Duck not preening due to injured wing (very anxious mummy)

[mariajames49]

Duck not preening due to injured wing (very anxious mummy)
Wondering if anyone has any advice for me , my duck is getting really wet and her feathers are not waterproofing as she is unable to preen due to an injured wing. I am having to bring her indoors every evening to blow dry her to make sure she doesn’t get too cold and develop pneumonia. I’m wonderin if there is anthing i can put on her wing to make them Waterproof or possibly add to her diet ??
Hope someone can offer some advice. Thanks in advance.

 

[mariajames49]

Duck not preening due to injured wing (very anxious mummy)
Wondering if anyone has any advice for me , my duck is getting really wet and her feathers are not waterproofing as she is unable to preen due to an injured wing. I am having to bring her indoors every evening to blow dry her to make sure she doesn’t get too cold and develop pneumonia. I’m wonderin if there is anthing i can put on her wing to make them Waterproof or possibly add to her diet ??
Hope someone can offer some advice. Thanks in advance.

Her wing has arthritis so unlikely to heal as she’s 14years old now , but I would like to help her lead a happy life as long as I possibly can - hope someone can help ??

 

[fatty and friends]

take a VERY SMALL bit of dawn dish soap and clean her feathers with it, rinse it off in a warm bath, and then blow dry until completely dry. this should help clean her oil gland and she will start producing oils again.

since she is so old though maybe consider seeing a vet, this could just be a side effect of her aging. what’s she eat?

 

[Isaac 0]

Could you get a closer picture of her feathers?
Do you see her attempting to preen throughout the day, or is she totally reluctant to do so
How is the injured wing causing her not to preen - I suspect because it is painful, correct?

When dealing with feather-related problems it's always a good idea to check over the integument (feathers, skin) for any sign of ectoparasites such as mites or lice, contaminants, or dysfunction of the oil gland. A flashlight is often helpful for such a task.

The most common cause of wet feathers is due to lack of oil distribution over the feathers, and lack of bathing/ or excess contimants which creates debris accumulation over the feathers. You can see the difference between a normal feather, and a "wet feather" in the link below.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/feather-comparison.1458061/

Any condition that causes the above can create a wet feather. One should address why the duck is not preening or bathing regularly - if you believe the wing is the culprit she may benefit from NSAIDs, or pain medications to help cope with arthritis occurring. Slowly introducing water into her routine will help stimulate oil distribution, and maintain clean feathers. If the duck becomes too water-bound when bathing, you can gently try misting the feathers during the warmest part of the day.

 

[Isaac 0]

Speaking from experience, the only time I would suggest using dawn soap is if her feathers are totally soiled with dirt or other contaminants. If the feathers are in good shape/ just not repelling water, soap will only strip any remaining oils off the feathers worsening the problem.

 

[mariajames49]

Could you get a closer picture of her feathers?
Do you see her attempting to preen throughout the day, or is she totally reluctant to do so
How is the injured wing causing her not to preen - I suspect because it is painful, correct?

When dealing with feather-related problems it's always a good idea to check over the integument (feathers, skin) for any sign of ectoparasites such as mites or lice, contaminants, or dysfunction of the oil gland. A flashlight is often helpful for such a task.

The most common cause of wet feathers is due to lack of oil distribution over the feathers, and lack of bathing/ or excess contimants which creates debris accumulation over the feathers. You can see the difference between a normal feather, and a "wet feather" in the link below.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/feather-comparison.1458061/

Any condition that causes the above can create a wet feather. One should address why the duck is not preening or bathing regularly - if you believe the wing is the culprit she may benefit from NSAIDs, or pain medications to help cope with arthritis occurring. Slowly introducing water into her routine will help stimulate oil distribution, and maintain clean feathers. If the duck becomes too water-bound when bathing, you can gently try misting the feathers during the warmest part of the day.

