What to give ducklings to treat diarrhea at home and prevention
Diarrhea in ducklings can be a symptom of a variety of diseases, and is itself a threatening symptom. Dehydrated birds die quickly - sometimes within hours. Therefore, the treatment of diarrhea in ducklings at home can rarely be called the right choice - it is better to immediately contact a veterinarian and save at least part of the livestock. It is difficult to diagnose the disease without laboratory tests.
Causes of diarrhea in ducklings
Diarrhea is common in newly hatched ducklings. The main cause of the disease is improper feeding, namely, a deficiency of vitamin B. Together with diarrhea, the following symptoms of the disease are often found:
- Unhealthy appearance, ruffled feathers, watery eyes.
- Paralysis or nervous tic of the wings.
- Throwing the head back.
- Slow weight gain, poor appetite.
All signs indicate a lack of vitamin B in the diet. To avoid this condition, you must carefully monitor the diet of young ducks, and, if necessary, balance the diet with green grass, fruits and vegetables.
Diarrhea in young ducks can also be caused by infectious diseases, such as viral enteritis. The bird's stool is green or yellow. At the same time, symptoms are observed - weakness, weight loss, decreased egg production. Bacillary white diarrhea is common. Ducks that have had the disease will forever remain carriers and will infect the hatched ducklings. Therefore, most farmers prefer to remove these birds from breeding and feed them for slaughter.
Very rarely, coccidiosis, a severe bacterial disease that causes frothy or bloody diarrhea, can be observed in ducklings. Coccidiosis appears in poultry houses where the conditions for keeping animals are violated - in dark, poorly ventilated, damp buildings.
Diagnostic methods
Pasteurellosis, colibacillosis, echinostomatidosis also have the same symptoms as in coccidiosis. It is impossible to make an accurate diagnosis without laboratory tests. To do this, the doctor takes samples of feces from the bird and sends it for research. After sowing the material on a nutrient medium, they look at the nature of the grown colonies - they are individual for each microorganism and do not resemble each other.
What to give ducks for diarrhea?
Viral enteritis can be cured only after accurate preliminary diagnosis. For therapy, a weak solution of potassium permanganate is poured into the throat of the bird.Treatment of coccidiosis should begin with sorting the livestock - diseased birds must be moved to a separate poultry house, and the premises are disinfected.
The most effective antibiotic against the causative agent of coccidiosis is Norsulfazole, which is dissolved in drinking water. After the course of treatment, you can add a second drug - "Osarsol". If the birds do not drink water with medicine, they try to add Furazolidone to their food. The dose is selected depending on the age and live weight of the ducks. The standard course of treatment lasts up to 2-3 weeks.
If the diagnosis is colibacillosis, then therapy will not help. Sick animals will have to be killed, and the carcasses will have to be disposed of - you cannot give them to carnivores. Pasteurellosis, coccidiosis and echinostomatidosis are very difficult to treat. We'll have to prescribe several potent antibiotics of different groups. It is easier to vaccinate ducklings against these diseases at a certain age.
Prevention
If diarrhea is caused by improper diet, you need to balance the diet immediately. Most of all vitamin B is found in cabbage, potatoes, quince. Therefore, it is useful for ducks to feed scraps and cleanings from the kitchen table. Some farmers even give ducks chicken or pork liver, which contains huge amounts of the named vitamin, as well as hemoglobin and iron. If grain is included in the diet, it should be fresh, of the same year, without mold or signs of powdery mildew.
To prevent coccidiosis, the rules of bird hygiene are adhered to - they ventilate the premises, regularly clean, and also isolate the newly arrived livestock from the old flock for 2 weeks. The poultry house is disinfected regularly. Young animals are kept separately from adult birds.
Each room has its own cleaning products, individual feeders and drinkers. Ducklings are given a dose of "Norsulfazole" every 2 weeks to prevent coccidiosis up to 2-3 months of age.
