What to do for an oil gland that isn't working well

[Miss Lydia]

Any one had to deal with this? My youngest gander 1.5 yrs old has been having wet feather so today I looked at his oil glad it isn't infected or swollen and there is some oil coming out but there must be something going on with it because the last couple days he has been obsessed with preening and his feathers just stay wet. I put some warm compresses on it today and will do it again tomorrow but If there is something you have found worked please let me know.
Thanks.

 

[rainplace]

Hi Miss Lydia,

I've come across wet feather twice. The first time some random person dumped a duck at the farm in the middle of winter and drove away. The duck was super friendly and acted well enough, but it's feathers were another story. I had the vet stop over and he pointed out some kind of louse. He gave me something to treat her and recommended I keep her somewhere dry until she molted or the weather became warmer, whatever happened first. He said when the feathers are in such poor condition they are not as insulated and can succumb to the elements.

The second time I saw wet feather was in a flock of twenty adult Pekins a friend of mine acquired. The man she got them from had them penned in a small nasty area without access to bathing water. Personally I couldn't believe she bought them. They didn't look to have lice (hard to tell really) and since it was high summer, we put out four kiddie pools. It took a few days before one would actually get in, but once that happened most of them took to the water. By fall you couldn't even tell they were the same ducks.

I couldn't find my copy of Chris Ashton's "Domestic Geese," but in her and Mike's book "The Domestic Duck" they suggest more green food and vitamin B in case of nutritional deficiency. In other publications the also suggest not to use fowl who exhibit wet feather for breeding purposes. You can read their section on wet feather here: https://books.google.com/books?id=a...q=Domestic Geese Ashton "wet feather"&f=false

I'm from the pacific northwest and we have a lot rain. I've never had any problems with my geese being outside in the weather year round. All the geese I have had, minus one who thought he was a duck, have chosen to be in the elements than under shelter when given the choice. I have heard older Toulouse geese can suffer from the rains though. Again from Chris Ashton:

"Toulouse plumage is fuller and softer than the average farmyard goose, especially in the larger, exhibition birds. In continuously wet weather, older Toulouse need shelter at night, and cannot be left out in a fox-proof pen 24 hours a day. Rainfall was so high last year (2000-2001) that some six-year old birds appeared to suffer from ‘wet feather’. This is a condition where the feathers never seem to dry out. There are various causes of this condition. The cause of ‘wet feather’ in the Toulouse last year was simply that the soft plumage does not cope with continuous rain, and the only solution was to house the older birds on bad days. Paradoxically, the main way to avoid this condition is to ensure that birds have access to bathing water throughout the year, and so can keep themselves clean. In this way they keep their feathers in good condition by washing, preening and spreading their own preen-gland oil over their plumage. Hopefully this summer’s moult has allowed the birds to replace their plumage with good, new feathers ready for this winter." Text found here: http://www.ashtonwaterfowl.net/toulouse_geese.htm

So after all that, if it were my goose, I would probably give it orally between .3cc to .5cc (depending on size) 1% Ivomec for cattle and swine (injectable), keep it sheltered during inclement weather, make available free choice greens, and sprinkle brewers yeast on feed. A lot of people out my way swear by worming every spring and fall, but I don't tend to do that, maybe because I am afraid of resistance when I really need it. (The Ivermectin dosages were given to me by Dave Holderread when I picked up waterfowl from his farm).

Anyway, I hope something in here is helpful and I wish your gander well.

 

[servpolice]

The neck feathers will always stay water proof with a lot of geese.
I've a feeling that babe doesn't like cleaning himself when he's dry
We always have those geese and it seems that the majority of geese that don't keep themselves clean are ganders.
Just to let you know another thing which could be the problem is that the oil only does its job when the goose is dry, when they are wet it doesn't work so wait till you have a week of dry weather so the feathers can relax and let babe clean himself up a bit and let him do his neck squriming and head spinning on the tail area to get the oil when he's dry so he will be more waterproof
Also a goose with broken feathers or has ruffled old feathers won't be waterproof and those areas on the goose will always be wet and not waterproof.

 

[rainplace]

@Miss Lydia
I do hope Babe gets better!

You and I joined about the same time. It's nice to see you still around, you've always been someone I've enjoyed reading. I really liked my time here at BYC, but I found it consumed too much of time. I came back to request some help/ideas from Amiga (she was awesome as usual), then combed through all the posts I had ever started (time sink!), and then got sucked into some recent posts. Mostly I'm procrastinating writing a resume, but as soon as that's done, I'll most likely drift away again as life sweeps me away into its busyness.

