Ducks fall on their feet, sit down and die, causes and treatment of diseases

Little ducklings are funny and very active, but there are often situations when they fall on their feet and die. Poultry farmers do not always know how to quickly help birds, and delay is fraught with the death of the entire flock.

Very often, signs of the disease are visible several days before the ducklings fall on their feet. The bird becomes:

less mobile;
refuses food;
diarrhea appears;
thirst increases;
lacrimation appears;
the bird sits with its feathers ruffled;
swelling is noticeable on the head and joints of the legs;
discharge from the nasal cavity is observed.

Next, the microorganisms move to the articular surfaces of the paws. The bird often sits for a long time, and when rising, stumbles and falls, while flapping its wings frequently.

You should urgently select a medicine for ducklings that fall on their feet. Based on the identified signs, one can suspect an infectious disease - pasteurellosis of ducklings. The disease develops very quickly and is especially dangerous for waterfowl.

Vitamin deficiency D

If the limbs are bent and dragging, mass growth stops, and the eggs have a soft shell, then rickets most likely develops - a consequence of insufficient synthesis of vitamin D. Adults drag their legs and cannot climb on them, crawling.

Treatment consists of fish oil, the dose of which is 0.3 g, and providing a sufficient amount of ultraviolet light. In the summer, it is enough to organize walks in a well-lit place, but in winter it is necessary to artificially irradiate the ducks. Parsley, cottage cheese, and boiled eggs are added to the diet.

Chickens fall on their feet treatment

The nuances of preventing and combating birds falling on their feet depend on the root cause of the problem:
1. Incorrect microclimate. Optimization of temperature, humidity and gas composition in the chicken coop.

2. Limb injuries. Treatment of cuts, scratches and other damage (iodine or brilliant green will do)

It is important to get rid of elements of the poultry house and run that can injure the bird.

3. Rickets. Every day, drink three to four drops of vodka. Be sure to enrich your diet with fish oil.

4. Weakness of joints. Inclusion of tricalcium phosphate in the feed mixture.

5. Arthritis and tendovaginitis. Intramuscular injections of antibiotics for five to seven days. An alternative way to use drugs is in feed.

6. Injured tendons. Replenishment of vitamin deficiencies. B. Add a small amount of potassium permanganate to the water.

7. Gout. Atophan helps.

8. Marek's disease. Destruction of all birds. Since there are still no effective ways to combat this pathology.

Parasitic infestations

Neither small nor adult ducks can protect themselves from blood-sucking insects, lice, ticks, feather eaters or fleas that jump on them during walks. The danger is that when they multiply, they exhaust the duckling so much that it lags behind in development, refuses to feed and falls on its feet.

To make sure that these symptoms are a consequence of the active life of the above pests, it is necessary to examine the chick, paying special attention to the belly and the area under the wings. If the diagnosis is confirmed, all livestock must be treated with Butox 50, having previously diluted it with water according to the instructions for use. The poultry house and all feeding equipment are also treated, cleaned and treated with antiparasitic agents.

Parasites lie in wait for the duck inside. Based on external symptoms, it is easy to understand that it is worms that lay the bird on the floor:

weak interest in food and exhaustion of the body;
the plumage becomes dull and lacks shine;
walking turns into crawling.

Helminthiasis is treated with Piperazine (5 grams per 10 individuals), Alben. If diarrhea is present, cope with the help of fern. Carry out sanitary cleaning of the poultry house. Crushed pumpkin seeds are added to the food. Timely detection of helminths protects the entire livestock from the disease.

Infections

Infectious lesions in ducks pose a threat to the entire poultry population.

In some cases, the disease poses a danger even to humans. Therefore, if alarming symptoms appear, you should immediately call a veterinarian and determine the cause of the death on the paws.

Hygiene rules play a major role in protecting ducks from infectious diseases.

Any delay in treatment can cause the death of the entire herd.

Experts identify three main infectious diseases that are common among ducklings and adults: aspergillosis, tuberculosis, and hepatitis.

Each of them is characterized by its own characteristics that you should be able to recognize.

Aspergillosis

The causative agent of this disease is a fungus that affects the respiratory system of birds.

The provoking factor is high humidity in the poultry house, which leads to the rapid spread of infection in droppings, litter, and wet food.

Ducks become infected by inhaling fungal spores. The infection can penetrate the egg shell, thereby affecting the embryo.

Young animals are most susceptible to infection. Aspergillosis develops in an acute form and leads to the death of infected ducklings. But adult individuals easily tolerate the disease and die from it extremely rarely.

