Bumblefoot is an infection in the pad of your bird's foot. A very minor cut or abrasion in the pad or toes can lead to this condition.
The best way to prevent it is to not have any sharp rocks, sticks, nails, lumber or metal in your duck's pen. If you do, they will find it.
Unless the duck is able to fight off the infection, it often leads to a large, swollen, bulbous growth on the bottom of their foot.
It is obviously painful and cumbersome for the bird. If you catch it early, you can often provide antibiotics and heal it.
However, blood flow to the feet of a duck is not great and getting adequate amounts of antibiotic to the infected spot is difficult.
Different types of antibiotic have been used to cure the problem: 50-100 mg of clindamycin, doxycycline, lincomycen or
doxycycline per day, or 250 mg of amoxicillin per day. Of course it is best to consult with a veterinarian first.
If antibiotics alone to do not cure the problem, you or your vet will need to lance and remove all the infected pus in the center of the growth.
Wash and disinfect the foot with a diluted iodine solution. Make an incision with a sharp scalpel and press out all the pus.
Then you must flush out all the remaining pus with your diluted iodine solution.
Put a pad over the incision, and then try to keep pressure off the incision with a "cast" or a cut up tennis ball over the foot.
Keep the bird out of swimming water until it is healed. Continue the antibiotics until the wound is completely healed.
Any time you are administering antibiotics, it is good to also administer probiotics during and after the antibiotic use.
Probiotics are good bacteria that are required for proper digestion and health. As the antibiotics may kill these, it is good to replace them.
Check at your local feed store or use yogurt, which is full of probiotics.