Maggots on duck

[SittinDuck]

Treats are anything other than their normal food. Obviously, chickens will find bugs and stuff, but those do not count as treats for me. They ARE treats, but I do not count that into their diet. I still provide their commercial feed (purina) 24/7.

I also feed Purina. I feed crumble though. My birds LOVE it.

They love mealworms as well.

Yeah the crumble is probably better for chickens. I tried crumble once for the ducks but it didn't workout for some reason. I think it was that it absorbed water too easily.

I used to feed another brand (forgot the name but it's the other one TSC sells) but I got eggs with no shell, so I switched to purina.

 

[SittinDuck]

I have felt with chickens and ducks and have never had a maggot problem maybe try giving a bath in blue dawn dish soap....and chicken take a bath called a dust bath

Oh yeah I didn't think about the dust bath. Cats and dogs do that to keep the bugs off.

I could try giving her a bath. Maybe because of my small pool she can't clean herself properly.

 

[ruthhope]

I agree that niacin deficiency is very likely the underlying issue with this duck's legs twisting and breaking. She definitely needs more although its too late for the longstanding deformity.

 

[ruthhope]

What constitutes a treat?

Treats for humans are usually just sugar. Maybe corn is like that for ducks? They don't eat that much corn though. Sometimes I don't bother buying it. I guess corn epitomizes a treat.

I can't help thinking if they had to survive on their proper feed (purina layer pellets) that they'd rather starve themselves. They only eat it as last resort. I mix their food and they go to great effort to pick out everything but the layer pellets.

And there are other sources of food at the pond that I have no idea about. They spend time digging in the ground and diving under water. Sometimes they eat so much other stuff that they don't bother with their feed.

we have Pekins that are on purina layer feed. i add yeast, steel cut oats; and also a cup of dried mealworms as treats. They love the mealworms and I love that the yeast (I use brewers yeast) sticks to the mealworms! I quite often hand feed defrosted frozen peas as treats. Our ducks just love mealworms and peas! yours probably get more bugs from foraging than mine as i only have a suburban garden and no pond.

 

[raingarden]

Are you sure they are maggots and not duck lice? Duck lice are sort of long and squirming.

The deformed legs and feet may not be reversible at this age.

 

[Painted Calls]

@Overo Mare Do you keep ducks? Is this diet balanced? I know for chickens it would be REALLY unbalanced, but I haven't got the clue for ducks.

Not even a little. It explains the leg issues.

 

[Painted Calls]

They eat the balanced feed last because they fill up on junk food first.

If you give a child a bowl of chips and candy and a bowl of veggies and protein, they're going to fill up on the junk and not eat what is healthy for them.

Offer a balanced diet for waterfowl. Then cut EVERYTHING else back to 10% of their whole diet. That's around a tablespoon per bird. Sadly the issues with your Pekin were preventable. However now they're not reversible.

@Isaac 0 @Miss Lydia do either of you have any advice here?

 

[Painted Calls]

The maggots could potentially be from her not preening, or having an infected oil gland. How come her tail and general bottom area is all discolored?

 

[Isadora]

Why is it unbalanced for chickens

Because it's dog food. Fowl have different nutrition requirements. Just because the label has niacin in it doesn't mean it's an appropriate quantity or source.

I feel very badly for your duck. I'm also questioning her quality of life at this point. All alone, can't walk, and covered in maggots and needs a bath daily, and an inadequate diet.
I'm skeptical you would be able to get her back on the pond safely with the geese since she's the only duck. Like you found out, the geese can do a lot of damage quickly.
Truly you must love her if you have been willing to do all this extra work. I'm very practical when it comes to my homestead animals and I know I would have put her down a while ago.
Normally when a duck is alone I suggest getting new friends for her, but unless you radically change how you are feeding her and we figure out why she's getting maggots late, I don't think that would be wise.
As another poster said, are you positive that they are maggots and not perhaps some other bug? It's very odd that without a wound they would be laying on her continually.
You said she sits all day. Does she preen at all? Using that oil gland above their tail, they spread oil around their feathers and helps make them waterproof.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

The problem with the kiddie pool is it's not deep enough. She can't get her butt under water. I can't think of a better container. It needs to be deep enough but also small enough that I can dump the water and refill it.

I'll look into the niacin. I suppose it couldn't hurt.

What about other B vitamins?

What about a mixing tub? That's shallow, not deep, and she wouldn't have too much trouble getting in. Or building a ramp to a trough? I use a trough and have a plastic faucet installed for emptying.
I agree with the niacin deficiency - even though she's older, I'd start giving her liquid super complex as well as giving it to the other ducks.