Im not sure why my duck has “wet feather”

[bronaugh]

I am also having wet feather problems in my drakes and today my girls look a little wet too. Anyone have suggestions?

 

[Miss Lydia]

What part of the world are you in? usually we see wet feather before they need to molt after going through a year roughing up their feathers with daily wear and tear. Sometimes it can be diet so what do you feed your ducks? Not having access to water to swim in because of weather etc then they don't preen and keep their feathers oiled up, Sickness can also be a cause of wet feather. We need to start ruling out what the problem maybe.

 

[SkyeT]

I thought our Muscovy Drake, Cupcake, had wet feather last year. All he had was "lazy male who doesn't want to take a bath" disorder. It got worse as we neared the molting period, which was about the end of October for us. It was terrible. He looked as if his feathers were ragged, clumpy, disheveled...I could go on. Miss Lydia walked me through the same process and I learned he was just a blasted lazy Muscovy male. I had to give him forced showers, which he absolutely hated. He would see me pick up the hose and actually run. Most effort he would give... at all during the day. My other male, runner/pekin mix was pristine all year... Muscovy males are dirty lazybones...

 

[BjaJra826]

My ducks started to look cruddy during the extreme cold snap here in Iowa a bit ago. It was hard to keep water unfrozen long enough for them to preen properly. I eventually started bringing them fresh water twice a day and one of my drakes had to come in the house for a play session in my bathtub before everyone started looking better. Wet feather can be a symptom of so many other issues, you just gotta address each possibility until something works.

 

[bronaugh]

I am I Victoria Canada, we have had a ridiculous amount of rain. Last week I had washed and dried him twice. His oil glad the skin is a bit yellow around so I thought it could be clogged. His skin seems dry. His feathers are broken or chewed on his wings. I went through his feathers looking for lice and mites in both day and night and found nothing on different days. He looks very rough today. No one can see him for a few days at the very least vet wise.

 

[Miss Lydia]

And your feeding them? Do your Muscovy molt in fall? That’s when mine molt. And do you have others and are they fighting?
The yellow around his preen gland is normal. One thing about Muscovy they aren't as water repellent as other domestic ducks. And my Muscovy aren't water hogs like my Runners and Buffs are. They will get in get their bath and done.
How is he other wise eating good, poop looks normal?
Might try adding more protein to his diet and see if that helps with feather quality since feathers are protein. I use a dry dog kibble It's Salmon and Pea. Some use kitten feed or cat food.

 

[Ratchnick]

Looking for parasites won't get you anywhere. I have had birds with bad feather condition, i went over that bird for a hour and found nothing. The vet looked at the feathers under a microscope and two doses of ivermectin later no more mites.

 

[Dougdilman]

Looking for parasites won't get you anywhere. I have had birds with bad feather condition, i went over that bird for a hour and found nothing. The vet looked at the feathers under a microscope and two doses of ivermectin later no more mites.

There different kinds of parisites that you can see, Did the vet say what kind you had problems with?

 

[Ratchnick]

He said it was some type of mite, but did not identify the species. The point is, you can't look at a bird and then declair that it is parasite free.

 

[bronaugh]

I have duck feed from buckerfields. They have access to water buckets, drinkers, a pond and a large feed pan to swim in. It has poured for a good month here. 370mm in January and still going strong.

As for mites and lice I was told I would see them and to google what to look for and so I did. I spent a lot of time going over him, bathing him in case it was his oil gland and then blow drying him to get him dry after being cleaned. I picked up ivermectin today after getting directions from an agriculture group. Wish me luck. I was told for a grown duck, 8 drops, 2 back of neck two under each wing and two by the vent.