Drake Cayuga..is this normal?

[PGRanch]

Over the last 2 weeks, I noticed that my drake cayuga has a very fat chest sometimes. I have picked him up many times to make sure he isn't going to die but it always goes away. No hardness, no lumps, no abnormalities. It is not always fat, it does go away and come back. I was watching them today and it came and went a few times within about 10 minutes.

I believe that it is his way of showing off but I can't find any literature that backs me up. Others think he is deformed.

Thoughts?

Here is a photo with it

 

[littlebluefarm]

do you mean the lump under the neck/breast?

 

[PGRanch]

do you mean the lump under the neck/breast?

Yes. I think its just him inflating it but I am no expert.

 

[Mike Winters]

probably just his crop ducks like to gorge themselves when they eat

 

[Mike Winters]

does it get larger after he eats?

 

[PGRanch]

probably just his crop ducks like to gorge themselves when they eat

does it get larger after he eats?

I am sure it does.

This goes away when I pick him up. Completely goes away.

 

[littlebluefarm]

hmm maybe some air in the skin?? they sometimes get that too...but it kinda looks like a crop

 

[Amiga]

My runner girls, especially one in particular, gets this look from time to time. I think it's related to their eating. I wonder if you could give them some probiotics in case there's a mild digestive imbalance inflating his tummy.

I just found an article on ducks dot org that explains waterfowl digestive systems. What we may call the crop on a duck is actually an expandable part of the esophagus. That's where the duck stores its "to go" meals.

And another expanding-contracting part of the digestive system is the gizzard. Apparently the gizzard gets larger when the duck eats more hard and crunchy food. The gizzard is where the grit goes to be used to "chew."

 

[CayugaLover]

it's perfetly normal, no worries! it happens to my female cayuga all the time.

 

[mohawkbrian]

its food in his crop. He will eat alot and then save it in his crop. This why he poos when he goes to sleep because there is still food in his system all throughout the night. If you look in the morning it won't be there. When you hold him it could just be that you are shoving the foood inside him or he's swallowing it. It's perfectly normal.