green spots on duck bill

[dmpalmer]

I am concerned for one of my two ducks who has in the last few days developed some green spots on her bill. They almost look natural, but that is just not right? Is it some sort of fungal infection? Should I be putting her on some kind of medication?

 

[duckyfromoz]

Without actually seeing it- it is hard to say for certain - as spotting on the beak can happen with age in some ducks- but it can also happen for other reasons.

 

[dmpalmer]

She is less than a year old. It is the color that has me concerned.

 

[duckyfromoz]

I have a young duck- only about 25 weeks old that has some spotting already. In her case- I think mild de- hydration may be a contributor. She is blind and doesnt drink enough water durring the day. I always take her straight to the water when I get home. She can walk around and find it herself- but she obviously isnt drinking enough. Her whole beak is sometimes very dry and the spots came up all of a sudden when summer and warmer days hit here in Australia. Any chance you could post a photo of her bill??

 

[Amiga]

As my runners (black and chocolate) grew up, their solid black bills developed different colored areas - some are green, some are blue.

 

[duckyfromoz]

Amiga, With the dark solid colours in runners it is very common for the bills to differ in shade between green- blue - charcoal - and it can also be age related. I see it more so in my drakes then the females with the bill colour starting charcoal- as they mature going to green/ orange- then after a year or so it can turn a kind of blue colour. The OP has a duck with an orange bill- so its quiet different. Orange bills birds often develop spotting on the bill - kind of like freckles rather than shades of dfferent colours. My pekin has some. I will try to get a photo of her to show what they are.

 

[Amiga]

Okay, duckyfromoz, thanks - I haven't had a Pekin in decades - so my only point of reference is the runners I have now.

And I reckon there could be many reasons for bill spotting, including normal pigmentation changes, fungal or bacterial infection, and who knows what else.

dmpalmer, are the spots soft or otherwise different in texture from the rest of the bill?

 

[critterranch]

i have fawn and white runners all my females have them i heard on here it has to do with hormone change when they get ready to lay
mine started getting green specks on bill at 12 weeks and it got darker over time.

 

[duckyfromoz]

Here is my girl..She was around 2 years old when she started to develop the spots. She doesnt have many in comparison to some ducks I have seen.

Personally I have only ever had females with spots- My current drake is a few months older then my 4 year old duck and has none at all. So I would be interested to hear from anyone who has a pekin ( or similar coloured white drake ) that has bill spotting. It would seem to indicate that hormones could play a part in the development of spotting if it is mostly females who get spots. But again..its just one of a few different possible reasons.


Amiga...I was told by a breeder of Black and Chocolate runners about beak colour. He said he was lucky enough to buy some very cheap show champion drakes as the owner was getting rid of them due to the colour of the beak as he could no longer show them- What the first owner wasnt aware of was that the darker drakes commonly change bill colour after about a year. I cant remember if the same happens with females- as the conversation was mostly about drakes which is the gender I only had at the time. You will have to let us know in a few more months if there is any kind of colour change with your girls.

 

[CityChicker]

The spots are completely normal. I tend to see them in my better laying ducks, especially my Runner hens. They start developing when they get to laying age. I have always heard they are the result of the rising hormones at sexual maturity. I think John Metzer has a slightly different explanation on his blog. What is for sure though is that it is normal and not anything harmful.