Muscovies and lack of water proofing

[Miss Lydia]

Hi, I have 3 Muscovy girls that turned 6years old this past July, what I have noticed this year is that when the bath in the pond we have for them that they don't seem to have the wax anymore to water proof their feathers. Is this something that happens with age on all ducks or just Muscovies? My other 4 girls and the drakes still have the water proof feathers. The 3 that don't are solid white don't know if that means anything or not.

 

[Caprice_Acres]

Muscovies in general have less waterproofing than mallards. Most likely what you're seeing, however, is the old feathers. After a bird moults, it stays 'pretty' looking for a while, but if it's been a while since they've moulted, they'll look a bit grungy. Since the feathers are old, they may not groom well and hence may be less waterproof. Not to mention, white birds are more obvious when they need to moult.

 

[Miss Lydia]

thanks for answering, your right about the molting they haven't started yet. I noticed this afternoon when the white one got out of the pond she looked completely sopped and the younger one by 3 years looked completely different. None have gone through molt yet. The 3 older girls don't get into the pond very often so they do look pretty rough, more so than the younger ones.

 

[Caprice_Acres]

When they don't bathe often, they don't clean off or groom. If they are dirty, the feathers get rumpled and loose the waterproofing. If they dont' groom often, then they aren't spreading the oil through their feathers.