Crested Duck Problem....NEED HELP Pic Heavy!

[FarmGirl21]

I recently got this guy at an auction. I just had to have him because he was so pretty with his blue/cream coloring & huge crest. When we got him home I got a chance to look him over. His crest is Enormous! It's like a huge skin flap covered with feathers that feels like a doughnut! It hangs nearly half way down his neck and covers his left eye most of the time.

I let him run around with the other ducks for the week so i could see how he did & managed with such a huge thing hanging off his head. I don't think it's fair or safe for it to be so big, but i needed time to decide what to do about it.

Our local vet, an old timer that treats just about everything, suggested that we could put a rubber band around the base of it & let it fall off (like how you band a bull)...I don't know if i like the idea of that, plus i really like his poof & would like to keep some of it. It's what gives him so much personality.

These are the problems...
It gets very wet a lot, which means it's even more heavy on his neck.
It causes him to walk like a...Sneaky Detective duck, which is silly to watch but not right.
It impairs his vision, I know we've lost 2 small ducks this year top hawks & i would hate for him to get caught because he cant see it coming, or something else happen.

I wanted to see what you duck people on here might suggest for something like this, I don't want to cut it all off but can't think of any other way to fix it.

WOKKA WOKKA DUCK

 

[FarmGirl21]

Can anyone help???

 

[priszilla]

hes a beaty- maybe just trim the feathers for better vision? my crested duck doesn't have that flap of skin- just a poof of feathers

 

[FarmGirl21]

we have another crested that just has a poof too. This guy's is like a whole other body part, lol. & he is gorgeous, when it's dry, it looks like a wet mop when he gets wet, the sucks all have access to a creek & pond so that's an everyday thing. Kinda why we have them, they keep everything very clean.

 

[bheila]

Try trimming it first. Then if your vet thinks banding would really work I don't see why you couldn't do it. Banding worked for our goat and steer. Although it was for different parts

 

[lowcountrypoultry]

I dont know what to do, but I would say take him to a vet.

But he is a very handsome duck

 

[crtrlovr]

I don't have ducks, but have to wonder if it wouldn't be better to have the vet remove part or all of the flesh (under anesthesia and with post-op antibiotics than to band living tissue and have him go through what has got to be a great deal of pain until the area finally dies from blood loss and becomes necrotic and eventually rots off....

 

[PeepPeep24]

DO NOT BAND!! There is another post on here that talks about created ducks. It is called "the truth behind created ducks" please read. There is a hole in that ducks skill under the crest, if you band it there in a high chance of killing the duck. I know this reply is way late, but for anyone who comes accessed this like I did. Please look up that other thred and read it.

 

[RugenerGooser]

DO NOT BAND!! There is another post on here that talks about created ducks. It is called "the truth behind created ducks" please read. There is a hole in that ducks skill under the crest, if you band it there in a high chance of killing the duck. I know this reply is way late, but for anyone who comes accessed this like I did. Please look up that other thred and read it.

This is correct...I breed Crested Ducks and banding is a big NO-NO!!!! There is also a lethal gene carried in these birds. I do not ever breed a Crested to a Crested for that reason. I breed a Crested gene to a Wild gene(non-crested). I would rather have a few healthy Crested Ducks come out of a hatch with a bunch of non-crested, than to breed with the intent of always striving for crested. You can run into neurological problems, spine deformities, seizure disorders and wry tail. It is no way for an animal to live. If the crest is too large or lopsided just trim it. It does not hurt the bird. It is actually more of a help.

 

[Boskat]

DO NOT BAND!! There is another post on here that talks about created ducks. It is called "the truth behind created ducks" please read. There is a hole in that ducks skill under the crest, if you band it there in a high chance of killing the duck. I know this reply is way late, but for anyone who comes accessed this like I did. Please look up that other thred and read it.

THANK YOU FOR POSTING THAT SO I DONT HAVE TO! I’m a zoologist and I accidentally purchased a baby duckling that turned out to be crested. Although adorable, she is guna break my heart. The health problems related to the tumors are CRUEL. BREEDING them is CRUEL AND INHUMANE! My sweet Bella is barely 3 mo old. She has been healthy... until today. She came slowly waddling out from under the choke cherry tree. She can barely keep her sweet eyes open, but she’s trying to hang in there w the other 2 ducks. She’s off balance.... & LET ME PUCK HER UP TO CHECK HER WITH NO PROTEST! In fact, the wee dear fell asleep in my arms. I put her in her nest and brought food and water to her. The other 2 ducks are guiding and protecting her from the chickens that have noticed something is wrong w her. I can only hope she had a small seizure common to crested ducks , and NOT a stroke...also common. She has no L or RT side paralysis. She just exhausted. Idk. It’s REALLY BREAKING MY HEART to watch her struggle. People need to STOP BREEDING these poor ducks. Buyers NEED TO BE MADE AWARE of the MANY HEALTH PROBLEMS. Better yet, buyers need to research. It seems humans are doing to birds as they’ve done canines. Making an adorable, attractive “Show Animal”, at the painful expense of the animal. I’m so broken hearted. Thank goodness I’m a medic, zoologist, and animal rehabber. Bella will be treated like a newborn baby. I will hold her comfort her and see her thru, if her time comes prematurely....which it will.
Just Damn. Our joy or pride, due of having a beautiful rare poof ball feather do... is not worth the hell the poor animal suffers.