Bad Wings And Babies On The Way

[Indianrunnermom]

Hello All!!!
I'm new to this site and I have a few questions.
I have two Indian Runner Ducks. My drake is 6 years old and my girl is 5. The drake has been with me since he was a duckling, my girl I just got a a little over a year ago. They both live indoors with straw/hay bedding. They get wheat, crumble/pellets, cracked corn, and table scraps for food.
My girl, Petunia, has developed what I call "frayed" wings.

It was suggested it could be from an inadequate diet right before her last molt. I was told to give her a feed supplement called Aqua 500 made by Purina. Has anyone else heard of this? My internet search comes up empty -- the closest thing is Aquamax, which is fish food.
My drake has just figured out, sort of, what to do to give us fertile eggs. He's not very good at it, and he is not very active. I have two eggs in the incubator, and if all goes well, they will hatch in 9-11 days. Everything I read says I need to feed them duck starter, not chick starter, and nothing that is medicated -- all the feed stores tell me all they have is chick starter and that it will be okay......I would love some input on this.........
Thank you all

 

[20123001]

The reason why the feathers get like that is because they are not preening properly. There could be many reasons for this, like not having anywhere to bathe. As for your other question, I always feed my ducklings chick starter from the local feed store. Its fine as long as you get the un-medicated kind. Hope this helps.

 

[Amiga]

Welcome to the Duck Forum, IndianRunnerMom, I am not sure about the feathers. My first thought - just a hunch - is that she may benefit from some flax meal, perhaps a tablespoon in her feed daily.

Flax, I am told, has a form of Omega 3 fatty acids, and can be good for feathers and skin. I buy flax seed in bulk so I can get any amount I want, and then grind it up as we use it. It stays fresher that way.

Regarding the starter. Chick starter, unmedicated, with added niacin works pretty well. For niacin you could get niacin capsules and empty them into the drinking water at 100 to 150 mg niacin per gallon of water (Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks, for ducklings with niacin deficiency symptoms). I would go ahead and add the niacin because I have seen so many stories here of ducklings with leg and neurological issues that resolve often within days of adding niacin.

If you cannot find plain niacin (not no-flush, not timed-release), consider brewer's yeast. It contains niacin as well as other B vitamins. By my estimate based on nutritional data for brewer's yeast I think a tablespoon per 6 inch diameter food bowl might be equivalent, and is what a number of people use.

 

[Indianrunnermom]

Thank you for your replies.....I feel better about the chick starter now. I did get in touch with
David Holderread and was able to send him the pictures. He feels the feathers are due nutritional issues right before her last molt......I was given supplement suggestions and am moving forward with them........

 

[Amiga]

Very good news!

 

[Speceider]

Feathers like those can be caused by several things.. one is poor nutrition during feather growth.. .feathers are high in the sulphur amino acids, which tend to be limiting in feeds, feather wear can also result from birds being stressed during feather growth resulting in fault bars, being kept in too small cage or crowded conditions can cause feather wear, and birds having access to water from a septic system with the caustic chemicals can cause feather wear. There is nothing you can do now, you will have to wait til molt.

Clint

Clint