Drake loosing weight

[RebinNH]

My formerly very large muscovy drake seems to be loosing a lot of weight. He has plenty of food offered but also seems to be eating less. Is this normal in winter? Perhaps he's getting ready to molt, as it is starting to warm up considerably here in NH.

 

[Miss Lydia]

My Muscovy have always molted in the fall.
Has anything changed in his environment?same food same friends? No one picking on him?

 

[HollowOfWisps]

How old is her? If nothing else has changed I would recommend doing a fecal sample with your vet (there are also labs you buy kits from for at home testing). He might need wormed.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I thought of worms but have always read Ducks don’t get parasites like chickens so didn’t mention it but def worth checking into.

 

[nanette7fl]

I would try to catch him up or herd him to a pen all by himself. It sure sounds to me that he might have round worms. You could also check his gizzard to see if anything food wise is in there. If not he could have eaten something and it may be in his esophagus. If that's the case there's not much you can do but take him to the vet to get it removed. Ducks eat anything that doesn't eat them first just like chickens, but they're a little braver on eating non-food stuffs.
-is he active?
-is he able to sound off(quack)?
-have you been able to see his poop? If it's worms, you should be able to see them

Good luck.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I thought of worms but have always read Ducks don’t get parasites like chickens so didn’t mention it but def worth checking into.

I've seen that to and from the studies I have read it is misinformation. Yes ducks are naturally more resistant to parasites than chickens and do not get as many different types, but they definitely are still suspectable. Roundworm in particular ducks are by no means immune to. There are some good studies and information out there. One of the studies actually found that 60%+ of the ducks tested had a form of parasite. The information below is a good read.


Parasites Affecting Ducks and Geese - USDA https://naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/IND43894745/PDF

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thank you for the info.
I believe it was The Book of Ducks that I read that ducks have to be kept in horrendous conditions to get parasites. I'll need to dig my book out.

 

[RebinNH]

That info on parasites is pretty scary! Not sure what to make of it!
Never heard of The Book of Ducks. Is it a regular go to, Lydia? Mine certainly are not in horrendous conditions. With frozen snow and hose issues their outside areas are not as good as normal (which is very good) but still just somewhat soiled with their own. The three do choose to spend a lot of time under the eaves of my porch floor and it is in an area I can't get to (can't even fit to crawl in there when there is dry (no snow conditions). What I usually did (summer and fall) was to hose it down and hope it would dry before they decided to go through or spend time there again. It's a pass through behind my mini split compressor, which I have a screen in front of to block drifting snow and I think they like that there is an entrance and an exit, so they can go through a tunnel like area but have 2 exits. I suppose I could block it off but if I do they'll miss their safe spot in the protected area of the yard where they can still get plenty of sun when it's out. I put layers of straw down and it has gotten pretty damp and the top only really dries out on part of it when the sun is out all day. Their fenced run is fine and although the coop is a bit damp underneath, my plan is tomorrow when it is warmer (in the 50's), to change everything and start again with a clean tarp and bedding. I have the herbal parasite wormer. I guess I'll start that. He has started not to keep his feathers on his tail as white either. Very not like him. Both of the girls (one has had wet feather since I got her early last fall - people tried to help me with that but basically it's just as bad, as she has never used her oil gland) look like their tail feathers have been somewhat stripped and I have not witnessed how that happened so I don't know if that could somehow be related.

 

[RebinNH]

My Muscovy have always molted in the fall.
Has anything changed in his environment?same food same friends? No one picking on him?

Yep, same three. He's king. Same food which he seems bored with - except for the slightly cooked frozen peas and corn.

 

[RebinNH]

Thank you for the info.
I believe it was The Book of Ducks that I read that ducks have to be kept in horrendous conditions to get parasites. I'll need to dig my book out.

I looked for that book and can't find it.