My pekin drake has lost alot of feathers on wings? Mainly one wing?

[Bish]

No I never see him plucking his feathers, just his normal grooming procedure after a swim, that's it.
I am thinking I might have to treat him for mites/lice just in case. The vets here where I live know nothing about poultry so it's hard.
Just to be safe today I think I will have to change all his straw bedding and head to the local pet store for some mites/lice powder. I don't want it to go untreated if he does have them.
What do u think? Is that my safest bet?

 

[Amiga]

I would look really closely first. I hesitate about insecticides, it's just a quirk of mine. I remember when my pet snake had mites, I was told to get a mite protector strip and put on top of her cage. It worked. But wow, once it had done its work I got rid of it. Ick.

I suppose he could have some kind of allergy, too. Or need a boost of protein. What protein percentage does his feed have?

 

[Bish]

I will have to have a read of his pellet bag when I get home.
I will check him over closely, just don't want it to go untreated and me lose him.

I will atleast change his straw and bedding.

 

[Amiga]

I don't mean to discourage you from treating for mites if that is what is going on - I don't want to you lose him, either

 

[Bish]

I will change the bedding and try some powder. Thanks so much for all your advice.

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

Did you say already if your duck is bathing regularly?

 

[Bish]

Did you say already if your duck is bathing regularly?

Yeh he has a few swims in his pond every day. Why is that?

 

[Bish]

That would be an odd place for parasites usually according to Storey's guide their found on the head/neck and under the wings.. iirc... um, i too am not a huge proponent of using insecticides willy-nilly and the load would have to be pretty severe to loose him, he looks pretty good actually, some feathers get ragged just before a molt, has he molted at all yet? changing the bedding is a good idea regardless and cause no harm whatsoever.

Amiga's suggestion of a mite strip is a good one, i hate chemicals on my animals and prefer to avoid going there unless absolutely necessary. Did you say how old he is? i may have missed this. Yep, i see he's 2! he should have done a molt this year, did he?

Do you have Storey's guide to ducks? he covers aliments well, it's available in an e-book format too!

No I don't have any info on ducks. I need it tho. I will look into it.
His wings have been like this for atleast a month or 2 now. They were clipped at the vets well over a year ago. They would have grown back by now wouldn't they?
I will change his bedding. Should I buy some mite powder and sprinkle it over his bedding just incase? Or is that not a good idea incase he doesn't have any?

 

[Miss Lydia]

No I don't have any info on ducks. I need it tho. I will look into it.
His wings have been like this for atleast a month or 2 now. They were clipped at the vets well over a year ago. They would have grown back by now wouldn't they?
I will change his bedding. Should I buy some mite powder and sprinkle it over his bedding just incase? Or is that not a good idea incase he doesn't have any?

Here is some info on mites and lice. http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8162.pdf

 

[Bish]

Here is some info on mites and lice. http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8162.pdf

After reading this it really does not sound like he has lice/mites at all. I checked him thoroughly last night and could not find a thing.
I am starting to think he is just moulting. Last night he had a blood feather, I had to pluck the feather out. This is part of the moulting process isn't it?
I am starting to think I have stressed over nothing and he may just be moulting?
I am however going to seek advice from the local vet just to be safe as I am still too new at this. I will also change his bedding etc aswell.