What are the key points for the prevention and treatment of heatstroke in ducks?

Duck heatstroke, also known as heat stress, is an acute disease caused when the body's heat-dissipation mechanism is impaired and heat balance is disrupted under conditions of high temperature and high humidity. If not handled promptly and effectively after onset, it can cause mass death of ducks, resulting in significant economic losses for farming.

Main causes

1. Summer temperatures are too high, or humidity increases after heavy rain; ducks are most susceptible to heatstroke under the combined effect of high temperature and high humidity.

2. The duck exercise area has no shade facilities, causing ducks to be exposed to strong sunlight for extended periods.

3. Stocking density is too high, and the duck house has poor ventilation, making it difficult for heat to dissipate.

4. Insufficient drinking water, or in summer when water temperature rises, harmful bacteria and algae in the pond multiply in large numbers, causing deterioration of water quality.

5. Ducks suffer from other diseases or are affected by other stressors (such as thunderstorms, sudden temperature changes, sudden feed changes, etc.).

Main symptoms

After heatstroke, ducks show elevated body temperature, squatting and unwillingness to move, open-mouth breathing or spreading wings to dissipate heat; subsequently they develop unstable standing and paroxysmal coma and paralysis (specifically manifested as the duck's head touching the ground or head shaking, unstable standing; when driven away they can run normally again, but before running far they again show head touching the ground, coma or head shaking and other neurological symptoms). Necropsy of dead ducks reveals that the blood does not clot easily, and sometimes myocardial hemorrhage, enlarged liver, hemorrhage or even necrosis, and meningeal congestion may be found.

Some farmers or veterinarians, based on some of the above symptoms, diagnose it as avian influenza, duck viral hepatitis or gosling plague, etc., and during treatment they do not take heatstroke prevention and cooling measures, nor use anti-stress and heatstroke-prevention drugs, and even cause ducks to be subjected to stressors such as catching and injection, which accelerates the death of ducks with heatstroke.

Preventive measures

1. Design the duck house reasonably, preferably with an east-west orientation, a height of no less than 2.5 m, and a span of no more than 8 m, to facilitate natural ventilation.

2. Plant trees 2-3 m beside the duck house to avoid direct sunlight; grass can also be planted around the duck house, or vines such as luffa and creeping fig can be planted beside the duck house to help absorb heat.

3. Build a cool shed or shade net in the exercise area to avoid prolonged exposure of ducks to sunlight.

4. From April to May each year, when the pond water temperature rises to about 25°C, use sodium dichloroisocyanurate or trichloroisocyanuric acid according to the instructions for water disinfection.

5. Provide ducks with sufficient clean drinking water. When the temperature exceeds 29°C, electrolytic multivitamins or water-soluble vitamin C can be added to the drinking water or feed; Chinese herbal medicines can also be decocted in water for drinking or mixed into feed. Commonly used Chinese herbal medicines include: Lophatherum gracile 10 g, talc 15 g, Rehmannia glutinosa 12 g, Imperata cylindrica rhizome 25 g, and Elsholtzia 15 g, decocted in water for 15-day-old ducks to drink; Houttuynia cordata, Plantago asiatica, Lophatherum gracile, and Elsholtzia can also be decocted in water for drinking.

6. During the high-temperature period at noon, water can be sprayed on the duck house roof and the ground; an appropriate disinfectant can also be used for spray disinfection of the ducks, which both cools them and kills pathogenic microorganisms. Note that the prerequisite for taking these measures is good ventilation; otherwise it will instead increase the air humidity inside the house.

7. Do a good job in preventing and treating other diseases. According to the disease occurrence pattern of the ducks on this farm and the disease situation of other nearby farms, carry out immunization and drug prevention; do a good job in preventing and treating duck parasites. The incidence of duck tapeworm disease is relatively high in the western Guangdong region, and it is recommended to use compound albendazole (containing albendazole and ivermectin) for deworming. When ducks develop other diseases, during treatment, heatstroke prevention and cooling measures should be taken according to the farm's conditions, and heatstroke-prevention and anti-stress drugs should be added to the drinking water or feed.

8. Reduce or avoid the influence of other stress factors on ducks. Avoid rain exposure; do not suddenly change feed; when the weather changes suddenly, use electrolytic multivitamins or water-soluble vitamin C in drinking water or mixed into feed.

Treatment methods

1. When ducks are found to show heatstroke symptoms, immediately move them to a shaded place or build a shade shed or shade net.

2. Use electrolytic multivitamins or water-soluble vitamin C, 5% glucose powder, and 0.3-0.5 sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) in drinking water; some antibiotic drugs can also be added to the drinking water or feed to prevent secondary infection. If discovered in time, the condition can be effectively controlled by the above methods.

3. Perform pricking and bloodletting on the congested blood vessels on the feet of ducks with heatstroke.

4. Slowly pour cold water over the duck's head, and administer 4-5 mL of 2% "Shidishui" by drenching; or crush fresh bitter melon leaves and sweet wormwood to extract juice for drenching; use Huoxiang Zhengqi Shui, mixing 1 bottle with 1 kg of water for drinking or 0.5 kg of feed, for 3-5 consecutive days.