Duck picking at herself

[DB_Tex]

Picked up one of my white girls today and it looks like she has dead feathers under both wings (like in her armpit) and on the left side she's broken the skin a bit from what I surmise to be OCD style picking. (Oval wound, 2" across x1" diameter)
I put some safe antibiotic powder on both spots and sealed it on with vasoline, then I put her back in the pen where she has limited access to swimming water so she can't wash it off.

Any other ideas or suggestions? I'm going to check morning and afternoon until I see some considerable improvement. I can't imagine why she's so nervous... she's close to the top of the bevy hierarchy There's a couple boys waiting to be culled but no one is all that aggressive. She's about due to start laying. Could "puberty" be stressing her out?

edit: woops, clicked goose board on accident. If a mod could scoot this over to ducks instead I'd appreciate it.

 

[duckdad]

could she have picked up mites somehow? Any new ducks in the neighborhood that 'might' (seriously, no pun) have carried them into your flock?

 

[Amiga]

Mites was my first thought. But it could be some kind of stress. Has she had vitamins lately?

 

[DB_Tex]

no mites, no new ducks, nobody else effected. (I picked up all 30 of them and checked.) I'll just keep an eye on her I 'spose

 

[duckdad]

Try isolating her for a few days and give her the standard cure-all of vinegar (apple cider) in the water and more fresh greens and maybe vitamins. If she does not show improvement in a few days it might be worth a consult with a farm vet. The isolation would do 2 things....relieve any stress from being in a flock and it would assure that she got her medicines (water and vits) in doses that would be helpful.
I have one little one that will see an undissolved vit in the water and grab the thing before it can melt and benefit anyone else....

 

[DB_Tex]

Quote:
That's the plan If she's not looking close to 100% my last check before dusk last night it was already looking much better, I'm just very sensitive about the health of my babies I guess.... I can eat em but they can't have boo boos!!! LOL