Rescue ducks, need some guidance please

[HeritageFan]

Photos to follow; we are driving away w the ducks and they are headed to better homes once they are ready....

They had a nice, large area under cover, supposed to be 1-2 years old, 2 runners and 7 Welsh Harlequin, all hens.

The previous owner has fallen on hard times + health issues.... we were just happy to get them out of the 6ish” of poop

Nares were full, beaks caked w mud, that part was easy as they cleared those issues up w a deep bowl of water in the crate when we took a stop on the way back.

Their breasts and bellies are sooo caked w mud and manure, I really can’t check there for mites/ lice. Vents are not much better. Can I check under their wings?

I see they they appear to have scaly leg mites. I believe Vaseline is a good way to treat that (lmk if I’m wrong!)

Also, they have major crusties on the feathers below their eyes.
No one is sneezing, after an hour in the car.... I’m thinking it was more due to lack of water / insufficient water depth. ? I did see some foam at the corners of the eyes of those that I tried to check out a little more closely to figure out what was going on w their faces... not much foam. But I saw it.
Seller stated that she lost her drake to a raccoon in the fall, sooo I don’t think it was over breeding :/ but the lack of sneezing gives me hope that it’s not a persistent URI

I will set up a quarantine area well away from the rest of the birds. I plan to pull them out, one at a time, give them a warm water bath to try to break up the sh*t on their bellies, check feet as I go.

I’m so glad they are in good hands.
Any thoughts are very welcome!

 

[sourland]

Provide them with swimming water, and they will clean themselves up. I have never seen ducks with scaly leg mites. Hopefully someone will comment on that. Well done on rescuing them.

 

[HeritageFan]

I ran out of daylight, so had to put them into the quarantine pen without a warm bath until tomorrow-
They have ample food, and fresh water deep enough to continue to clean their nares
They have a clean pool, a run, and a separate water source w electrolytes for the the morning.
I hope @sourland is right, and they will be able to clean themselves up w a pool and fresh water.
If they need more help, I’ll be able to do baths and deeper checking for mites etc by late morning. I definitely saw lifted scales on the feet of a few, but I’m not sure if it the conditions that were the cause, or scaly leg mites.
So glad I bought a spare pool at the “end of the season”!

Pix were more focused on the issues on their faces; the matted feathers are more of an issue w the Welshies.
The (black and white) runners look a lot better than the welshies

 

[WoDia]

They’re all so pretty and very lucky to have you caring for them. Good wishes for them in their forever homes.

 

[HeritageFan]

So, a week of completely freezing temps set us back a fair bit
No swimming available, just constant access to feed (layena corn/ soy free), fresh water in frequently warmed/ swapped bowls deep enough to clean nares, and a more shallow waterer w rooster booster added.
It’s been a bear to keep bedding dry in my temporary “coop” but I’ve done my best.

When they had been having consistent access to swimming water, most that looked like they had “wet feather” or at least were not getting dry- almost all of them really seemed to be improving (after I got all the mud and literal sh*t off of their feathers).

Then came a week of temps below freezing, and they are still better than they were, but not at all like my own ducks.
They aren’t getting wet through and through, but they look pretty rough on the outside

Soooo
I did some close looking and found evidence of mites in their vents.
Their oil glands do “express” a bit on my fingers, but I’m not sure what they should be like.... Theirs are extremely hard, but do pass off some oil when I rub them.

I’ll compare what I saw to my other ducks
.....after I go change everything I have on

- any suggestions as to what I can use to treat these mites for these ducks that are improving, but still terrified of me?
.....multiple times a day is possible but they would prefer something less stressful...
- should I do a warm water and dawn bath to help w the oil glands, or wait a few days w a return to normal bathing and give the bath to anyone who doesn’t seem to be improving?
Does the dawn bath do anything for the mites?
- should I keep them in their (as dry as I can make it) shelter when it’s pouring, which is not infrequent up here?
- do I need to also treat my other ducks, even though they are a good 100’ apart in their runs?
- what about the turkeys? Do I need to treat them as well? They are much further away.
..... or just inspect everyone else?

I try to do their pen last, but have not been practicing clean quarantine protocols strictly TBH w the weather chaos

Most are missing feathers around their eyes as the crusties around their eyes has been coming off. Warm compresses and patience helps, but the feathers still seem to go away, even if I don’t damage them in the process. There are still one or two w crusties that are tooooo freaked out by the compress process to have pushed during the freeze....

Photos are of the kids in the quarantine pen. A group shot post the first bath in days - it’s pretty warm but also rainy, an oil gland, and a couple of vents/ what I believe to be mite “dust”.

No sneezing. No foam at the eyes. Poo looks normal (for ducks). Working on some minor foot issues but there is nothing horrible left after I started working on the owies several weeks ago. Leg scales have smoothed out, I’ve just been using bag balm on their legs and that all looks better. I figured it wouldn’t hurt, and maybe it helped.

Thank you all in advance for your insight
@R2elk
@Eggcessive
@Miss Lydia
@TwoCrows
@aart
@dawg53

 

[HeritageFan]

I understand that no one has replied, which is fine. I did some more digging around here.

I’m going to keep updating this thread in hopes that in may help someone else in the future. Happy if someone else weighs in, but, also happy to share what I learn as I go w this new to me challenge.

I plan to treat every fowl on the property w ivermectin pour on, 0.1 ml per 2 pounds of weight per bird, repeat in 7-10 days - even though the turkeys and other ducks show no symptoms.
I’d like to be ahead of it, and not have a future problem!
It is too wet to treat coops at this time.

The meat and egg withdrawal period for the ivermectin is not a problem rn; no one is laying, and we don’t plan to process any birds soon.

I’ll go w Elector PSP in 6 mos if the ivermectin does the job for now; no egg or meat withdrawal period from what I’ve read, so, I’d prefer to use that in the summer when egg production is high.

I have pyrethrum dust on hand, but, everything is so wet from the crazy weather.... I don’t see that it makes sense to use it rn. Not for the birds, or in the coops.
Idk if it would make sense to add to the dust baths for the turkeys.... but I’m not going to do that rn unless someone can tell me it’s a good idea.
It would be great in the summer.... but. We are in the PNW and the winter is a LOT different than the summers.
Even the most secure/ raised coops are just. Between damp and wet. At the end of every night (in the morning).

Deep bedding isn’t a good option here; I just strip and replace bedding often. It’s a pain, but, it keeps the birds in as healthy an environment as possible.
We use shavings and/ or dry den pellets (depending on the coop, availability, and depending on whether the birds want to eat one or the other type of bedding. Most are fine w either, and the dry den pellets are easier to pick the manure off the top/ stay “fresh” longer IMO)

The runs are a problem to be addressed on a different thread. I can’t keep the mud down rn. My property is very steep, and we have tried many different things for footing. All are still a mess.

I got the ivermectin pour on this evening at my local feed store. Will apply tomorrow once it’s daylight.

It will be a bit to apply to 35 birds- 9 rescue ducks, 6 of our ducks, and 20 turkeys.... but. Christ hates a coward
I can clip all of their wings, so, I expect this process to be easier than that!