Need HELP for flock of sickies!!!

[Casastash]

so my friend finally took the dive into birds and she got bit... hard

The person insisted she drop them off and when they came my friend thought they looked sick. 14 assorted chickens and 2 Muscovys. She sent pics and I told her she had 2 drakes.

She didn’t want the drakes so I came over today to get them and OMFG. All the chickens have SEVERE scaly leg mites. She also got 8 Roos and 4 hens 1 is limping due to an ingrown toe nail... ( how the f does a chickens toe nail get so long it curls!!! But anyways) and the drakes are missing most feathers.

So I brought 2 drakes home and 2 silkie x Roos.... we couldn’t catch the rest... but I did tell her to treat !

I dusted all of them in DE because eewww and I aware I wasn’t too careful. I plan on putting Vick’s on the legs.

I usually but 1CC of Noromycin in water of sick chickens I bring home but I don’t know if it’s safe for ducks. I also don’t know if the ducks need to be quarantined or not... they look terrible!

Our flock comes from 1 reputable duck breeder so I’ve never had to quarantine...

Sorry about the quality of pictures these poor things have moved twice in 2 days and are stressed.

Any advice let me know!!!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

That's a shame that all came with problems and your friend got burned.

Yes, they have SLM so giving a good soak in soapy water, scrub the legs with a soft brush to help loosen the debris and application of ointment of choice is a good way to go.

As for DE, we all have our opinion of that, personally I do not feel it is effective in treating an active infestation. Since you are in Canada, you have different products available to you so I will defer to a couple of educational posts by @Wickedchicken6
POST#3 https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/help-we-have-mites.1192577/#post-18855450
POST# 25 https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-natural-product.1208443/page-3#post-19210195

For the toenails, trim a little at a time to get those back in shape.

Since the history of these birds are unknown, getting a fecal float to check for worms is always a good idea.
Parasites can be very hard on chickens, so they would also benefit from extra protein and added vitamins. Again, wickedchicken6 has a post about "stress aid" that you may be able to find - it looks like something that would be good to add to their water for a few days in a row, then once a week until they get back in shape. POST#34https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/brawl-in-the-hen-house-hen-down-but-not-out-advice-wanted.1216900/page-4

Hopefully you have space to keep these birds separate from your flock so you can observe a quarantine period (I would go with 30days).

As for the ducks, I don't know much about them, so will have to leave suggestions of their care to others. @casportpony @Miss Lydia @Ravynscroft

 

[Casastash]

Thank you! My friend is VERY turned off by the whole chicken thing now so I’m hoping once we mend them all up she will enjoy it

:/

DE is a protocol I use on all new birds in my flock but these guys will also be getting ivomec

Thankfully I have a barn that I can separate them in... how long should you treat scaly leg? My birds have never had it.

Is it transmitted through direct contact? Just wondering if I should keep my birds out of the barn entirely not just the stall they are in...

I am desperately trying to find info on what could be going on with these ducks feathers... searches on BYC haven’t come up!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you! My friend is VERY turned off by the whole chicken thing now so I’m hoping once we mend them all up she will enjoy it

:/

DE is a protocol I use on all new birds in my flock but these guys will also be getting ivomec

Thankfully I have a barn that I can separate them in... how long should you treat scaly leg? My birds have never had it.

Is it transmitted through direct contact? Just wondering if I should keep my birds out of the barn entirely not just the stall they are in...

I am desperately trying to find info on what could be going on with these ducks feathers... searches on BYC haven’t come up!

Hopefully the knowledgeable duck ladies will chime in with some suggestions when they come online.

Ivomec is good for SLM and any mites/lice they may have. Yes, SLM can be transmitted to other chickens, so it's best to wait until these poor things are healing up before they interact with your flock.

To be honest, I would keep your existing flock completely away from these new birds so you can monitor them for any other illness that may arise. If they have something more serious like a respiratory disease, then the stress they have endured, will hopefully present itself. Adult birds may also never show symptoms but can be carrier and shed the illness in dust/dander as well. Some people have very good success with bringing in adults no problems, but sometimes birds can be sick and pass the illness to an existing flock.

I'm sorry your friend had this bad experience. If these turn out to be sick or otherwise don't work out for her, then starting over with chicks may bring her around.

 

[Ravynscroft]

Drakes look like they have been fighting, missing chest feathers is a sign of that.... they fight chest to chest and grab with their bills to force the other back and down, that usually results in clumps of chest feathers being removed...

Since the seller dumped off 2 drakes that weren't wanted in the sale, most likely she had a lot more... if these 2 don't fight each other now that they're away from the others, then feathers should grow back in eventually... just keep an eye on them for scuffling...

I would also treat them for parasites as well... external and internal, for the whole bunch... might even need to run a course on your existing flock, just to be safe... clean and treat the stall they're using, and I would even consider doing the whole barn once everyone is treated...

 

[Casastash]

Drakes look like they have been fighting, missing chest feathers is a sign of that.... they fight chest to chest and grab with their bills to force the other back and down, that usually results in clumps of chest feathers being removed...

Since the seller dumped off 2 drakes that weren't wanted in the sale, most likely she had a lot more... if these 2 don't fight each other now that they're away from the others, then feathers should grow back in eventually... just keep an eye on them for scuffling...

I would also treat them for parasites as well... external and internal, for the whole bunch... might even need to run a course on your existing flock, just to be safe... clean and treat the stall they're using, and I would even consider doing the whole barn once everyone is treated...

I think we will rehome one of the drakes and we are going to pick up three hens for the other one. I have a trio already and I love my drake so one of the new comers has to go....

The large chocolate drake has had a bath... and is VERY soggy! He also has caruncles on the back of his head so I suspect you are right about fighting.

Gaaaa why do I get myself in these messes :/