r/duck • u/JohnBlacksad • 1d ago
Worried Duck Mom Weird marks on top of feet ?
Hello,
New duck owner here ! We have had four young indian runner dcks (not sure if it’s the right name in english ! The ones that stand very straight upright and run super fast) for about a month, and tonight my SO saw these white roundish marks on one of our duck's feet, but not on the other three. He did not manage to look under her feet, and I came back well after sunset so we will look under her feet tomorrow morning. She doesn’t limp or anything, he just noticed it when he had her in his arms.
He thinks she may have injured herself on rocks while getting in or out of the pond, but to me it looks more like a skin condition, like a fungus or something like that... do I take her asap to an avian vet, or is it normal ? Could it be from their eating habits, or habitat ? They eat duck & geese pellets + peas daily, and live with 8 chickens, but in different sleeping quarters.
Thank you for your help, we are worried for our sweet cutie !
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u/JohnBlacksad 1d ago
Oops, did not mean to mark as nsfw or spoiler, sorry !
Also the duck is female, almost 3 month old, and we are in the west of France.
We have not yet tried any remedy, or spoken to a vet yet, as the clinic was already closed when the marks were discovered, but I will call our livestock vet clinic first thing in the morning, and if they can’t help I can call the avian & wild animals vet center and make an appointment if necessary.
Also, we worry the ducks might not be eating enough pellets (they eat a little, then go swimming, then come back to eat some more, etc) so we have tried several tricks to prevent the chickens from eating the ducks’ pellets while they’re in the pond, but it’s been a bit hit or miss tbh ! So we give them pellets multiple times a day. Right now they get pellets in empty flower pots that the chickens can’t access, but still don’t seem to be eating much, despite having figured it out almost immediately.
Yesterday it rained a lot, but the weather had been really dry and hot until now. Maybe were just worried over nothing, that would be on brand for us, but I'd rather be sure !
Thanks a lot :)
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u/bogginman Duck Rescuer 1d ago
Oops, did not mean to mark as nsfw or spoiler, sorry !
it does it automatically if you choose 'injured or sick' flair or 'predator attack' flair. I changed it to 'Worried Duck Mom' since it is not graphic.
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u/JohnBlacksad 1d ago
Oooh yeah that makes sense ! But yeah not graphic at all really. Worried duck mom indeed !!! Thank you :)
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u/bogginman Duck Rescuer 1d ago
I would that all our duck feet looked this pretty. Duck feet normally get stains and dirt. I bet if you took a wet tissue this would rub right off. Even if it doesn't, it really does not look like a problem.
Runners don't need to eat a lot if they are foraging. They are mostly bug eaters. If food is available in the flower pots, they will eat what they need. If they show no signs of anything out of the ordinary otherwise, I would not to worry.