Crested/Dirty Questions

[meggiedoodle]

Hi all! I have two mixed breed ducks that are crested a little. Their crests aren't huge, but they are still crested. One of them always has her little crest, but the others grows in and then goes away. I never really thought anything of it, but today I picked her up and noticed that part of her crest was missing--like it was just the flap of skin. Anybody know what could have caused this, and solutions for it--whether I can help or not? I keep them in the same cage with three Australian Spotted ducks--one juvenile drake and two ducks, and she's the lead duck, so I assume that no one is picking at it. My second question is about the same duck. Her vent area feathers are constantly dirty. It's like a trail of brown from right above her vent to down below it. Her vent is not prolapsed or anything like that, but no matter how long she stays in the water or cleans it, it consistently goes back to looking like that. Any ideas? Reasons why?
Thanks everyone!

 

[Amiga]

Vent-wise, I wonder if she's got a mild digestive problem. Romy seemed to have that for a while.

Try some probiotics, maybe chop up some rolled oats - not instant - and add to her feed for fiber. See if you can take a little time for a poop-watch. See what's happening there and if it's really rank, I suppose she could have an infection.

Crest-wise, is she getting it caught in something? And when you say flap of skin, is it like the skin has partially come off, or that there are no feathers on the crested area?

 

[meggiedoodle]

Awesome! I will make sure to try that! She's almost two years old, and she's never had a problem before, so I was really curious as to why she's now having issues. I will try that and see if it helps.

As far as the crest goes, she has nothing to get it caught on. She and the others live in a spacy dog run with a dog house to sleep in at night. It's people-sized so the roof is tall, and the only space that isn't wide-open is a small space between the house and the side of the run. She tends to go back there a lot, but manages to get in and out without any problems, and does not catch her head on anything. The only thing about her crest is that feathers are missing, so the flap of skin is showing. There is no skin missing, or any bloody spots. I was thinking possibly she's molting, but she usually molts in August, or at least that's when she did last year. But then I was trying to remember whether her molt feathers all fall out, and I don't remember them doing that so... I'm muddled.

When she was younger, she had a full crest--not near as large as the crested ducks but still a nice size for her small body--but as time wore on, her crest disappeared. Not sure if this means anything, or helps identify a possible problem, but just wanted to explain further.
Thanks for your help!

 

[Amiga]

Thanks for the additional information. I don't have cresteds, I hope someone with more experience there can help us out.

Just like us, sometimes ducks eat something that disagrees with them, or pick up a tummy virus, or bacteria, or fungal infection. Their immune systems, if they are healthy, handle many of these things.

So, vitamins along with probiotics may help, too, since that boosts the immune system.

 

[meggiedoodle]

Do you think it could possibly be fly strike? Her feathers have been stained brown for a while and I didn't really think much of it, because I thought she just was dirty or something. Only now is it spreading to her crest... I gave her a bath as of now since I don't have rolled oats, and it looked like her crest had one small red spot on it. Very small. She acts fine, which is confusing me. She doesn't act hurt or in pain or anything. How long can it take for fly strike to develop? I think it's been a couple of months since I first noticed the dirty trail. Now that there might possibly be a chance for it to be fly strike I'm getting worried.

Thanks for your responses!

 

[Amiga]

I would think by now if it were flies, you would see maggots crawling in and out of the vent. Have you looked closely?

 

[meggiedoodle]

No, not yet. I thought that her underside was just dirty and I just noticed the crest thing yesterday. I will be checking today to see if I can find anything out of the ordinary.

 

[meggiedoodle]

Okay so I just quickly looked. Almost all of her crest is gone today and I couldn't see any new feathers growing in. I didn't check her very well but I did see that she had white paste covering her vent. Does this mean anything? I plan to look further later on in the day--I let her go for a swim now. I'll be looking for bugs, lice, maggots... anything else to keep an eye out for?
Thanks!

 

[Amiga]

There is a disease called gleet. It is a fungal disease. Is there a vet who might be able to help you?