Found this spot on Pete..

[ThePendragon]

looks like a bare patch on the back of my rooster

 

[ThePendragon]

looks like a bare patch on the back of my rooster

 

[PetesMom]

I'm starting to freak about bugs lol when I go up to my boyfriend's parents to feed, and change his pool water he's literally up my butt! Can I get them? I keep searching google for what mites look like if a duck has them and coming up blank with any pics

 

[PetesMom]

I found this link.... http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8162.pdf seems to me if he had mites/lice it would look alot different then what it does.... I picked up this powder stuff at Tractor Supply today that you just put a little bit on, a light "dusting"...should I even do this now? This is the only bald spot I see..

I have also noticed that when he is in the pool and he goes into one of these fits, he will grab feathers on the topside of his chest and hold onto them and smack his wings against the water..

 

[Miss Lydia]

I found this link.... http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8162.pdf seems to me if he had mites/lice it would look alot different then what it does.... I picked up this powder stuff at Tractor Supply today that you just put a little bit on, a light "dusting"...should I even do this now? This is the only bald spot I see..

I have also noticed that when he is in the pool and he goes into one of these fits, he will grab feathers on the topside of his chest and hold onto them and smack his wings against the water..

Mites look like tee tiny blk pepper some say they come in red but the ones my chickens had were blk, with him being white I'd say you'd be able to see them pretty easy, but do it at night so you can use the flash light and look under his wings close to his body and around his vent area. I looked at my chickens alot before i knew they had mites but never saw them till they actually got on me. Poultry dust is one way to take care of them, but I found that Epernix pour-on is easier to use, I only do my ducks once a year in Jan. when they don't have acsess to swimming because of the freezing weather. Thats when I treat for internal and external parasites. When i used dust it was all over me and breathing it can't be healthy for my ducks

 

[azhenhouse]

I know that they say ducks don't need swimming water but in my experience I find it to be very beneficial. Have you ever gone dry camping for a week? If so, then you know what it feels like to not have access to a bath/shower. By the time you get home your whole body is kind of itchy from all the filth, and after unloading all your equipment what is the first thing you do? You head for the comfort of your shower. Oh, just imagine that clean feeling you feel after that shower, and how fresh you smell. If I can get that much enjoyment out of a shower just think what Pete would get out of a little bath. It is my understanding that it will help him get rid of any external parasites. If he has black around his vent he needs to be cleaned up. Anything that he can get into that holds a good amount of water would work for a tub. In the winter when my ducks don't have access to their pool I fill up a under- the-bed storage tote with water. I carry about two to three buckets of water from the kitchen sink to the run (everything outside is put away for the winter) and dump it into the tote. It's not deep enough for them to swim but they can get enough water on themselves to get very clean.

Has Pete been able to bath yet? If not, I would get him into some bathing water, and clean around is vent. That area shouldn't be black, and I would check for those mites.

Your doing a great job with Pete, and we will all figure out what is wrong with the little guy. Just think about all you are learning.

 

[azhenhouse]

If Pete does have mites in wouldn't necessarily look like those in the pictures. That is a heavy infestation. Check him thoroughly to rule mites out.

So I see he has access to bathing water, and what you are describing to me is what my drakes do to the girls when they are mating. I believe that Miss Lydia is on to something. It is mating season, and Pete is lonely and wanting a girl. What do you think Miss Lydia?

 

[Miss Lydia]

If Pete does have mites in wouldn't necessarily look like those in the pictures. That is a heavy infestation. Check him thoroughly to rule mites out.
So I see he has access to bathing water, and what you are describing to me is what my drakes do to the girls when they are mating. I believe that Miss Lydia is on to something. It is mating season, and Pete is lonely and wanting a girl. What do you think Miss Lydia?

I think you are on to it az, he's at the right age too.

 

[PetesMom]

He's been chasing the muscovy female around today, and I have seen him on her. I took one look at him this morning when I went to clean his pool out and from last night I'd say he looks quite ickky

The bald spot got bigger and the feathers looked "dirty" I really don't see mites though. Unless they look like "flea dirt" lol if thats the case then he may have them as I looked at his vent and thats what it looked like, I don't think it was ducky poo. I went to Agway and bought some Diatmacious(sp?) Earth and gave him a dust bath....it was the food grade so I am hoping it was ok to put on him..I didn't really want to put the stuff on him I got from tractor supply because I read the back more closely and it says not to contaminate drinking/food bowls.....now Im assuming he can't eat it. He's a duck, how are you suppose to stop them from "cleaning" it off lol

Will the DE work? Should I reapply it at some point again? I'm wondering if he has mites if he got them from the straw bale we got during the winter??

 

[azhenhouse]

What type of bedding do you use for Pete, and what do you feed him?