Help! Duck's beak seems to be rotting?

[eveebee]

Her beak has been pale lately compared to my other pekins then it started to develop dark spots and now you can see the flesh underneath. She seems to be energetic and acting okay but is smaller than the other females. Any ideas what could be wrong or what I can do for her? She's about 4 months old. I'm afraid it could be malnutrition due to treating them with lettuce too much? The others all look fine. Please help!

 

[Missy60]

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I was looking on Metzer today and found this about black spots on bills. I'm not sure it applies since you can see flesh but I really don't know.
What causes the black spots on my duck's bill?
Black spots on the bill and legs are due to melanin skin pigment. They are normally present (not harmful) but are covered with yellow colored xanthophyll pigment absorbed from feeds containing corn, alfalfa and other feed ingredients containing xanthophyll. In mature breeder ducks, after they have been laying eggs for awhile, more xanthophyll is absorbed by the egg yolk than the duck can consume in her feed. The bill and legs start showing melanin skin pigment due to the bleaching or fading of the xanthophylls.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Her beak has been pale lately compared to my other pekins then it started to develop dark spots and now you can see the flesh underneath. She seems to be energetic and acting okay but is smaller than the other females. Any ideas what could be wrong or what I can do for her? She's about 4 months old. I'm afraid it could be malnutrition due to treating them with lettuce too much? The others all look fine. Please help!

You say treating her with lettuce? what else do you feed them? and

 

[eveebee]

I've been feeding them 16% layer crumble that I feed the chickens. They get some corn and are also free range. I give them lettuce every night when I lock them up. I have 4 female and 2 male Pekins, a pair of Khaki Campbells, and 2 African geese ( and 16 chickens). One of the female ducks has started laying but I don't know which one. They are all about 4 mos old. The spots aren't just surface, the big reddish patch is fleshy.

I fed them 22% game bird starter/grower when they were little before I turned them out.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

You can wash the bill with warm water and a soft cloth or an extra soft tooth brush. Look for any injury, or bad spot and apply neosporin to it (the type without pain reliever). If you don't find any injuries and or bad areas just keep an eye on the bill.

 

[eveebee]

Any idea what could be causing it? I just noticed another one with a suspicious spot on it's beak.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

without being hands on with them no, however neosporin without pain reliever wont hurt them. Could be an injury or bacterial

 

[eveebee]

Thank you and wish us luck!

 

[Missy60]

Is it iceberg lettuce? I have heard it has no nutritional value, but you are giving them feed also. Could you get them a dark leafy veggie? If not I would treat it as a treat and only give small amount to not fill them up on something with no value.

 

[70%cocoa]

If you can see different layers of skin underneath then it sounds like a fungal or bacterial infection to me. I don't know if neosporin will help if it is a fungal infection. I would see a vet to get the right diagnosis here. Do you have a good vet in your area?

Iceberg lettuce does have some nutritional value, contrary to popular opinion It has a range of vitamins and minerals, though it is mainly water, and it does have fewer nutrients than lettuces or greens with darker leaves. But as long as ducks have access to a quality food, having some daily lettuce is not a problem. It's certainly better than something like bread because it will not fill them up (being mainly water) and so they will still go in search of their proper food after the lettuce quickly goes through their system.