Help!! Duck eating his friends feathers!!

[Vickers58]

We have two 1.5 month old ducklings that are kept indoors until it's a bit warmer an they can be socialized with our other 2 ducks.

Meatloaf (our runner/mallard duckling) has been biting, pulling at, and eating the feathers of his partner Bill (Cayuga duckling). I have no idea what to do, how to make him stop, or why he's doing it!

They live (in what I thought ) was a pretty sizable house, but maybe it's too small? Not entertained enough? Missing some sort of nutrient?

They eat great waterfowl grower feed, I give them treats full of protein, and feel like things have been peaceful until a few days ago. Any ideas? Here's their house..is it too small?

 

[creaturelife]

i think they might not be not entertained but i m not there how do they spend there day do they sleep alot
and what are you feeding them and do you add anything to the water

 

[Vickers58]

First thing in the morning they get a lengthy swim in the bathtub ( that I continuously scrub!!!) And in the evenings an even longer swim. Most nights they roam the house looking for trouble. The the last two weekends they have spent the day outside separate from the others. They have loads of cat toys, car wash mitts, and shoes, to do some serious dabbling business... You name it the have it!

They just drink plain ol' water. Should it be something more??

 

[creaturelife]

i wouldnt giving them any thing more in the water it sounds like they are having alot of fun all day so that is not a problem i think they might be lacking something in there diet but i also think it could because they want in with the other ducks could because of the pecking order or the ranking of the ducks if they are big as the other duck or almost as big you could go ahead and put them in with them but other then that i dont really know what to do other then wait to see what some one else has to say sorry if i didnt help

 

[Amiga]

You may have a duck who likes to poke at other ducks. Do you have Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks? There is a section on feather eating. Let me dig that up.

"usually the result of boredom, but can also be triggered by excessively high brooding temperature, intense light, overcrowding, an unbalanced diet, or the lack of green feed.

At the first sign of feather eating, check brooder temperature, reduce light intensity (using blue or red bulbs often helps), and provide ducklings with sufficient space, a balanced diet, and adequate quantities of eed. As long as ducklings are kept inside, put tender green foods such as grass, lettuce and dandelions in front of them as much as possible. As soon as it is safe, allow ducklings access to grassy pens during the day."

p251

I am finding it less expensive to buy some winter wheat seeds and sprout them, letting them green up to about 2.5 inches tall. You can do it in a pie plate. I went with several small clear plastic containers that I drilled little holes in, there is a fodder thread or four here on BYC.