I plugged in my old laptop and found this in my bookmarks:
http://forum.backyardpoultry.com/viewtopic.php?t=5885&highlight=
Second post down reads:

"Wet Feather is an occasional problem. http://www.callducks.net/duckswetf.htm# (Link no longer works) Preening Ducks and geese need to keep their feathers in top condition to protect themselves against water-logging whilst swimming, and in wet weather. They normally do this by bathing to remove dirt from the feathers, and by combing the feathers through the bill. This maintenance of feathers is called preening. It includes the removal of parasites, the removal of scales which cover newly sprouting feathers, and also the spreading of oil over clean feathers. It also includes the combing of the barbs on the feather so that the barbules and even smaller hooks called barbicelli interlock and form a protective layer to repel water..

The oil is obtained from the preen gland on the rump. This is an oily spot which can be found by searching near the drakes curled feathers. The bird uses this patch to roll and stroke its head over the oil. The head is then rubbed over the body feathers to spread the oil evenly. This keeps the feathers bright and supple, and allows water to run off in droplets as the proverbial "water off a ducks back."

Some people believe that the oil of the preen gland has little to do with 'waterproofing' feathers, the main function of the oil being to keep the feathers supple. Freethy, in his excellent book 'How Birds Work', explains that preen gland oil is not the only defense against water-logging; constant attention to zipping the barbicelli of the feathers together is also important. However, one only has to look at ducklings to see that preen gland oil does have some function in repelling water. Ducklings reared under a mother duck have a certain extent of natural water-proofing from contact with her feathers. The contact maintains a good down structure as well as spreading preen-gland oil on ducklings when they are only a few days old. Ducklings reared without a mother are not nearly so waterproof.

The debate about wet feather is not a new one. At some point, a review of earlier literature on the subject will be published by the CDA. What does wet-feather mean? When things go wrong, a bird looks distinctly damp instead of glossy. The feathers become water-logged and unable to repel water. The outer contour and even flight feathers are affected. In a severe case, even the under-down may start to become affected. The bird becomes cold and miserable, and avoids water which can then make the condition even worse.This condition known as wet-feather is more common in wet winters. It has affected birds which have been free of this problem in the past. This has worried their owners too, because there often seems little one can do to help. Whilst the weather and environmental conditions in wet winters have undoubtedly caused the problem for many, I thought it might be useful, particularly for new keepers, to review several conditions which can cause this feather deterioration.

When wet feather strikes, there are several possible causes. In some cases, birds will not respond to the treatment given. In such cases the bird may be ill from another long-standing problem, and cannot be cured. 1.Birds are kept with little water. They may look all right, but when they encounter wet conditions, the feathers immediately become water-logged and do not dry out easily. This may happen when a pair of birds are bought at a sale, and introduced to a place with plenty of water. This kind of wet-feather is usually temporary. In better conditions, the birds preen, oil up and re-condition their feathers in about a week.

2.The preen gland is not producing sufficient oil. This can be due to diet. Insufficient vitamins can definitely produce miserable birds. An example of this was when Call ducks were kept on a diet on hen-layers pellets only. They were mostly in poor, wet-feathered condition. The addition of 50% wheat to the diet helped the majority of the birds. Whole wheat provides vitamin E from the wheat germ. This is easily destroyed in milling. Whole wheat also contains vitamin B which waterfowl need. Supplements such as cod liver oil (on the food) and some maize in the feed in winter may also help alleviate the problem. Do try to feed pellets for waterfowl (not chickens) and make sure the food is in-date. Hen layers pellets are poor food for birds which are not laying, and also for breeder birds. Maintenance pellets plus wheat are best outside the breeding season. A breeders ration containing the right amount of calcium for ducks, plus extra vitamin E and B for strong embryos, should be used in the breeding season. If birds are on genuine free range, they will pick up their own animal protein and greens, and it will probably not matter what they are fed as a supplement to their main wild diet.

3. The feathers get muddy. Once they have absorbed soil particles, condition is rapidly lost, and the birds find it very difficult to oil up again, even if they have clean water. Mud on the feathers probably strips off the oily protection. Muds contain clay minerals. Some of these clays have been used in the past in fulling wool i.e. taking out excess oils. This may be what happens to the ducks. On the other hand, it could be the abrasive action of the mud which ruins the feather. Continuously wet conditions also exacerbate the problem. Affected birds simply cannot dry out, and cannot re-condition their feathers by preening. This is the commonest cause of wet-feather. A partial solution is to shelter the birds in excessively wet weather. They then have the opportunity to dry out. Allow then to swim on days when there is the possibility of them drying out - and keep the birds free of mud if possible. The growth of new feathers next season often cures the problem.

