Female duck - missing back feathers/soft shelled eggs

[ethelandfred]

I have a female duck who for the last few months has been laying soft shelled eggs intermittently, every week or so. Today she laid 2 almost simultaneously, she is a pet so I'm not concerned about egg production beyond keeping her healthy. What should I do? I have been adding oyster shell to her food but that doesn't seem to have changed much, I have heard kale may help? Also today I noticed she is missing feathers just under where her wings meet, I hear this is from over-mating? We do have a male who is after her quite often. I will post pictures after I take some. Looking for advice. Thank you!

 

[Amiga]

I would set them up with side-by-side pens. Overmating can cause some of what you are seeing. The kale is not a bad idea. I would give her poultry vitamins once a week, and see if the rest, fresh leafy greens and vitamins might help her out.

 

[ethelandfred]

Here are some pics, she has laid a 3rd egg since - still soft.

 

[Amiga]

Yes, she needs a break from him.

 

[ethelandfred]

Yes, she needs a break from him.

Thank you @Amiga you are always quick with advice

My father rigged up a temporary blockade in their pen until he can make one with a door so we can open it if needed. They can still see each other which is all I was worried about. We'll see how it goes.

This way I can add shell directly to Ethel's food, I am worried about Fred eating too much of it and when I separate it from the food they she doesn't touch it. I also got her some kale and lettuce tonight so we can start feeding them some daily or so.

I am concerned about this being an ongoing problem, it seems worse now than it has been is it the time of year or their age? They both will be 1 this spring. Would another female help? I don't really want to go that route but I feel I should think about it.

Thank you again! I appreciate the input, I'm new to this and learning more and more as I go

 

[Amiga]

@ethelandfred , we have some general guidelines, and then we have experience. And there is some overlap. More females can help. But not always, as some drakes will pick on one. It could be their age, or the time of year, or, just how fred feels day to day.

I would love it if we really could nail down not only what is happening, but figure out a safe way to keep everyone healthy.

Glad you are stepping in to protect ethel.