What disease is this?

[Loopeend]

Well the washing with baby shampoo twice a day seems to have reduced the stuff.
But now they have started sneezing a lot more and some have breathing troubles..still no sign of dirty nose/ears. Also their poop changed to a really thin and brown and incredibilly smelly.
One of the ducklings began to walk weird, straight up, legs wide, doesn't bend it's legs and one leg keep shivvering when put weight on it. It does poop however.
Sigh.
So that is going to be another trip to the vet.

 

[Lil Drake40]

But why?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Well that is interesting. How do you think you got rid of it? washing their heads in baby shampoo?

 

[Loopeend]

Oh wow! Can’t believe I didn’t think of mange! That makes perfect sense, I’m so used to seeing demodex on dogs but I guess this is how it would show on a duck. You’d think the vet would’ve noticed if she sent samples to a lab.. did she do a skin scraping or did she just sample the mucus stuff?

Good thing you kept them away from the others, but now you know it’s not hereditary, if it is indeed mange. If I were you I’d call that vet ASAP and get medicated shampoo. Hope it didn’t spread to any other animals

She plucked out a headfeather from one's head and scraped some of the chunky stuff and put in under a microscope.

But what Lydia says; is it possible to get rid of mite with only babyshampoo? Or did I just reduce it and will it come back if I stop with the washing?
I never tried washing an animals with mites with shampoo before, just bought a mite-spray.

I will contact the vet again and ask her opinion if this might be a possibillity, the mites.

 

[Loopeend]

I don’t think birds can even get demodex. It’s generally transferred from mom to nursing puppies, I don’t see how a duck could get it and I don’t think they would stay long if it did.

The website doesn't says more about it then; 'Demodex is common in many species of animals'. What animals exactly is not specified.

 

[Loopeend]

It’s talking about mammals. It’s commonly seen in raccoons, coyotes, deer populations, etc. anything that nurses it’s young, mostly sickly mammals with lowered immune systems. The only bird specific mite I am aware of is the one that causes scaly legs.
Cheyletellia prefers hairy mammals but would hop on any animal for at least a little while, I believe.

That second one mentioned stickyness and wetness.
The first one was described as dry. But since ducks have oilglands, they might have not been able to spread the oil right due to the scales, and it kinda got stuck around the scales on their heads creating the greasy look?

 

[Lil Drake40]

Will you be keeping them they look very healthy

 

[Lil Drake40]

Runners must be popular there ?

 

[Loopeend]

Runners must be popular there ?

They are suddenly because a local famous garden-show host said that they are THE solution to the big buxus-moth plague we have.
So a lot of money-making baddies saw an oppurtunity to make some money and put some runner ducks in a public pond, take the eggs, hatch them in a hatching-machine and sell them for 10 euro a piece. Not minding who the parents are, if they are healthy, feeding them proper food or giving them health care, or if they have mated with regular ducks. So the health-standard and all other standards are about a 4 out of 10 now if you buy an Indian runner duck over here.