help please!!!!!! pekin x duckling with feather lose

[melissa41927]

this is one of my pekin x that i gave to a friend. it is loosing it's feathers on the back. it lives with 8 other ducklings and 2 goslings. what is happening to him?

please click on the link to take a look. or look at the pic

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5882629&id=505696577

 

[chickboss]

I can't view the image. Is one of the other birds picking at him?

 

[melissa41927]

anybody with duck experience. she needed our help

 

[duckyfromoz]

Ive actually never seen anything like that!! It doesnt look red or swollen like you would expect from that amount of feather loss from being plucked by other ducklings- but hard to tell from the photo. The poor litle guy- I would suggest it may need some heat provided still to keep him warm with that many feathers gone too.

Can it be separated from the others to make sure they arent plucking him- or even watched to mke sure the duckling isnt doing it to himself? Just to rule out the possibiltiy- But to me it looks like there is something else going on... But exactly what has me stumped.

 

[chickboss]

Plucking is about all I come up with. Unless the duck is being irritated by mites/lice which I know aren't all that common in ducks with access to water, but maybe. Maybe someone else has seen this before?