Pekin duck & wet feather

[kmanndel]

It seems like my Pekin duck has wet feather. His entire stomach is missing feathers. It’s hard to keep him dry, they’re in a fenced in area with no roof for shelter but do have a shed to go into but he loves to be out in the rain and snow and playing in puddles 24/7.
With it being the dead of winter, their pool is frozen so he isn’t getting cleaned properly compared to the spring and summer.
I did give him a little Dawn dish soap bath tonight on his stomach and dried him off as best as I could before I put him back in the pen.
Any other suggestions?! Will he be okay? Will his feathers eventually come back?

 

[fatty and friends]

wet feather just means they aren’t waterproof… if he’s missing feathers there is a bigger issue going on

 

[kmanndel]

I see no parasites or anything like that.
I should say that he’s special needs. He doesn’t walk much. So I’m wondering if it’s bc he’s not drying properly, he’s always wet on his belly.
The same thing happened over the summer. I did a very thorough Dawn dish soap bath and kept him inside and dried him thoroughly before putting him back outside and his feathers grew back. Should I do that again?

 

[CoriM]

I'm not sure what's going on with your duck, is it possible to see a vet? I do know that ducks shouldn't be bathed in dish soap or any type of soap. Just plain water is sufficient.

 

[CoriM]

If he's having an issue maybe you could bring him inside once a day and let him bathe in a bathtub, then preen and dry himself naturally inside before bringing him back outside.

 

[kmanndel]

If it’s wet feather, I know it’s okay to use Dawn dish soap to help the oil glands. I feel like he does have wet feather bc he looks like a drowned rat when he gets wet

 

[kmanndel]

If he's having an issue maybe you could bring him inside once a day and let him bathe in a bathtub, then preen and dry himself naturally inside before bringing him back outside.

I’ll give that a try to. It’s hard to keep him dry with it being winter. He’s always in the snow, ice, and rain

 

[CoriM]

Maybe you could post a picture of him so some on the forum that have experience with wet feather can weigh in. I don't have experience with it!

 

[kmanndel]

Maybe you could post a picture of him so some on the forum that have experience with wet feather can weigh in. I don't have experience with it!

I will later on today!

 

[KaleIAm]

My duck did have wet feather, I took her to the vet, and the vet did not recommend dish soap. My understanding is that dish soap can be indicated in some circumstances, like if the bird has become water logged by an oil spill or an extremely filthy living environment. Then the soap removes the contamination, and allows the bird to reoil themself. If you give a soapy bath when it isn't indicated you risk removing natural preen oil and making the situation worse.

In my duck's situation her preen gland was fine, and I recommend that you look at your duck's preen gland. Touch it gently with your fingers and then rub your fingers together, they should feel a little bit slippery.

If your duck is disabled he might not be preening well and that could be why. My vet did x-rays and discovered that my duck had arthritis, so it was painful to preen well. For my duck we kept her warm, and dry. And also bathed her, with only water, inside daily to encourage preening in the bathtub. We had the water deep enough to get her off her feet. We had lots of soft bedding for her. When it was warm outside we misted her with a spray bottle set on the mist function. I often dried her with towels.

A vet is a great idea.