By nature, ducks can catch up to numerous diseases, and one of the most common one is called the Snot disease. As the name suggests, the snot disease is basically a cold, but much more intense and has more dangerous effects than it does to us humans. Just like us, the disease comes by in seasons.
Causes of the Snot disease is often due to a bacteria called Haemophillus Paragallinarum, that directly infects a duck’s breathing system. Since snot ( also known as Coryza) infects a crucial organ, the disease can be deadly if left completely untreated. In fact, this extremely painful disease has a terrifying 50% mortality rate.
Once a duck has caught the disease, it is not that difficult to point out the symptoms. Much similar to the common cold for humans, infected ducks would have swollen facial features, trouble breathing, snoring in sleeping, and a decrease in their appetites. They would – of course – have an increased reproduction of snot from their noses.
Though it really depends on the environment and other external factors, most ducks infected by this unfortunate disease often age at around 2-4 weeks. At this age, most ducks have a weak immune system – therefore unable to combat against this highly contagious disease. However, when left in a clean and sanitary environment, ducks at this age are less likely to catch the disease.
Living in a sanitary environment being one of them, there are many ways breeders could adopt to prevent their farm from catching this disease. So, without further ado, read through this article to find out how to prevent ducks from catching snot.
1. The Living Spaces Quality
As responsible breeders, you should always be aware of the conditions your duck farm is living in. Habituating a place that is infested with bacterias and diseases will contribute negatively to your duck’s help – thus making it easier for them to get infected with snot. Be sure to place your farm in a kept and clean habitat.
2. Change Waters
Dirty waters, when not maintained nor replaced with cleaner and healthier ones, is a nest for infections and diseases. Be sure to routinely change both you duck farm’s feeding and living waters to avoid these dangerous illnesses fostering within them. This goes hand in hand with the overall sanitation of their living areas.
3. Monitor Their Feeding Stations
As previously mentioned, breeders should also keep an eye over the sanitation conditions of their feeding stations. Be sure to place this designated areas away from dirty and secluded places where these viruses could foster. More so, feed that are left to rot becomes a habitat of these dangerous illnesses – and their putrid smell could trigger health complications in their breathing system.
4. Feed
To maintain a good immune system, breeders are required to feed their ducks a nutritional diet so that they are able to combat any snot bacterias that have just fostered within their bodies. Nutritional feed comes in many different forms, and breeders have full independence to do their research and learn more on what is best suited for them.
5. Prescribe Extra Supplements
Another practice breeders could adopt to maintain their healthy immune system is to prescribe their ducks with extra vitamin supplements. The supplements can be made with organic raw materials, or simply purchased packeted in a local pet shop. However, before feeding the materials to your farm, be sure to conduct more prior research to understand your farm’s individual needs and wants. Prior research on what the necessary vitamins needed for the ducks is very crucial.
6. Vaccination
A sanitised living space and nutritional diet could do as much, but ducks would definitely need to rely on modern medicine to completely combat diseases and maintain a healthy immune system. One way to do this is to prescribe them with a routine vaccination against dangerous diseases.
Historically, vaccination has prove their effectiveness by the mortality rated of vaccinated birds in comparison to unvaccinated birds. The scientific process of vaccination, however, should only be done with experience medical professionals. They would know where in their bodies would the vaccination be and what is the dose needed.
7. Bathing
Another practice breeders would adopt would be bathing their farms. Without us noticing, unkept and dirty ducks are more prone to illnesses than their cleaner counterparts. In the wild, ducks naturally gravitate to pond-like locations – in which they are exposed to dirt, mud, and other places where illnesses and diseases could foster.
By bathing your ducks, you would literally be washing away the diseases from their exterior. Bathe them gently, with room-temperature water, and adopt a routine. Be sure to bathe your ducks routinely to prevent these dangerous illnesses from fostering in the dirty parts of their bodies.
8. Quarantine
It might seem like its too late, but breeders should always maintain a calm composure if they find an infected duck in their farm. The one thing they have to remember to do, though, is to quarantine the infected duck away from their healthier peers. As mentioned numerous times, snot is a highly painful and contagious disease, therefore should not be taken lightly.
9. Avoid Interaction
In the same vein of the previous point, breeders should ensure that there are no any forms of interaction done between an infected duck and their peers. As simple as eye contact could be of a major risk for their healthier counterparts, or even habituating in the same place the infected duck has rested. Before breeders place the infected duck in a quarantine, be sure to sanitise their footsteps.
10. Herbal Medication
Just as modern medicine would help ducks maintain their healthy immune system, feeding them herbal medication should be a viable decision as well. In fact, some breeders have vouched for their effects being surprisingly just as influential as their processed counterparts.
More often than not, the types of plants breeders have utilised for medicinal purposed would range from papaya leaves, ginger, propolis, oregano, garlic, and many more. There are hundreds of recipes written for every disease and illnesses, and breeders could do more prior research on that matter.
Snot may seem like a minor disease at first, but breeders should not underestimate their effects. We hope that you learn a few things on how to prevent ducks from catching snots in this article. Remember that these are just basic tips and more studies may be needed to tailor a health routine for individual farms.