duck feathers coming in question?

[ajplmama]

My muscovy ducklings are starting to get big feathers on their tiny wings. I got these ducklings on July 26th and they were really small then but I'm not sure of their age. They now have all their tiny chest feathers and most of their head feathers and these big ones are starting.

The problem/concern is that they seem to be picking at each other's (or their own) quills as they emerge. They each have 5 or so really pronounced quills sticking out the back of their wings and today my husband called me at work to say they are looking bloody. He's been watching them and says he's only seen them picking at their own quills.

They sleep inside for protection but they are outside all day with access to a small pond and shade and shelter and pretty much go where they want to. They do come into contact with our chickens but mostly ignore each other. I haven't seen the chickens pecking them. They were locked up all day yesterday because of a hurricane so maybe they just got bored?

Should I be concerned and what can I do for them?

 

[ajplmama]

Anyone?

Here are photos:

This one shows the stage of development:

And the damage I described in my original post:

The worst example:

 

[Crickett]

They may have been bored. You can always put some blu-kote on them.

 

[ajplmama]

I'll look for that tomorrow when I'm in town.

The worst one is bleeding now so obviously they are continuing to pick at themselves

 

[KellyandKatie]

they do preen more than chickens do- if some of the ducks have more oil than others, they may be preening at that-- but usually they do not make each other bleed( at least that I have seen- I dunno)
maybe throw some toys in there? I don't know

 

[ajplmama]

Thanks! I don't know either. They are mostly outside with lots to look at and explore so it's hard to imagine they are bored but they were worse last night than when I took the photos. Now this morning I checked them before work and they seem a bit better. My son is babysitting them today to make sure the chickens don't get pecking at them. I hope the featehrs just get growing and stop causing issues.

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
The new feathers itch when they first come in. You will sometimes see the ducks rubbing them against something, sometimes they will over do it so they bleed. they will often preen these new feathers but don't as a rule make their own feathers bleed since that hurts. other ducks and chickens often find these 'blood feathers' tasty. Often it is just one picker/puller bird that is causing all the damage. Remember if you spray with blu-kote these new feathers are going to be blue for a long time, probably until they molt again.

 

[Wifezilla]

If they are nibbling feathers to the point of seeing blood, you may have a protein deficiency problem.

 

[ajplmama]

Thanks for both of those comments. I thought they are getting enough protein but what % should their feed be? I can imagine those thick feather itching while coming it. I think we've discovered that one guy is doing most of the picking. He's the largest and I'
ve seen him grabbing everyone. I put some corn starch on the bleeding feathers and today they seem much better. We also had rain on the weekend and the pond has water again. They had to be reminded where the pond is but once the found it they stayed in for hours. I think it helped that they had something fun to do all day. A distraction.

 

[Wifezilla]

I feed game bird feed. 24% protein. Much higher than many, but my ducks also get a lot of greens. 18% should be good in most cases.