacterial infection, in this case it will feel warm to the touch and visibly swollen but the bird will still be able to use it (with limping). Terry's advice is excellent in this case and AB might help unless the joint feels soft (filled with fluids) it needs to be drained, or risk the infection of the whole leg's bone or worse systemic infection (if the bird gets a fever).

2- Physically injured, from dislocated joint, twisted leg or slipped tendon in this case it will feel warm if its inflamed but rarely with fluid & you can tell from the leg (if compared with the other one) its abnormally positioned/shaped, plamenh's advice is excellent if dislocated, but can't be cured if slipped/twisted.


Check under the foot pad any infection? scabs?

BTW, i raise ducks & they can be pretty violent sometimes (specially during breeding or mating seasons).