HELP!! Injured ducks

[PoultryQueen101]

We got our 7 ducklings out today who are about a month/month and a half old. There are 5 muscovies and 2 magpies. 2 of thd muscovies are drakes and 1 of the magpiesmis a drake. The magpie we thought was a hen, nearly died and is therefor smaller and less feathered. The three muscovy hens have long wing feathers, same with the magpie drake. When we got them out, I noticed bloody tips on the full chocolate muscovy drakes wings, and completely gone empty black holes on the magpie hens wings... igh.
I looked at the other drake and he seemed to also have slightly bloody tips, but nothing as serious. So we sepearated the two magpies, both because they are a pair, and we put the other full chocolate muscovy with them. We have recetly moved them into a barred metal cage so that they poop through the bottom to the ground. And we think that maybe because there were so , any, that constant rubbing up against the cage could have bloodied some feathers, but we also know that they picked on the smaller female, and so maybe because the wings of the two wefe more exposed than the others, that the other ducks nibbled at them.

Here are pictures on just the muscovy drake... I couldnt even look at the magpie henx wings, she hung them at her side and there were absolutely no flight feathers, only black holes of dried blood where they used to be.

 

[PoultryQueen101]

Any ideaa on what happened and what else we should do?

 

[Amiga]

Just a thought - are they over crowded? How much space do they have, per duck?

 

[PoultryQueen101]

Just a thought - are they over crowded?  How much space do they have, per duck?

Yeah... we werent expectinf ducks, so they got a little overcrowded in their new pen, we are currently working on their other pen until they feather out and we get them on the pond. I was thinking that maybe if their feathers got caught, the casinf would fall off and they would bleed, causing the other ducks to nibble on their wings.

 

[Amiga]

Overcrowding causes more aggression and feather eating, from what I have read.

Some more space would be a good idea.

 

[PoultryQueen101]

It was temporary and we put them there on Saturday. Just for the next week.

 

[Amiga]

See if you can give them as much time as possible in a larger, safe area. I like to take my ducks on walks.

 

[PoultryQueen101]

Well, they were moved to a larger area.... but not neccasarily safer. They are all back together grow and are growing very fast now with all of their room. We have officially moved them to the pond. They have proven they can care for themselves. Night 1, they survived a storm, night 2 the same, day 3 the same. Then, they rushed into the water as a turkey vulture appeared over head. Last night, we caught a coon on the opposite side of the pond that they sleep, so they can protect themselvs