Duckling chewing his hair off

[Schatzmom]

Hi all, I just noticed one of my ducklings has Started chewing hair off of his back. What would cause this? The others aren’t doing it to him or themselves. We put theracyn wound spray on it but he keeps chewing at it

 

[cavemanrich]

I really do not know,,, But would check lil guy for possible insect parasites.
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and

 

[AquaDuck]

Oh no how sad First thing on my mind was self mutilation, a common stereotypical behavior due to stress or boredom. (very common so don't feel bad if that's what it is, you're not doing anything wrong. Some animals are naturally more sensitive to stressors, just like some people are.)

Have you read this article that's featured right now? Aggressive baby chicks and how to stop the behavior
Found it interesting and enlightening. Talks about using distractions to prevent obsessive behavior (in the article's case aggression, but same thing with stress related behavior), and also checking outside stressors such as temperature and too cramped living conditions.

 

[Isaac 0]

That just some balding, common with duckling's around that age. I wouldn't worry unless you see external parasites or see other duckling's pecking at the bald spot. If the duckling is excessively preening it I might suspect boredom.