New Aspergillus Treatment Options

It used to be that ducks and geese with aspergillus didn't stand much of a chance. Those that did survive had to endure long and grueling drug therapy that put their vital organs at risk. Recently, we have discovered a little known treatment for aspergillus and other upper respiratory fungal infections/diseases.

F10 SC Veterinary Disinfectant and Oxine AH are disinfectant solutions that can be used as nebulizing agents by putting them into a vaporizer for your duck or goose to inhale. This means, before administering, you must set aside a safe place to treat them. Our friends at Feathered Angels Waterfowl Sanctuary made  a treatment tent by draping plastic over their quarantine pen. You can also use plastic to drape off a section of your barn.

Always follow product directions and safety information!

F10 SC Veterinary disinfectant and Oxine AH  are safe and effective against a number of types of bacteria, viruses and mold and they're even safe for the environment. Both products can be purchased online.

Product Information:

Oxine AH comes in a larger, gallon size.

 F10 SC Veterinary Disinfectant can be purchased in smaller, more economical sizes.

While experienced vets recommend either product, we only have dosage information for the F10 SC.

Before beginning any treatment regimes for your pet ducks or geese it is VITAL that you take them to a qualified vet first.

F10 SC Dosage for Ducks & Geese:

Fill a vaporizer with a mixture of:  4 mls of F10 SC / 1000 mls of water.

Place the afflicted bird into your "tent" and run the vaporizer for 30 minutes.

Birds can return to their normal routines in between treatments and do not need to stay in the tent.

Repeat this treatment 3 times a day, every 8 hours.

Only treat afflicted ducks and geese. Remove healthy birds from the treatment area during administration.

Continue treatment for 2-4 weeks under vet guidance. Most vets will want to see the duck or goose every other week for x-rays to monitor their progress (unless conditions worsen).

Introducing Ducklings & Goslings to Adult Birds

Our special needs drake Neo was very gentle with little Switch

When introducing ducklings and goslings (or what we like to call Lings) to adult ducks and geese, we always advise families to err on the side of caution.

For maximum safety, ducklings and goslings should be fully feathered before being left alone with adult birds that did not directly hatch them out themselves. That means Lings should have no more of their downy fluff remaining. This is a good rule of thumb because by the time they have their full feathers, they will also be large enough to be together.

Lings can usually be fully acclimated around 8 weeks of age, but it can be sooner under the right circumstances. Speaking of which, this advice is merely a general rule of thumb. As many of you already know, every duck and goose is different and with different personalities, different precautions may or may not be necessary.

It is usually easier and safer to introduce Lings to older flock members from August-January. After this, the mating season begins and runs from February-July. During this time, fights and premature mating can seriously injure or even kill a young Ling.

Lings can be introduced to their older counterparts pretty soon after their arrival. They can be presented to each other in intervals that increase in time and frequency as the Ling's age. These sessions should ALWAYS be monitored extremely closely. 

Just because everything goes well in front of you, doesn't mean trouble won't happen when you walk away. Birds behave differently in your presence than when you're not around (just like children!). Chaperone carefully!

SPECIAL NOTE ON DUCKS:  If you're going to add ducklings to your flock be sure you know their genders first or you will need to separate the drakes into separate pens in the spring because boys start to FIGHT at the onset of the mating season.

Remember the 1:4 drake-to-hen ratio when adding an additional drake to your flock of ducks. This means if you already have a male, ideally, you will need eight females before adding a second boy to your flock. Most people forget this rule of thumb and end up with fighting drakes and a lot of frustration when the next mating season rolls around.