Duck Has Poor Grooming Habits

[jacklynnwing]

Hi everybody!
This year I started a small flock of ducks. I have a magpie duck and she is just the sweetest girl. Definitely my nicest and most well behaved bird, she's also my best layer. Her only issue is that her grooming habits are AWFUL. Her face is always so dirty and caked with dirt. As far as I can tell she is a very healthy duck. This isn't anything new, she's always been a poor groomer. She has no visible health issues, and she's eating and drinking completely fine. Is there something I can do to encourage her to groom her face, or will I have to do it for her? Thanks for any and all help!!

 

[JNC]

Do you have a kiddie pool? Ducks love to swim. Or at least a bucket deep enough for her to dip her face? Normally ducks are really messy. I bought a kiddie pool for my ducks and they love it. I also have a lake down the street and I take them often and they love it.

 

[Isaac 0]

Could you post a picture of the duck?

If she only has mud on her face, and not completely on her body; and hasn't lost her ability to repel water, I don't think there's any concern. Just that she's a dirty duck, but what duck isnt.

 

[jacklynnwing]

Do you have a kiddie pool? Ducks love to swim. Or at least a bucket deep enough for her to dip her face? Normally ducks are really messy. I bought a kiddie pool for my ducks and they love it. I also have a lake down the street and I take them often and they love it. View attachment 2428952View attachment 2428946

Super cute duckies you have! I live in Northern Arizona and it gets SUPER cold her in the winter, so I removed their kiddie pool for the season because it freezes but they still have a really large stock tank that I clean and fill regularly. I also have a smaller bowl (holds maybe 1/2 - 1 gallon of water) That I fill with water and dried fish so they can "forage". I could add in another tank of water if that might help.

 

[JNC]

Okay! I wouldn’t worry too much about it. As long as they have deep enough water to dip their whole heads I wouldn’t worry. Ducks are super messy and that’s why they need a lot of water to clean out theirs nostrils, ears, and eyes. At least she’s healthy! My ducks also get super messy after it rains or I dump out their pool and it makes a puddle.

 

[jacklynnwing]

Could you post a picture of the duck?

If she only has mud on her face, and not completely on her body; and hasn't lost her ability to repel water, I don't think there's any concern. Just that she's a dirty duck, but what duck isnt.

I just got a new phone so I don't have any recent pictures of her! She's a pretty clean duck on her body, just her little face is totally filthy all the time. They primarily eat Purina Flock Raiser, but I do also offer Purina Duck Pellets (that are jam packed with niacin) so I don't think there's any issues within her diet. I can try and snap a picture tonight!

 

[Isaac 0]

I just got a new phone so I don't have any recent pictures of her! She's a pretty clean duck on her body, just her little face is totally filthy all the time. They primarily eat Purina Flock Raiser, but I do also offer Purina Duck Pellets (that are jam packed with niacin) so I don't think there's any issues within her diet. I can try and snap a picture tonight!

Did you ever get a picture? From the sounds of it; it just sounds like she's a dirty/normal duck.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I have found that my ducks do better on a pellet type feed. They were much messier when they were on crumble. They also choked at times from the crumbles. Don't get me wrong, I love Purina Flock Raiser. In fact, I feed that to my chickens and I fed it to my ducks as ducklings. They do make a Purina Flock Raiser in pellet form, but it's more difficult to find, in my experience. Of course many folks feed this without any problems whatsoever and my ducks would also eat it if I didn't offer something else. I just wanted to share my experience. I wish you the best. You've already received some great advice from some of the most knowledgeable folks here, before my post. I would certainly trust their input. I'm sure your duck is a cutie and I hope we get to see a picture of her