Is this normal?

[Hennyhandler]

I have two ducklings. One is a Pekin and I am pretty positive my other is a Magpie. The thing is my Pekin is growing way faster than the other and as these are my first two ducklings ever so I am a little unsure of what is normal. The Pekin is growing in little white feathers

under the fuzz at this point but when you look down on her right where you might consider her elbow would be is a little bald spot on both wings. Is this moulting into all those baby feathers. She preens and preens and has done so here.

Also, the little oil gland at the base of the tail has gotten big lately since the white feathers have appeared. Is this good? She sure rubs against it and then rubs that fluff.

When they sleep I can hear a sligh popping or cracking sound, like itty bitty pebbles falling and rubbing together. What is this about?

Sorry for all the questions but they always hit at once.

 

[duckyfromoz]

My pekins have always grown a lot faster than other breed I have kept. Being a heavy meat bird they have been bred to be fast growing.

I have often noticed ducklings getting little bald patches when they start to feather up. They can look a little bare in places for a while until the new feathers grow in.

 

[Amiga]

I am not sure about the popping noise. Whether it is their little crops (are you giving them grit?) or something in their lungs I am not sure. There have been some other threads on this - perhaps a search will help.

The feathering, the bare spot on the wing, and the noticeable oil gland all sound okay to me. She needs to pick up oil from the gland onto her bill and then rub that on her feathers. My runners would spend a bit of time oiling their belly feathers at first (since those were the second to come in, after tail feathers).

 

[Hennyhandler]

Thanks a lot. I wanted to make sure everything is going good. Yes, I do mix in some parakeet sand with their food. I though about giving the manna pro grit I have for my chickens to them but thought it might be a tad big so I opted for the smaller kind. I might need to seperate it from the food though to make sure that they get more and it won't fall to the bottom of the feed. Thanks either way. Made me feel better. I've been letting them do their thing and then thought, WELL might want to make sure...

 

[suburbanduckmom]

I can't tell you how many times I have asked "Is this normal?" when it comes to ducks

. It seems each month there is something new to learn about them.