Pic of Micro Duck today, size comparison and a question.

[chickensioux]

I hope everyone remembers Micro Duck. Here he is as of today. He is standing next to a female call. You can see how tiny he is. The black bibbed female call in the pic is a very small female too. He is still hanging in there and as tough and fiesty as ever. My question is: Since I never see him swimming, do you suppose he doesn't have good oil glands? Can't reach them? His feathers are always messy too. I don't see him preem too often either. Anyway, he's still a cutie.

 

[featherfinder]

Very cute! And glad to hear Micro is doing well.

I know Gizmo has some problems like that but im not sure if that is caused by her defect or not.

 

[aineheartsyou]

Micro! Such a cutie!

 

[StevenW.]

He sure is cute!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Adorable,

 

[easttxchick]

If he were mine, I would put him in the tub for about 10 minutes every day under very close supervision. Right now, he could drown pretty easily because his feathers will absorb the water and weigh him down.
I would suspect that his feathers look like that because he isn't bathing. If he bathes, he'll preen.
I might also boost his protein for a bit with some cat food mixed with his feed to get his feather quality back right.
Maybe if you teach him how to bathe, he'll start doing it on his own.
He MAY have an oil gland problem at this point, but I feel like he'll begin to preen and get his oil gland working if he gets in the water regularly.
I bought a duck last year that didn't like to bathe until I made him swim in the tub every day. Now he gets it.
If nothing else, spray him with the water hose a couple of times a day to get him preening.
Good luck and he is adorable!