Thank you so much for your reply. Her feathers are okay except when they are wet they soak up the wet completely and I can see her skin so I know they are not waterproof. I haven’t really seen her preening and I think she is not preening cos of the pain in her left wing.
I have ordered some

Lonjevitee Boswellia for Dogs 100 x 200 mg vegan capsules​

Could you get a closer picture of her feathers?
Do you see her attempting to preen throughout the day, or is she totally reluctant to do so
How is the injured wing causing her not to preen - I suspect because it is painful, correct?

When dealing with feather-related problems it's always a good idea to check over the integument (feathers, skin) for any sign of ectoparasites such as mites or lice, contaminants, or dysfunction of the oil gland. A flashlight is often helpful for such a task.

The most common cause of wet feathers is due to lack of oil distribution over the feathers, and lack of bathing/ or excess contimants which creates debris accumulation over the feathers. You can see the difference between a normal feather, and a "wet feather" in the link below.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/feather-comparison.1458061/

Any condition that causes the above can create a wet feather. One should address why the duck is not preening or bathing regularly - if you believe the wing is the culprit she may benefit from NSAIDs, or pain medications to help cope with arthritis occurring. Slowly introducing water into her routine will help stimulate oil distribution, and maintain clean feathers. If the duck becomes too water-bound when bathing, you can gently try misting the feathers during the warmest part of the day.

Could you get a closer picture of her feathers?
Do you see her attempting to preen throughout the day, or is she totally reluctant to do so
How is the injured wing causing her not to preen - I suspect because it is painful, correct?

When dealing with feather-related problems it's always a good idea to check over the integument (feathers, skin) for any sign of ectoparasites such as mites or lice, contaminants, or dysfunction of the oil gland. A flashlight is often helpful for such a task.

The most common cause of wet feathers is due to lack of oil distribution over the feathers, and lack of bathing/ or excess contimants which creates debris accumulation over the feathers. You can see the difference between a normal feather, and a "wet feather" in the link below.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/feather-comparison.1458061/

Any condition that causes the above can create a wet feather. One should address why the duck is not preening or bathing regularly - if you believe the wing is the culprit she may benefit from NSAIDs, or pain medications to help cope with arthritis occurring. Slowly introducing water into her routine will help stimulate oil distribution, and maintain clean feathers. If the duck becomes too water-bound when bathing, you can gently try misting the feathers during the warmest part of the day.

 

[mariajames49]

Thank you so much for your reply. Her feathers are okay except when they are wet they soak up the wet completely and I can see her skin so I know they are not waterproof. I haven’t really seen her preening and I think she is not preening cos of the pain in her left wing.
I have ordered some

Lonjevitee Boswellia for Dogs 100 x 200 mg vegan capsules​

I’m wondering if Boswellia will help her ? As it’s designed to reduce inflammation and she has a swelling under her wing which the vet has previously said is from an old injury when another duck attacked her and she has developed arthritis nos she is 14 as a consequence from the injury. I’m mainly worried about her getting wet and not staying dry atm , is there anthing I can apply to her wings for waterproofing measures do you know? Thanks again

 

[mariajames49]

take a VERY SMALL bit of dawn dish soap and clean her feathers with it, rinse it off in a warm bath, and then blow dry until completely dry. this should help clean her oil gland and she will start producing oils again.

since she is so old though maybe consider seeing a vet, this could just be a side effect of her aging. what’s she eat?

I think she is reluctant to preen or can’t because of her sore wing , she is eating okay which consists of layers pallets , sweet corn and lettuce mostly x

 

[mariajames49]

Speaking from experience, the only time I would suggest using dawn soap is if her feathers are totally soiled with dirt or other contaminants. If the feathers are in good shape/ just not repelling water, soap will only strip any remaining oils off the feathers worsening the problem.

Yes i thought the same i don’t want to make her wet either on purpose I want to improve the waterproofing if possible as I think she is finding it too difficult to preen atm x do you know if there is anthing i can apply to her wings / feathers for waterproofing ? Someone mentioned to stimulate the preening gland but not sure how to do this or even if that is the best thing to do , I don’t want to cause her any more pain ?

 

[fatty and friends]

I think she is reluctant to preen or can’t because of her sore wing , she is eating okay which consists of layers pallets , sweet corn and lettuce mostly x

is she still laying at 14 years old?