Maggots on duck

[Isadora]

Pom Pom Duck. I didn't know what they were called.

12 is a long time. What was his main diet?

Probably dog food.

 

[SittinDuck]

I have 2 Pekins, a hen and a drake. They're no longer free ranging so use a kiddie pool. They have no problem keeping themselves clean at all. Their bottoms don't sit under the water. They clean by splashing about.
Can you get pictures of the bottom of her feet?

A kiddie pool just like mine? There is a bigger one but it's not much deeper.

She splashes about, but can't dive under and let the water roll off her back like they do at the pond.

Bottom of her feet? I don't know if she will let me. What are you looking for?

 

[SittinDuck]

Probably dog food.

Dog food doesn't get enough respect.

I'm curious what people feed ducks that live a long time.

The fact that 7 years is considered a long time makes me suspicious that the proper food isn't so great, which is what I figured from the duck's hesitancy to eat it.

 

[Painted Calls]

That's a lot of work for something temporary lol

You asked for suggestions and I gave you some.

Returning her to the pond is probably a good idea. Just watch over her until she settles in with the others.

Their hesitancy to eat their food formulated for their specific diet needs is due to the fact they have stuff they like the taste of better. I'll pick yeast rolls and hash browns over a salad every single day of the week. I know it's not healthy for me though. Darn it.

 

[SittinDuck]

You asked for suggestions and I gave you some.

And I appreciate it! Don't hesitate to make a suggestion.

Their hesitancy to eat their food formulated for their specific diet needs is due to the fact they have stuff they like the taste of better.

I think it's "formulated for their specific diet needs while also being cheap as dirt" is more accurate.

It's probably not the best food for them and the evidence for that is the duck's reluctance to eat it and that no one who has fed their ducks that food seems to have an old duck.

I'm all too happy to believe the science, but the science is never settled concerning nutrition and there is money involved. People don't want to spend a lot for duck food and corporations want to make big profit, so something has to give and it's probably the quality of the food.

I'll pick yeast rolls and hash browns over a salad every single day of the week. I know it's not healthy for me though. Darn it.

I actually crave salads. Not a lot but once or twice a month I just have to have a salad.

I made some pear bread with pears I had and it's really good, but I just don't want to eat it, so it's just sitting in the fridge and I may end up throwing it out. I can't make myself want what I don't want. Honestly, no dessert item sounds remotely good to me.

I really wish you'd consider Albrecht's point of view:

"In using the experimental rabbits to confirm the cow's testimony about unbalanced fertilizers as the cause of "unbalanced nutrition" in her feeds, increasing amounts of nitrogen were applied as top-dressings on a pasture with a mixed grass-legume flora. When only more nitrogen was applied, and the resulting tall, luscious, green grass was made into hay for feeding trials with the rabbits, they were increasingly reluctant to take it as more nitrogen fertilizer was used, except under an approach to starvation. Their loss of weight and their increased discard of hay from the feedrack—to use it only for bedding—were ample suggestions from the rabbits' behavior that the report from the art of agriculture, via the cow's refusal, was just as telling about unbalanced soil treatment giving unbalanced nutrition in the forages grown thereby as was the report by the science of agriculture via the test rabbits' refusal. The rabbits as chemists merely gave the same vote as the cow on the simple matter of balanced fertility being a requirement for growing balanced nutrition.

"Too much nitrogen," is what both the cow as farm livestock and the rabbit as a living kind of scientific laboratory equipment were saying. The one was referring to the cow's urine dropped on the spot in the pasture, and the other was referring to commercially fabricated fertilizer nitrogen. Both were capable as biochemists and as chemists. But with our attention fixed on quantity yield, we had not recognized the simple fact that they were making an unfavorable report on the quality of the feeds according to the unbalanced fertility of the soil growing them. Here was a case where we as researchers—who are merely trying to learn more—discovered that the cow was a better soil chemist and biochemist than we are."

https://soilandhealth.org/wp-conten...imal.health/010146.albrecht.animal.health.pdf

He is making the case that we should listen to the animal. If they don't want the food, then they probably know something that we don't.

 

[Painted Calls]

We've done studies in college on feed. Zero money involved. Same for Veterinary understudy. No money involved. Wild animals know what's best for them. Domestic animals do not. They eat what tastes good.

Take dogs for example. How do you feel about a dog that eats food from the table? Fill up a bowl with cheeseburgers and fill one with a balanced kibble. Which one do you think they'll eat? Do that for years. Every day. What do you think will happen?

