Duck Fleas and Ticks?

[2duckmom]

Can ducks get fleas and ticks? My ducks spend time in some tall grass on my property, so I'm worried about ticks. If they are susceptible, do you give them flea and tick medication? Thanks in advance for your input!

 

[Amiga]

I have not had any ducks with fleas or ticks. My vet says their body temperature is too high for fleas. They can get mites, but it is not common.

Do your ducks have somewhere they can swim frequently, like, several times a day?

 

[Going Quackers]

Never had a problem with them.. mine are in more than tall grass lol that said as Amiga said ensure the ducks have bathing access, most have minimal problems with pests of this nature one real plus with ducks as a whole!

 

[localife]

They are probably more likely to eat the ticks, than get them on their bodies. I have chickens and ducks in tick infested grass and none of them have ever had a tick -- in fact, that's part of why I keep them there, as I am allergic to tick bites!

 

[Orca5094]

Like everyone has said, ducks don't often have problems with external parasites due to how often they bathe and preen. They just eat any bugs right off of their feathers before they can attach or create a problem. They do sometimes get feather lice though, but that's more often with birds who don't preen or bath themselves well. So just check periodically for that and you're good to go. No need for any flea/tick preventatives.

Having said that, I did have one duckling last year who had a tick attached near her eye. She has a special leg that doesn't work quite right so she was unable to preen and scratch that side of her face properly, which is why it was able to attach there. But most ducks are able to preen themselves very well all over and can prevent things like that from happening.

 

[2duckmom]

Thank you all! My ducks swim and preen frequently, so it sounds like I shouldn't worry about it! Good to know!

 

[kateblondeau]

I recently gotten into the interest of ducks , so I bought 10 welsh ducks , one wasn't feeling very well one morning so I brought him in with me , 2 months of age, the duck was not lifting its head ,had a seizer and died in my hands .. the next morning another was not running from me lol so I figured something was off , she now doesn't run at all , she still eats and is perky but last night as I had her in bed with me in a tin bucket I noticed the batch on her back that had gotten worse so I assume she has mites as to what it appears to look like , she is losing feathers, now the one that died a two days ago did not have any feather loss and appeared to look heathy I looked up what it could of been and I realized I had bought one bad of medicated turkey food for my turkeys as to one had an eye infection , I assume they had gotten into the turkey food as I was not aware of the dangers of medicated food and ducks.. I now make sure the turkey food is out of reach from the ducks at all times! I also reached that cedar tress are poison to a duck .. I will now take precaution and use Carbaryl 5% Dust , clean out their beding , got them a lot of fire ashes to have a dust bath , they only thing I had on hand when I noticed right away that seem to of helped her was Diatomaceous Earth, I rubbed that all over the mite infested area

Medicated food is really only for big factory use and I strongly suggest small home farmers to NOT use Medicated food even for chickens..

 

[Amiga]

My ducks show no interest in dust baths....they do quite enjoy water baths, though - no soap!! I keep swim pans with fresh water available for them all day. That can help reduce risks of infection.

 

[Zomaster]

Like everyone has said, ducks don't often have problems with external parasites due to how often they bathe and preen. They just eat any bugs right off of their feathers before they can attach or create a problem. They do sometimes get feather lice though, but that's more often with birds who don't preen or bath themselves well. So just check periodically for that and you're good to go. No need for any flea/tick preventatives.

Having said that, I did have one duckling last year who had a tick attached near her eye. She has a special leg that doesn't work quite right so she was unable to preen and scratch that side of her face properly, which is why it was able to attach there. But most ducks are able to preen themselves very well all over and can prevent things like that from happening.

I know this post is 6 years old so chances of getting an answer are slim - but what happened with the duckling that had a tick near its eye? Were you able to remove it? Did it affect the duckling?
I just noticed what I assume to be a tick on one of the ducklings in my backyard but it’s quite deep and causing the duckling to not be able to open its eye.
anything I can do to help? They are very tame with me and let me touch them but don’t want to cause unnecessary stress

 

[Amiga]

I know this post is 6 years old so chances of getting an answer are slim - but what happened with the duckling that had a tick near its eye? Were you able to remove it? Did it affect the duckling?
I just noticed what I assume to be a tick on one of the ducklings in my backyard but it’s quite deep and causing the duckling to not be able to open its eye.
anything I can do to help? They are very tame with me and let me touch them but don’t want to cause unnecessary stress

Not sure, but perhaps you can dab something on the tick to get it to let go. Something really gentle that won't harm the eye...You'd need to be able to hold the duckling's head absolutely still, too....I wonder if Vetericyn eye gel might do it...try to smother the tick...