Be sure to read:

How to determine the sex of a duck and accurately distinguish it even at an early age?

To treat the pathology, the drug Nystatin is used, as well as a weak solution of copper sulfate. The medicine should be mixed into drink or food.

The dosage of the drug is determined by the veterinarian, based on the severity of the pathology. During treatment activities, the poultry house is in quarantine.

Tuberculosis

A characteristic feature of this pathology is that it develops asymptomatically in the body for a long time (6-12 months).

If you have tuberculosis in ducks, you should not eat meat products and eggs, as this is dangerous to health

However, it is impossible to detect the infection at the initial stage.

Important! The disease cannot be treated, so infected ducks must be slaughtered and disposed of. You cannot eat meat products and eggs, as this is dangerous to health.

The main symptoms of tuberculosis:

decreased mobility;
lack of egg laying;
reducing the need for food;
weight loss;
the presence of tumors on the extremities;
diarrhea;
lameness;
death on the paws.

The development of tuberculosis can be prevented using simple preventive measures:

Avoid contact between ducks and other animals.
Separate keeping of ducklings from adults.
Disinfection of the poultry house once every 6 months.
Regular heat treatment of equipment.
Recycling.
Compliance with food storage conditions.

Hepatitis

This infection affects ducklings up to 2 weeks old. Adults are not at risk of hepatitis, although they can be a carrier of it. The mortality rate of young animals when infected in the first week of life is 100%, in the second week - 60-70%.

Hepatitis affects ducklings up to 2 weeks old

Often it is almost impossible to cure ducklings. The infection enters the body through food, drink, droppings of an adult duck and mucous secretions.

Hepatitis is resistant to external factors and persists on bedding, walls and equipment for 6 months.

Characteristic signs of hepatitis:

conjunctivitis;
bluish tint of the mucous membrane, goiter;
intermittent breathing;
convulsions;
falling on your feet.

With further development, the duckling falls to the side and throws back its head.

Important! A sick duck carrying the disease can be recognized by the periodic appearance of signs such as lethargy, lack of appetite, difficulty breathing, loss of coordination, and death on its feet.

Prevention of hepatitis includes:

separate keeping of eggs, young and adult ducks;
vaccination on the first day of life;
regular disinfection of the poultry house.

White muscle disease

This disease is typical only for young ducks and rarely occurs in adults. Little studied and presumably arising from a lack of selenium, tocopherol, retinol and amino acids, the disease is manifested by functional disorders of the body, which begin with improper metabolism of protein, vitamins, carbohydrates, transformation of skeletal muscles, heart and other tissues. It can also lead to problems with duck legs.

It looks like this: a healthy duckling, which has a hearty lunch and runs briskly during an hour of walking, suddenly sits down and cannot get up, convulsions appear, after which it rolls over and dies of cardiac arrest. At the first indications for this disease, selenium preparations are administered intramuscularly. It should be fed with the addition of this microelement and vitamins, and not allowed to run a lot. Such ducklings are kept only for slaughter, since they may not live to become adults. This phenomenon is explained by an insufficiently balanced diet in the first three weeks of life, during which the skeleton does not have time to strengthen well, and after this period only the mass grows.

Drugs

From the first month of life of little goslings, they need to add minerals and vitamins to their water. Nutril selenium has proven itself well. Chiktonik is also used for this purpose. These two drugs contain selenium, which is essential for birds to grow properly and quickly. They are added to water to feed birds. Also, these products help increase the eggs that the bird will lay.

Chiktonik necessary for birds

You need drugs such as Enrofloxin or its analogue Amprolium. When bird mortality begins in the first weeks and even days of the goslings’ life, Anfluron is used. It serves precisely to ensure that the immune system is strong and increases resistance to many infectious and other diseases. The bird needs to continue taking it during the monthly cycle.

Attention to the health of little goslings must be shown from the very beginning. At this time, immunity is formed, the condition of the bird throughout its life depends on this period, and if this is not done in a timely manner, the good condition of the livestock cannot be returned back.

It is very important to take preventive actions in time, then the bird will have excellent health

It is very important to take preventive actions in a timely manner, then the bird will have excellent health. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ga2R5FFrTOE. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ga2R5FFrTOE

Aspergillosis

A fungal disease of the respiratory tract caused by spores that multiply in damp rooms, accumulated droppings or feed. Poorly organized ventilation especially affects livestock in the spring, when there is still no heat and the walls are saturated with moisture. Symptoms of aspergillosis:

weak appetite or lack thereof;
inflammation of the mucous membranes of the eyes and mouth;
hoarseness and heavy breathing;
convulsions and paralysis.