4. Feathers get dirty from moulds. Victoria Roberts, in her book "Diseases of Free Range Poultry," cites soiling by plant spores and sooty mould from osier willows, which will continue to grow on feathers, as a possible cause of wet-feather on wildfowl pools. The recommendation is to wash the affected bird in detergent, preferably a shampoo designed for animal use. Care must be taken in returning washed birds to the pool. They need protection from cold, wet conditions until they have oiled up their feathers again.

5. Over-preening is also thought to cause wet-feather. This can result from a bird carrying a high parasite load. Common parasites on ducks include northern mite (a reddish-coloured mite which lives on the bird and sucks blood) and shaft lice which live on the feathers. Both of these parasites cause irritation. Preening of the shaft lice can start to cause shredding of the feathers. The barbules fail to interlock, and water-proofing is lost. To help the bird, parasites must be removed with an insecticide. This can be in the form of a powder containing pyrethrum, or an aerosol. There are also organic powders such as Barrier, which contain essential oils which are good at zapping the parasites. These treatments are contact killers so the bird will need two treatments. Treatment 1 gets rid of the adult pests ; treatment 2 kills pests emerging from the eggs and maturing on day 7-8. Always use the spray or powder on a dry bird. Avoid spraying aerosol on the eyes. The propellant is an irritant. Ivomec is a systemic wormer and also kills external parasites. The product comes in different strengths and forms. It can be injected, or used as a pour-on lotion on the skin. Five drops of the pour-on (for cattle) are recommended to treat a hen, so this should be scaled down to 1-2 drops for a Call duck. The product is now available (from a vet) in a small 10 ml dropper bottle, specially for birds. The 0.8 % solution recommends one drop for a pigeon so a Call would again need 1-2 drops. Ivomec seems to be more toxic for wildfowl and Toulouse geese than most domestic ducks. Always consult a vet, if in doubt about the product, to get the correct dose. Also, test only one bird first and watch its behaviour before doing the rest on the next day. At least two treatments, 8 days apart, are needed to remove all the parasites.

6.Some breeds and species are more liable to wet-feather than others. Toulouse and Pekin ducks tend to have softer feathers than other breeds and are more susceptible. It has also been noted that Baikal and Falcated Teal males suffer more than their females. The condition attacks the longer, softer wing feathers which are only repaired at the next moult. It is basically feather quality which determines if any bird is affected or not. In general Call ducks are pretty resistant to wet feather. Mine live out in all weathers gales and frosts alike and have never yet suffered from the condition. Clean water and a free-range diet do keep the condition away. If your pet Calls are kept in a grassy garden and vegetable patch, they should stay fit and water-proof because they are on a good mixed diet and can wash."

I found the mould thing interesting. I forgot about that. Do you have that sort of willow around your property? A google search says it's a "basket willow" (the type used for making baskets. When I tried hunting down the actual fungi responsible, I came up with Cladasporum herbarum. However that seems to be one of the most common in everything... dead wood, carpets, you name it. So I don't know what I think about the mould (or is that mold? my spellcheck keeps protesting). However every place I've encountered that talks about wet feather lists that willow as a possible source. It's driving me bonkers, mostly because I've not actually seen one person say definitively that an osier willow caused their waterfowl's wet feather. I wish they'd list their source!!!!

And this, Miss Lydia, is a huge reason of how BYC is so time consuming for me. I find everything so interesting! That's not even talking about the social aspects

 

[servpolice]

I honestly don't know Miss L but if your geese have been in the rain constantly for days then there's your answer.
Usually older geese get this problem and I've heard that the heavier the breed the less oil it produces but that's not always the case.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I honestly don't know Miss L but if your geese have been in the rain constantly for days then there's your answer.
Usually older geese get this problem and I've heard that the heavier the breed the less oil it produces but that's not always the case.

Thanks serv and yes constant rain and he is soaked but the other 3 not. I feel bad for him because he is trying so hard to get his feathers preened but it doesn't work. Hopefully once it stops raining he can get on top of this

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have massaged the oil gland and done warm compresses 2X hopefully it will start making more wax so he will be ready for the winter weather we're to get end of this week.

 

[servpolice]

Keep us updated! We still have constant rain over here in Ireland
And the buffs are loosening their waterproof feathers but are grand once I put them inside to sleep

 

[Miss Lydia]

Keep us updated! We still have constant rain over here in Ireland
And the buffs are loosening their waterproof feathers but are grand once I put them inside to sleep

I have seen a big difference in Babe since we went 2 days with out rain so hoping he will be okay. mainly worried for when we get snow and ice because they do not like to be cooped up in the day time. I guess we'd look soggy too serv if we were out in it all the time.

 

[servpolice]

hahaha yea let's look at it that way, we'll just pour oil over ourselves so we'll be waterproof :,)