Poor feather quality question

[kjackson1992]

Hey this is just really a questions out of curiosity.

Im aware that Muscovy ducks are more prone to wet feather than other ducks but i was wondering, can poor feather quality also be a sign of worms? I've checked over my ducks and they definitely don't have any mites, unless they're real deep in their feathers, but from what im aware mites that cause feather damage usually sit on the flight feathers where you can see. So im pretty sure it isnt that.

Anybody got any ideas if worms can be a contributing factor to slightly worse feather quality? Cheers!

 

[DuckyDonna]

Maybe they are getting ready to molt?

 

[kjackson1992]

They have been moulting, it is the heat of summer here in Aus, but im pretty sure they should be mostly done by now and some of their feathers still look pretty ruffled. And especially their flight feathers, i cant really think of how to describe it. But parts of it are seperated? I'll quickly go take a picture on my phone and add it to this post

 

[kjackson1992]

 

[Jpat]

What do you feed them?

I feed cat food as treats during molts for the needed protein

How many male vs female ducks do you have?

 

[kjackson1992]

2 male, 7 female. Obviously males are separated with their own girls each. I've tried adding cat food into their normal feed but they just work around it and never touch it, which ends up just being an expensive bowl to throw in the bin lol.

Regular feed is normal layer pellets, I give them peas fairly frequently and wheat from time to time as well. They're all free range so they can hunt bugs and dig around during the day too

 

[Jpat]

Hmmm. Weird they dont like cat food, But mine hate peas so i guess they are all unique!

ive adopted ducks that look like that before. i used cat food as treats, meal worms as treats, i also fed a layer feed but i mixed it with nutritional yeast everyday. after about 3 months they looked beautifull again. The nutritional yeast can work wonders

 

[kjackson1992]

When you say nutritional yeast, do you mean brewers yeast? Just sprinkle it over the food? Also how much do you add if i am thinking of the right thing

 

[Jpat]

When you say nutritional yeast, do you mean brewers yeast? Just sprinkle it over the food? Also how much do you add if i am thinking of the right thing

Yep brewers yeast, but in the vitamin isle or all natural isle at the grocery store you should be able to find Nutritional Brewers Yeast

i was putting about 1/4 cup on top of the daily feed every morning for 5 ducks, You cant over dose it so mabye couldve used more

 

[kjackson1992]

Just done a quick google search for it, is the only difference between the normal brewers yeast and the nutritional stuff the fact that its flaked rather than a powder?