It is quite difficult to fight this disease:

all feeding equipment is cleaned and disinfected along with the premises with a soda solution;
the litter is removed and replaced with clean litter;
the poultry house is sprayed with a 0.5% iodine solution (20 ml per 1 m of volume) every 40 minutes for a week;
Nystatin is given with food.

Antibiotics should not be used as they feed fungi.

Useful video

Like the author!3

How to prevent chicken deaths
How to deal with fleas and lice in chickens
Methods for effective control of worms in chickens

Discussion: 2 comments

Victoria:
08/04/2018 at 17:22
Thank you very much. Everything is clear and understandable.
Answer
Olga:
12/03/2018 at 11:03
sitting on your feet is a disaster
Answer

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis bacilli infect the lungs of both ducks and humans. The infection can be transmitted from an animal to a poultry farmer through meat or eggs. Treating an infected duck is unprofitable and ineffective. It is disposed of and pest control work is carried out.

They can be distinguished by loss of appetite, weight, diarrhea, yellow skin, lameness and swelling. To protect your pets from this danger, keep them in a dry, ventilated room, provide all food fresh, balanced and wash regularly, disinfect feeders and drinkers, and change bedding frequently.

Treatment of external parasites

In this case, it is recommended to initially examine the ducks in the abdomen, under the wings and on the feet.

If harmful insects are detected, immediate action must be taken, as pests have the ability to spread quickly.

To get rid of external parasites, it is recommended to treat not only the poultry, but also the poultry house. To do this, you must first move the ducks to another room.

Treat the walls and floors of the infected poultry house with aggressive solutions such as lime, used machine oil or potassium permanganate.

When carrying out processing, it is necessary to generously sprinkle or lubricate all surfaces. The procedure must be repeated after 7 days.

To remove lice and lice from poultry, it is recommended to use the following drugs:

Deltamethrin. The product is available in powder form. Before processing, you must wear protective gloves and a mask. The powder should be rubbed into the feathers all over the body, except the head. Each duck should be processed separately.
Butox. The drug also contains deltamethrin. The release form of the product is a liquid solution, which facilitates treatment in case of mass invasion. One ampoule of Butox is enough to prepare 4 liters of working fluid. During the procedure, you must adhere to safety measures, so you should wear gloves and a gauze bandage. The product should be sprayed over the bird, avoiding the eye and beak area.

In addition to lice and lice, the duck population can be affected by mites. In the absence of adequate treatment, the bird dies 2-3 days after infection.

The parasite attacks areas without feathers.

In the fight against external and internal parasites, it is important to pay increased attention to prevention

A characteristic sign of damage is the appearance of horny scales on the limbs, which subsequently begin to bristle and cause itching, so the bird often pecks at the damaged areas until they bleed.

To combat ticks, veterinarians recommend using the following means.

Boric Vaseline. The product has an oily consistency. Apply the product regularly to the affected areas (3 times a day). Course duration – 1 week. Repeat therapy three times, every 20 days.
ASD-3. For processing, you need to mix the drug with any vegetable oil 1 to 5. In the future, use the resulting mixture in the same way as boric vaseline.

In the fight against external and internal parasites, it is important to pay increased attention to prevention, which will eliminate the possibility of re-infection. To do this, you need to follow some recommendations:

To do this, you need to follow some recommendations:

Keep drinking bowls and food containers clean.
Make bedding from herbs, the smell of which repels parasites (wormwood, pine needles, calendula, mint, garlic).
Newly acquired ducklings should first be isolated from the main stock for several days.
In walking areas, install bathing containers filled with sand and ash. Keep the mixture dry and regularly add it to the baths.

Causes of the disease

When breeding any farm poultry, it is necessary to create normal living conditions for it. The poultry house and aviary should always be dry and clean. The room must be regularly ventilated so that toxic fumes of ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide do not accumulate in it. The optimal temperature in winter is 10 C, humidity 55-60%.

If the livestock is kept on litter, then in the summer, pens are organized for the birds on a planted area. A canopy is made on it so that the ducks can hide from the rain. It is necessary to install a pool or a large container of water in the yard. Birds take baths, wash off insects and dirt, and cool down during the heat.

Be sure to follow the diet for the livestock. It must be balanced. Ducks need to get enough proteins, mineral salts, and vitamins. They are given grain mixtures, succulent feed and nutritional supplements.

