Muscovy feather problems

[Cookiekiller53]

i have a Muscovy drake, he's a year and a half. he's totally white but his wing feathers are getting brown and brittle, the barb is falling off and all thats left on most of them is the Rachis. i feed him about 3/4 of a cup of oats each day, but he roams around our (very small) yard so he'll eat bugs and grass and things like that. im wondering if there is some way i can fix his feathers, my dad thinks its unhealthy or something is wrong with him. i know its probably normal but my dad is concerned and plus its not very pretty. could it be his diet? does he need vitamins? thanks in advance!

 

[Miss Lydia]

i have a Muscovy drake, he's a year and a half. he's totally white but his wing feathers are getting brown and brittle, the barb is falling off and all thats left on most of them is the Rachis. i feed him about 3/4 of a cup of oats each day, but he roams around our (very small) yard so he'll eat bugs and grass and things like that. im wondering if there is some way i can fix his feathers, my dad thinks its unhealthy or something is wrong with him. i know its probably normal but my dad is concerned and plus its not very pretty. could it be his diet? does he need vitamins? thanks in advance!

Oats in them selves is not a complete diet, he needs other grains to have healthy feathers and over all health. A duck feed would be ideal but if you can't find that and I can't so I feed an all flock feed, Purina makes one called Flock raiser. and you can also try giving him some extra protein to help till you can get him some feed, I use whole oats in my feed but only at 10% other sourses of protein would be dried mealworms salmon tuna, but he may not eat the fish, my Muscovy's love dried mealworms though. But again a complete diet is what he needs. Also he maybe starting into molt so he'll lose his old feathers and grow new ones and giving him a complete diet will help him through ,molt too, also vitamins [poulty] put into his water a couple times a week will help since molting is a stressful time. Look in your feed store they should have a vareity of feeds and also poultry vitamins. Please post back how he is doing.

 

[Going Quackers]

Oats in them selves is not a complete diet, he needs other grains to have healthy feathers and over all health. A duck feed would be ideal but if you can't find that and I can't so I feed an all flock feed, Purina makes one called Flock raiser. and you can also try giving him some extra protein to help till you can get him some feed, I use whole oats in my feed but only at 10% other sourses of protein would be dried mealworms salmon tuna, but he may not eat the fish, my Muscovy's love dried mealworms though. But again a complete diet is what he needs. Also he maybe starting into molt so he'll lose his old feathers and grow new ones and giving him a complete diet will help him through ,molt too, also vitamins [poulty] put into his water a couple times a week will help since molting is a stressful time. Look in your feed store they should have a vareity of feeds and also poultry vitamins. Please post back how he is doing.

Totally agree, even a chicken grower would be a better choice than strictly oats. What can you get near you, as obviously it varies considerably.

 

[Cookiekiller53]

okay thanks, i looked into the purina flock raiser you suggested, but it says to feed it to them until 20 weeks- unless i misunderstood- he is a year and a half, does that matter? our local pet care shop is very limited, all they sell is duck and chicken FATTENER, or whole corn. if i want a good quality, complete diet feed i need to order it off the internet. do you use the purina flock raiser on drakes older than 20 weeks? if so then ill order that and see how it goes. if thats the right one, does it have enough protein in itself or do i HAVE to get something in addition. i've tried feeding him salmon and tuna before, he wouldn't eat it. he's real picky about fruits and veggies as well. i would also like to know the brand of vitamins you give your ducks. thanks so much for your info! i really appreciate it

 

[Cookiekiller53]

Oats in them selves is not a complete diet, he needs other grains to have healthy feathers and over all health. A duck feed would be ideal but if you can't find that and I can't so I feed an all flock feed, Purina makes one called Flock raiser. and you can also try giving him some extra protein to help till you can get him some feed, I use whole oats in my feed but only at 10% other sourses of protein would be dried mealworms salmon tuna, but he may not eat the fish, my Muscovy's love dried mealworms though. But again a complete diet is what he needs. Also he maybe starting into molt so he'll lose his old feathers and grow new ones and giving him a complete diet will help him through ,molt too, also vitamins [poulty] put into his water a couple times a week will help since molting is a stressful time. Look in your feed store they should have a vareity of feeds and also poultry vitamins. Please post back how he is doing.

okay thanks, i looked into the purina flock raiser you suggested, but it says to feed it to them until 20 weeks- unless i misunderstood- he is a year and a half, does that matter? our local pet care shop is very limited, all they sell is duck and chicken FATTENER, or whole corn. if i want a good quality, complete diet feed i need to order it off the internet. do you use the purina flock raiser on drakes older than 20 weeks? if so then ill order that and see how it goes. if thats the right one, does it have enough protein in itself or do i HAVE to get something in addition. i've tried feeding him salmon and tuna before, he wouldn't eat it. he's real picky about fruits and veggies as well. i would also like to know the brand of vitamins you give your ducks. thanks so much for your info! i really appreciate it

 

[Miss Lydia]

okay thanks, i looked into the purina flock raiser you suggested, but it says to feed it to them until 20 weeks- unless i misunderstood- he is a year and a half, does that matter? our local pet care shop is very limited, all they sell is duck and chicken FATTENER, or whole corn. if i want a good quality, complete diet feed i need to order it off the internet. do you use the purina flock raiser on drakes older than 20 weeks? if so then ill order that and see how it goes. if thats the right one, does it have enough protein in itself or do i HAVE to get something in addition. i've tried feeding him salmon and tuna before, he wouldn't eat it. he's real picky about fruits and veggies as well. i would also like to know the brand of vitamins you give your ducks. thanks so much for your info! i really appreciate it

I have used Purina Flock Raiser since I started with Ducks going on 10 years now, I have 1 drake and 2 ducks that will be 10 yrs next spring. I've never had a problem with it and use it from hatch till end of their life. Some say the protein is too high for young ducklings but I've not had a problem with that either but it could be because I let mama ducks take care of their ducklings and they have them out on ground after a few days to add to their diet. My ducks range in age from 9yrs to 5 months and all eat Purina FR even my geese and chickens. I do mix whole oats and 7 way scratch into my feed at 10% each one into a 50lb bag of FR. and they also get Dried mealworms as a treat on occasion, plus any greens they can find or I buy them when too cold to find any naturally.

I also use Poultry Nutri Drench in their water 2x a week. But there are other types of poultry vitamins out there too. You don't have to add anything to the FR it is a complete feed by itself.

 

[Cookiekiller53]

I have used Purina Flock Raiser since I started with Ducks going on 10 years now, I have 1 drake and 2 ducks that will be 10 yrs next spring. I've never had a problem with it and use it from hatch till end of their life. Some say the protein is too high for young ducklings but I've not had a problem with that either but it could be because I let mama ducks take care of their ducklings and they have them out on ground after a few days to add to their diet. My ducks range in age from 9yrs to 5 months and all eat Purina FR even my geese and chickens. I do mix whole oats and 7 way scratch into my feed at 10% each one into a 50lb bag of FR. and they also get Dried mealworms as a treat on occasion, plus any greens they can find or I buy them when too cold to find any naturally.

I also use Poultry Nutri Drench in their water 2x a week. But there are other types of poultry vitamins out there too. You don't have to add anything to the FR it is a complete feed by itself.

i cant tell you how helpful you've been! thanks sooo much! ill repost on how hes doing in a few months. God bless!

 

[Miss Lydia]

i cant tell you how helpful you've been! thanks sooo much! ill repost on how hes doing in a few months. God bless!

Look forward to seeing and hearing about the difference. Blessing to you too!