Horses will literally eat sweet feed until they die. Given the choice, they will kill themselves.

Food formulated for certain animals wouldn't exist if they could just eat a food made for a completely different species with completely different diet requirements.

There is surviving, and there is thriving. They're not the same thing.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

A kiddie pool just like mine? There is a bigger one but it's not much deeper.

She splashes about, but can't dive under and let the water roll off her back like they do at the pond.

Bottom of her feet? I don't know if she will let me. What are you looking for?

Yes, just like that. My Pekin drake doesn't dive. In his entire life, I've seen him dive as a young duck (not a duckling) once. Of course I don't watch them 24/7, but I know that they used a kiddie pool for a year, just like the one you have and their feathers looked near perfect. If a duck isn't given clean water and/or isn't encouraged to preen, they can develop "wet feather". This is oftentimes secondary to something else. I can't remember if you replied, but have you check her preening gland?

Did you feed layer pellets whenever this duck was a duckling? You can use nutritional yeast sprinkled on her food to increase her niacin. I can take a picture of the Super B complex vitamins that I use, if you'd like, but if you're not convinced on their benefits, I won't bother. Just let me know and I'll be happy to share pic if you're interested.

As far as the bottom of her feet, I'm wondering about bumblefoot. I know that you said one leg broke and healed back straight. Is she able to walk now? If one leg is now more straight, it seems like the stepping on her own feet would have improved. So I'm wondering why she's not moving around. Just for reference, my Pekins have straight legs and they've not suffered from a break. Pekins are prone to bumblefoot though and my hen has suffered with that. My drake hatched with a deformity but I was able to correct that with niacin and splints. I really hope your duck improves. I won't tag him again, but I really hope Isaac will reply.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Also, have you been able to check your duck over really well. Going down her neck, both legs and feet, back, wings, tail and abdomen? If so, do you notice any stiffness, swelling or heat coming from any particular area? What does she do in the pool? Is she able to get in and out of the pool on her own? Do you place her in the pool? My Pekins needed a ramp, steps, something to get in and out. Landing from getting out of a pool can easily cause injuries in large breed ducks.

 

[SittinDuck]

We've done studies in college on feed. Zero money involved. Same for Veterinary understudy. No money involved.

You're suggesting purina isn't interested in making a profit?

Wild animals know what's best for them. Domestic animals do not. They eat what tastes good.

All animals know what's best for them.

The only possible exception is humans because they are the only ones capable of presupposing that they know more than nature. Only humans would eat something awful because they think it's healthy. No other animal has that capability.

Take dogs for example. How do you feel about a dog that eats food from the table?

Grandma fed her dogs predominantly table scraps for 80 years, so I feel pretty good about it. No one loved dogs more than grandma. If I didn't make it to dinner in time then the dogs would be eating my food.

Fill up a bowl with cheeseburgers and fill one with a balanced kibble. Which one do you think they'll eat?

Whichever one has the nutrition that they currently crave. I go through that with cats every single day. Sometimes they eat chicken, sometimes kibble, sometimes grain-free kibble, sometimes canned food, sometimes kitten formula. I even have a cat that eats cantaloupe.

Do that for years. Every day. What do you think will happen?

Years will go by.

Horses will literally eat sweet feed until they die. Given the choice, they will kill themselves.

You're making that claim, but where is the evidence? I don't know anything about horses to know if that is true or not.

I know about geese, ducks, cats, dogs, humans. I know they know what is good for them, with the exception of some humans.

Food formulated for certain animals wouldn't exist if they could just eat a food made for a completely different species with completely different diet requirements.

Why not? Companies can offer anything they want. You can't make conclusions based upon what is offered for sale.

And you're still stuck on the idea that anyone really knows what nutritional requirements are. That is FAR from being settled.

How do you even know what diet is good for you? The FDA can't even make up its mind how much carotene is equivalent to retinol. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retinol#Dietary_intake

There is surviving, and there is thriving. They're not the same thing.

Thriving contributes to surviving. Animals won't survive for long unless they're thriving.

Make a poll asking who has ducks and geese older than mine and see what they eat. So far, people think 7 years is an impressive age for ducks and a nigh-impossible accomplishment which is evidence that the proper feed is garbage. Where is the evidence to the contrary? All I have seen so far is unsubstantiated claims and appeals to authority.

I mean, I'm doing the impossible and you're telling me I'm doing it wrong. Why should I disregard my own experience in favor of some theories?

 

[Painted Calls]

Because they're proven facts. Not theories.