If all conditions for normal development are created for a duck flock, then individuals will be active, have a good appetite, and quickly gain weight. Otherwise, their immunity will be reduced, which provides fertile ground for the development of infectious and other diseases.

Sometimes ducks do not stand on their feet and die. Farm keepers do not always know what to do with the livestock or how to help the birds. Experts identify the following causes of the disease:

avitaminosis; this is a common reason why ducks do not stand up; lack of vitamins and mineral salts disrupts metabolism in the body; the bird becomes inactive;
high bird crowding; ducks do not stand on their legs because there is too little space in the house for active movement; this leads to the development of arthritis, tendon displacement; when overcrowding occurs, pecking and cannibalism develop;
body parasites; lice, feather eaters, and ticks get on the body and greatly annoy the ducks; they are carriers of infectious diseases and severely debilitate the duck;
helminths; they enter the body along with contaminated food, water, or from dirty bedding; parasites settle not only in the gastrointestinal tract, but also in other internal organs; they disrupt digestion and blood circulation;
infectious diseases; if hygiene rules are not followed, salmonellosis, pasteurellosis, mycoplasmosis, and tuberculosis can develop in the herd; most often individuals suffer from the flu; quarantine is declared on the farmstead or farm.

Prevention

To avoid having to think about how to treat sick ducks, it is worth purchasing birds that are immune to most diseases. These species include the hybrid duck Mulard. Also, do not neglect tips and recommendations for keeping birds.

Important! As such, there are no drugs that help prevent ducks from getting sick, but there are measures to help increase their immunity.

First of all, a properly formulated diet for individuals from birth can prevent the development of many problems. Providing a warm, cozy room with a small population will not allow parasites to multiply and will also prevent illness. Equally important is the constant cleaning of premises from droppings, in which parasites multiply so quickly.

Feeding chicks with vitamin complexes is considered a good preventive measure. From the first days after birth, they must be fed with compound feed for the appropriate age category, enriched with essential microelements. Starting from the 3rd day of life, you can gradually add fresh grass to your baby’s diet.

Causes

There are the following reasons for ducklings falling on their feet:

Essential amino acid deficiency

In the first weeks of life, ducklings require a sufficient amount of essential amino acids in an optimal ratio to ensure growth rate. It is impossible to make such food at home. However, many poultry farmers prefer to use traditional recipes using chopped boiled eggs, cottage cheese and other human food products. Ducklings are developmentally delayed.

From the third week of life, their needs for amino acids decrease, they begin to intensively gain weight on the food that the poultry farmer offers them. However, an underdeveloped skeleton cannot grow at the same rate; it cannot withstand excessive mass - which is why ducks fall on their feet.

Sore paw

Macronutrient imbalance

Amateur poultry farmers, for the most part, take the mineral nutrition of chicks lightly. To form the bones of a duckling, calcium and phosphorus are needed. In sufficient quantities and in certain proportions. Grain feed contains little calcium, grass and vegetables contain little phosphorus. The statement that an imbalance of minerals can be corrected by adding chicken or duck egg shells is partially true for ducklings in the first month of life, but older birds can also fall on their feet. Excessive consumption of grass and vegetables, especially legumes, or lack of variety in the fed greens leads to excess calcium, which causes phosphorus to be excreted from the body. Therefore, the most acceptable mineral supplement for ducklings, capable of meeting the needs for macroelements and equalizing the phosphorus-calcium ratio, is Tricalcium phosphate.

Hypovitaminosis

A monotonous diet of dwarf or bran in the absence of green food or a vitamin-mineral premix, and being kept without walking lead to hypovitaminosis. Sunlight promotes the synthesis of vitamin D from semi-finished compounds. Giving grass satisfies the duckling's needs for most biological catalysts. An imbalance of vitamin D in combination with a deficiency of calcium and phosphorus leads to rickets, a disease in which the bones of the paws soften, the limbs become bent and cease to perform a supporting function. Treatment of rickets is ineffective.

Poisoning

Some plant foods contain substances that disrupt blood circulation in capillaries, distort the passage of nerve impulses or destroy vitamins. The poultry farmer is let down by the desire to save on feed. Stale grain or grain stored in improper conditions is affected by fungi that release toxic metabolites - mycotoxins. Green mass harvested in a swampy area or near the shore of a reservoir may contain poisonous plants that contain alkaloids or antivitamins. Grain waste, especially if the summer was wet, is littered with weed seeds that can cause poultry poisoning.

