Mildewy or Moldy Feathers?

[DucksBySurprise]

Hi everyone!!!

I have a differently-abled white Muscovy female with unclipped wings. I noticed the other day that there seemed to be something black on her. I looked closer and noticed that it appeared to be either mold or mildew within the shaft part of some of her feathers. One of the feathers was obviously bent at some point and the shaft was cracked, allowing "stuff" to get in. She is outside all day in my backyard (with her Khaki Campbell friends) on the grass, and she has access to a large, deep kiddie pool (about a 5 foot diameter pool, 18 inches deep). We change the water frequently so it's never really nasty, just normal duck dirty. At night, she is in her own coop in my detached garage (right beside the Khaki's coop) and the the entire top is chicken wire, so there is air circulation. We also run a fan in the garage to keep the air circulating, and a screened open window when weather permits.


Has anyone ever seen this happen before? None of her feathers are blood feathers, so I don't think any of the dirt, mold or mildew that it might be can get into her bloodstream and make her sick. She is 3 years old, happy and healthy (other than her crippled legs, but her wings help her compensate) and this has never happened before. I haven't been able to get the greatest pictures but I'll keep trying. Any advice would be awesome!! I love all you guys on here!!

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Can you get a pic?
Why does she go to her own coop? Are there other muscovies in there with her?

 

[Lil Drake40]

That maybe her problem having to use her wings hopefully you can get a pic of what your talking about

 

[Miss Lydia]

If her feathers are broken and she doesn't get a chance to grow in new ones it's probably opening up places for bacteria to grow in the broken shafts. I'd start putting some ACV into her bathing water this can kill some bacteria and may help. What is wrong with her legs?

 

[DucksBySurprise]

Quacker's legs are severely bowed and her feet are very pigeon toed. She walks a lot like those wind up toys that walk one foot over the other, otherwise she steps on herself. Quacker is 3 now, but her first 2 years were tough. We had her and 3 khaki campbells, all female. Our most precocious Khaki was unfortunately attacked by a hawk. We took her to a vet and xrays showed her puncture wounds were letting air into her body cavity and so we had no choice but to put her to sleep. My goodness did I cry!!! But she was the feistiest, and we realized that she was picking on Quacker at night. She also didn't seem to be thriving. I was a new duck mom, and just didn't really realize. So I brought Quacker into the house and she happily lived in a large storage bin beside my bed. She was even potty trained! I would bring her outside to poop and be outside for a little bit, but our winters do get cold, and she preferred her bin. (She sounds isolated but I was with her all day every day, talking to her, snuggling her, and letting her swim in my bathtub.) Over time, she grew a ton more feathers just everywhere and also got much stronger. When we tried to incorporate her back into the flock, she was the feisty one and wanted no part of the khakis. We kept them close, but separate, even in their outside pen. From the bin in my bedroom, Quacker graduated to her own coop that we kept in the basement for a while. Last Spring, we moved her coop into the garage next to the Khakis. They were all getting along and didn;t need separated in the outside pen, so we tried leaving her coop door open, but she did not like them coming into it and one day came after one of the Khakis. A mouthful of feathers later, we decided to let her have her own sleeping space where she knew no one would bother her. Quacker will stand her ground before trying to escape or flee since her legs are compromised, but after she molted, I did not clip her wings, and she is more mobile now and I think feels safer too because she can fly if she chooses. She never flies far or even out of the yard, and only sometimes flies out of their pen. She is the coolest duck in the world! She communicates to us, she knows her name, she is just awesome. I'll definitely add some photos and maybe even a video as soon as my computer will cooperate. Thanks for everyone that replied or liked! I love the input I get from here!! XOXOX

 

[Miss Lydia]

She sounds very much loved.

 

[DucksBySurprise]

She sounds very much loved.

She really, really is. Before her, I'd never even heard of a muscovy! We were raising ducklings for a farmer friend and my daughter was adamant that Quacker could not go to the farm because she would die. "OK, OK, OK...we'll keep her." She was a TSC duckling....which I hear is common for them to sell ducklings with deformities (which is a whole other topic.) Our Khaki Campbells are from there too after my daughter rescued them from getting trampled by the other ducklings. Our flock came from the Island of Misfit Toys, and we couldn't love them less if we tried!!

 

[Lil Drake40]

Very sweet. I love my Muscovies too