How to encourage a duck to prune?

[Poultry Whisperer]

So, a few months ago one of my Pekin ducks had an infection in her tail. She was put under surgery and it was removed successfully. The wound has healed by now. However, I believe I failed to notice the injury for at least a few weeks before I took her to the vet, which leaves me to believe she developed an aversion to the area because it was painful to prune or something. I was hoping that once the infection was gone, she would prune the area again. However, months have now gone by and the state of the feathers at her tail has not improved. She doesn't use her oil gland much at all (it's right in the middle of the affected spot), so her pruning is a half-ass job at best. I am worried she is not pruning herself properly, and I want to solve this. She is currently molting, so I am hoping this will finally fix itself once the old damaged feathers fall off and are replaced with new ones. However, I'm worried that's wishful thinking at this point, so I've come to you all for help.

So is there any way I can help my duck in this situation? Can I somehow encourage her to prune that area again? If not, is there a way I could "prune" it myself so that she can be well kept? Any advice is appreciated. Thank you.

I have attached a picture of the duck. Notice the tail area, which is where the unkept spot is. The yellow spot is oil from the oil gland, which is largely unused since she refuses to prune that area.

 

[Ratchnick]

Water in the morning sun seems to get the preening going for my birds. You could wash that spot with dish soap.

 

[Isaac 0]

Preening in waterfowl is mainly stimulated when birds are in the water; if she is not getting in water often, ensure she does by placing her in the water source you have provided. Spraying the dirty area with a mister every so often may also stimulate preening, and directly wash of any gunk/dirt. If the oil gland is becoming inactive, a warm compress massage on the oil gland may help as well.

 

[KaleIAm]

My pekin also doesn't preen well. I pick her up and stick her directly in the tub. I also use a spray bottle set to mist and spray over top of her, letting the water fall onto her. After I am done she preens herself.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hopefully once she has completely molted and grown her feathers back and is bathing regular she'll begin to preen again and keep her feathers tidy.

 

[Poultry Whisperer]

Preening in waterfowl is mainly stimulated when birds are in the water; if she is not getting in water often, ensure she does by placing her in the water source you have provided. Spraying the dirty area with a mister every so often may also stimulate preening, and directly wash of any gunk/dirt. If the oil gland is becoming inactive, a warm compress massage on the oil gland may help as well.

She's in the water every single day for hours. Her and the other ducks have unrestricted access to a large pond in my backyard. The oil gland is still active, she's just not using it.

I will try to directly wash it and see if that encourages her. Thanks.

 

[Poultry Whisperer]

Hopefully once she has completely molted and grown her feathers back and is bathing regular she'll begin to preen again and keep her feathers tidy.

Yeah. I'm going to try and clean the area myself, but if that fails I'm really hoping she'll just start preening the tail again after he molt is complete.