The duckling died

Microclimate does not comply with recommended standards

The first days of life are regulated by ensuring optimal temperature, fresh air and no drafts. If the ducklings are cold, they huddle in groups; if it’s hot, they try to stay away from each other, sit with their beaks open, and are inactive. Such deviations can cause non-contagious diseases, the signs of which may be disturbances in the support or motor function of the paws.

High stocking density

Overcrowding leads to trampling of weak legs and injury to the legs. Lack of space at the feeder results in starvation, falling from exhaustion, the duckling sits on its limbs.

Improper arrangement of the walking area

Adult ducks are not afraid of dirt, but in chicks, constant exposure to dampness leads to maceration of the legs and inflammation of the joints. Shards of broken glass, thorns, and sharp pebbles injure the paws, causing them to become ill.

Ectoparasite attack

Sometimes owners ask the question: “Why do ducklings die?” In conditions of unsatisfactory maintenance, with irregular changes of litter, as well as the absence of disinsection measures, the chicks can be attacked by arthropod parasites that feed on the integumentary tissues. Insects exhaust the ducklings, and in exhaustion they fall and die.

Disease factors

The most common factors influencing the occurrence of diseases are the following:

deficiency in vitamins and microelements;
unfair care and maintenance.

Vitamins and microelements lacking in feeding lead to weakening of the individual and susceptibility to disease. It is not advisable to place ducks of different breeds and ages together. It is prohibited to scatter droppings from a sick individual and fertilize plants with it.

Proper maintenance and a nutritious diet contribute to the health of Indian ducks

If birds live in cold, unclean rooms, their respiratory system is affected. This disrupts the body's metabolic processes and impairs egg production. Non-contagious ailments include vitamin deficiencies.

Feather parasites

If, in addition to bald patches, small red dots also appear on the skin of the ducklings, then most likely these are parasite bites. In this case, the chicks lose their appetite, begin to behave restlessly and constantly rummage through their feathers.

The solution to this problem will be to treat the feathers of ducklings with acaricidal preparations. And in order to prevent the appearance of parasites in the future, contact of young animals with adults and, especially, wild relatives should be avoided, especially if they swim in a natural body of water.

Did you know? During the 1916 hostilities between Ireland and Great Britain, there was an agreement to suspend them at certain times so that a worker in Dublin's central park could feed the flock of wild ducks living there.

Also, there should always be a container with a mixture of wood ash and sand in the house so that the ducklings can take baths in it and get rid of feather parasites on their own.

To avoid the spread of infection, you should regularly clean the house, nests, feeders and drinkers.

Feeding the birds

To prevent ducks from getting sick, it is necessary to choose the right food for them. Your daily diet should contain a variety of food groups that will help compensate for the lack of essential nutrients.

If a domestic duck is lame on one leg, the first thing to do is to reconsider the bird's diet. Most often, the paw is the part of the body that indicates vitamin deficiency. In this case, ducks need to start giving natural sources of vitamins: fresh grass, homemade vegetables. There are also special vitamin complexes for poultry that are as balanced as possible.

Little ducklings need vitamin A, which is found in carrots. To maintain normal levels of the vitamin in the body, chicks are fed grated carrots mixed with healthy fish oil. Also, small chicks have fragile bones; calcium is necessary for their strengthening and growth. You can make up for the deficiency with products containing this element in large quantities.

Something to remember! The body requires ultraviolet light to fully absorb calcium. Therefore, it is necessary to provide artificial lighting to the chicks for the winter period. During the summer, it is enough to properly organize walking in sunny areas. Thus, it is possible not only to cure vitamin deficiency, but also to prevent many infectious diseases.

Bone and fish meal are natural sources of vitamin D, which is necessary for young animals. Crushed shells mixed with regular food is a folk recipe that helps raise the level of calcium in the bird's body.

You can enrich the body with the necessary selenium by diluting the usual feeding with vitamin and mineral complexes. To increase vitamin E levels, it is useful to add dairy products, yeast, bran, carrots and potatoes to your diet. To supplement the body with vitamins B2, you can mix mixtures of grains. Animal products (especially dairy) contain huge amounts of vitamin B12, which ducks need.

To prevent illness in poultry, their daily diet should include:

carbohydrates – various groups of grain crops, boiled potatoes, beets;
protein with an animal base - low-fat cottage cheese, whey, fish and meat waste, incl. bone flour;
vegetable protein – sunflower, soybean, flaxseed meal;
natural vitamin products - grass, nettle, foliage from carrots and beets, various greens;
dry feed containing everything necessary for pets of different ages;
Crushed shell, eggshell, chalk.