Is diatomaceous earth safe for ducklings?

[Aliceclough]

Hi all! We just rescued two ducklings, and are in the process of trying to locate the brood to return them, or take them to a wildlife centre if that proves impossible. (We live right by a stream and this has sadly happened before, so we have a heat lamp and all the appropriate food).

One of the ducklings is crawling with lice and seems quite irritated. From searching online it seems like some form of DE (eg Johnson’s caged bird powder) is the best natural option to treat it .. we don’t want to use any chemicals as the smell will likely prevent the mother from accepting them back .. does anyone have any experience with ducklings, is this treatment safe for them? Or is there an easier alternative - like something they can bathe in? It’s hard to know how old they are, but not more than 7 days.

thank you!

 

[Stipenvlerk]

If you are planning on giving it to a wildlife rescue soon, I probably won’t do anything special because they will take care of it in the way they are used to..
‘I would give him the opportunity to clean itself properly, so a tub with water and supervised swims...

 

[Aliceclough]

If you are planning on giving it to a wildlife rescue soon, I probably won’t do anything special because they will take care of it in the way they are used to..
‘I would give him the opportunity to clean itself properly, so a tub with water and supervised swims...

thank you! Having done some research last night there are no rescue centres in 2 counties in either direction accepting birds at the moment :-( so I think we’re going to focus on reintroducing them to their brood. And I guess we’re open to the idea of raising them, but it would obviously be way better if they could survive in the wild.

they have access to a little tub of water which they swim in as well as a shallow bowl of water that they drink when eating, so as far as possible we’ve given them everything we can . I dida lot more reading last night and opted to sprinkle a little powder in their bedding and gently rub a little powder into the feathers, and it doesn’t seem to have had any negative effects fingers crossed. I’ll monitor the lice situation today... I don’t like to interfere but it was losing fluff from its neck and scratching a lot, and they weren’t managing to control the lice themselves at all - they’d just be crawling in and out of the feathers while the duckling sat there

 

[Stipenvlerk]

All the best! And let me know how things go

 

[Shezadandy]

http://www.duckdvm.com/condition/lice

https://the-chicken-chick.com/the-cut-dry-truth-about-diatomaceous/

 

[Aliceclough]

http://www.duckdvm.com/condition/lice

https://the-chicken-chick.com/the-cut-dry-truth-about-diatomaceous/

Hmm interesting article! I’m totally open to using something else, I just haven’t been able to find *anything* else that isn’t chemical. And I’m reluctant to use chemicals as a) they are so young, and b) it seems unlikely they’d ever be accepted back in the brood if they smell like insecticide. Do you know of any alternatives?

 

[Shezadandy]

Hmm interesting article! I’m totally open to using something else, I just haven’t been able to find *anything* else that isn’t chemical. And I’m reluctant to use chemicals as a) they are so young, and b) it seems unlikely they’d ever be accepted back in the brood if they smell like insecticide. Do you know of any alternatives?

I've read that Dawn (as in the dish washing soap) kills lice. Not lice eggs, but the active lice so that would at least provide immediate relief from the itch issue. If there's a scent free type version, I'd try that. Be aware that of course it temporarily removes oil from feathers, so doing that and then releasing the ducklings before they re-oil themselves if you found the family could pose a risk. And I would do them both - parasites love to share! Perhaps others will have different advice, but that's the least chemically thing I can think of.

 

[Aliceclough]

Just a little update.. we managed to reintroduce the ducklings to a brood last night! So they are now happily back in nature, potentially infesting all their new friends with lice

 

[Shezadandy]

I'm glad they're back with the family in the wild. =)