4 months of molting , white feathers coming in yellow and complete personality change from cuddly to attack dog.

[Danielle N]

Please help! Our 2 1/2 year old female ancona stopped laying eggs mid September when she went into full molt. She is still losing tons of feathers and not laying. This is 3 1/2 months now. Once lovable and craved coddling, she now is very aggressive and follows just to attack and bite. Blood work at vet said all looked fine, no infections, and just to up her calcium which we are doing but still no sign of improvement. Gone also is her normal quack , she’s just constantly screaching high pitched which makes us wonder if she’s in pain, but again vet couldn’t help diagnose.
Do some ducks take this long to molt ?
Could it be an illness causing all this ?
Any help greatly appreciated!

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

I don't know much about these kind of things with ducks though @Miss Lydia and @Jenbirdee. Possibly also @cheezenkwackers knows something.

 

[ShrekDawg]

I don’t think calcium would help with molting. Protein would though. You could try upping that.

 

[ruthhope]

Please help! Our 2 1/2 year old female ancona stopped laying eggs mid September when she went into full molt. She is still losing tons of feathers and not laying. This is 3 1/2 months now. Once lovable and craved coddling, she now is very aggressive and follows just to attack and bite. Blood work at vet said all looked fine, no infections, and just to up her calcium which we are doing but still no sign of improvement. Gone also is her normal quack , she’s just constantly screaching high pitched which makes us wonder if she’s in pain, but again vet couldn’t help diagnose.
Do some ducks take this long to molt ?
Could it be an illness causing all this ?
Any help greatly appreciated!

I have experienced similar long molt this year by one of my muscovy. He molted in August and September and was miserable, hiding from me, running away from the other ducks who started bullying him, being very bitey bitey when cornered. He started to get better in October and by Novembr he had full gorgeous plumage, his moxy back, also back at the top of the pecking order, and following me round demanding attention.

Their flight feathers often take a long time to grow back and they feel very vulnerable when their wings aren't full power, even if they cannot fly with their full complement of flight feathers

 

[Danielle N]

I have experienced similar long molt this year by one of my muscovy. He molted in August and September and was miserable, hiding from me, running away from the other ducks who started bullying him, being very bitey bitey when cornered. He started to get better in October and by Novembr he had full gorgeous plumage, his moxy back, also back at the top of the pecking order, and following me round demanding attention.

Their flight feathers often take a long time to grow back and they feel very vulnerable when their wings aren't full power, even if they cannot fly with their full complement of flight feathers

Wow , poor baby ! Thanks for the reply , helps to know this is normal !

 

[Miss Lydia]

Wow , poor baby ! Thanks for the reply , helps to know this is normal !

What percent is your feed? when in molt giving extra protein can help too. I use small bit dog kibble becasue that is what my dachshund eats some use cat food. Just make sure if you use either it is good quality and not a lot of filler. Mealworms is another good source of protein.

 

[Danielle N]

What percent is your feed? when in molt giving extra protein can help too. I use small bit dog kibble becasue that is what my dachshund eats some use cat food. Just make sure if you use either it is good quality and not a lot of filler. Mealworms is another good source of protein.

Yes plenty of extra protein , mealworms , loves peas ! Picky eater as we tried scrambled eggs , cottage cheese , etc , won’t go near it! Maybe dog kibble could be a good change for her ! Thx !

 

[Jenbirdee]

i remember reading something about a certain vitamin overload, causing yellowing of the white feathers but I forget which vitamin it was….

 

[Miss Lydia]

Corn will turn white feathers yellow

 

[Danielle N]

Corn will turn white feathers yellow

Well it’s not that , she hates corn thx though !