pulling out all the feathers on the new duckling.

[sprouticus]

I have never been able to post pictures on any site that i belonged to except facebook........I just never figured it out....but the ducks back is pretty bare of feathers. he/she(never sexed, but i think a female by the quack) spent the night in my bathroom......this is not a good solution as it is quite a mess in there now. I want to say my ignorance had me convinced at first that this was how molting worked....it's my first time with ducks and i couldn't find any articles on the internet of others with the same problem. my friend who raises chickens said when the duck gets bigger the issue will stop. Since all of my ducks came from the same place i had hoped they would get along better.

She's almost as big as the other ducks now, but with the cold coming I don't feel right leaving her outside missing her back feathers. Our schedule doesn't really allow for her to be put in the coop while its still dark. the door gets opened for them after sunrise and they get put back in the coop after sunset.

The other ducks don't seem to bother her much while out in the yard. I can't say they don't pick on her at all....just not as bad.

If a heatlamp is a bad idea.....has anyone ever tried a heating pad as a source of heat? I'm currently using pine shavings as bedding, as they are much easier to come by than straw for me, and i'm concerned about starting a fire......should i be concerned? If I re-enforce the dog crate, and leave her out there tonight with extra shavings and an old stuffy.....should i be concerned about her being cold with most of her back feathers gone?

Has anyone else on here ever experienced this and what did they do?

thankyou again for your replies!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have never been able to post pictures on any site that i belonged to except facebook........I just never figured it out....but the ducks back is pretty bare of feathers. he/she(never sexed, but i think a female by the quack) spent the night in my bathroom......this is not a good solution as it is quite a mess in there now. I want to say my ignorance had me convinced at first that this was how molting worked....it's my first time with ducks and i couldn't find any articles on the internet of others with the same problem. my friend who raises chickens said when the duck gets bigger the issue will stop. Since all of my ducks came from the same place i had hoped they would get along better.

She's almost as big as the other ducks now, but with the cold coming I don't feel right leaving her outside missing her back feathers. Our schedule doesn't really allow for her to be put in the coop while its still dark. the door gets opened for them after sunrise and they get put back in the coop after sunset.

The other ducks don't seem to bother her much while out in the yard. I can't say they don't pick on her at all....just not as bad.

If a heatlamp is a bad idea.....has anyone ever tried a heating pad as a source of heat? I'm currently using pine shavings as bedding, as they are much easier to come by than straw for me, and i'm concerned about starting a fire......should i be concerned? If I re-enforce the dog crate, and leave her out there tonight with extra shavings and an old stuffy.....should i be concerned about her being cold with most of her back feathers gone?

Has anyone else on here ever experienced this and what did they do?

thankyou again for your replies!

What temps are you talking about. she may just crawl under a big stuffy if you have one. I use shaving too, much better than straw hands down. A fire is very worrisome in a coop. I've never used a heating pad but if you can cover with a towel or blanket and then shaving and not turn it up to high it maybe okay. I know they make something simular for animals. I wish someone else would give some advise I know you must be tired of hearing from me only. I'm thinking she maybe okay without heat if you can somehow cover the crate and give her plenty of shavings and a stuffed animal she can snuggle with. I'd make sure she can't get out or they get to her like the other one.

 

[sprouticus]

its been dipping below freezing here at night lately. I would say -3 celcius....i don't know what that converts to...somewhere around 30 farenheit i think. its not usually this cold this time of year, but it is this year. and i appreciate your advice....it shows you care and i respect that.

when i first brought my ducks home, I didn't have a coop for them. I live in town and have no worries about raccoons, or foxes, or anything like that. I put them in my garden area that had an 8 foot deer fence because we get a whole lot of deer.....thats about it. my temporary solution for a coop was I modified my daughters plastic playhouse. it has maybe 8 square feet of floor space, and i thought would be sufficient for 4 young ducks....but they hated it and prefered to sleep under the grape vines. I only really built the coop so I wouldn't have to search for eggs when they eventually started laying.

I could put the playhouse inside the coop. it would protect the duckling. I used the crate because that way they could see each other and in my mind, that would help them to get along. the hole i cut in the door of the playhouse is too small for my now fully grown cayugas i think. so it could be like a sanctuary for the duckling. and i have plenty of wood shavings to throw in there, and i'm sure we can sacrifice one of my daughters old stuffies. thankyou for your suggestions. i'll let you know how this works out.

 

[Miss Lydia]

its been dipping below freezing here at night lately. I would say -3 celcius....i don't know what that converts to...somewhere around 30 farenheit i think. its not usually this cold this time of year, but it is this year. and i appreciate your advice....it shows you care and i respect that.

when i first brought my ducks home, I didn't have a coop for them. I live in town and have no worries about raccoons, or foxes, or anything like that. I put them in my garden area that had an 8 foot deer fence because we get a whole lot of deer.....thats about it. my temporary solution for a coop was I modified my daughters plastic playhouse. it has maybe 8 square feet of floor space, and i thought would be sufficient for 4 young ducks....but they hated it and prefered to sleep under the grape vines. I only really built the coop so I wouldn't have to search for eggs when they eventually started laying.

I could put the playhouse inside the coop. it would protect the duckling. I used the crate because that way they could see each other and in my mind, that would help them to get along. the hole i cut in the door of the playhouse is too small for my now fully grown cayugas i think. so it could be like a sanctuary for the duckling. and i have plenty of wood shavings to throw in there, and i'm sure we can sacrifice one of my daughters old stuffies. thankyou for your suggestions. i'll let you know how this works out.

everyone living in town says they don't have preds, but listen you do and it inevitable they will find your ducks sooner or later. A good friend on here just lost 2 of her ducks to raccoons which she said never came in her yard. If you don't lock them at night up it's only a matter of time. Of course ducks would prefer to sleep outside but it's our responsibility to keep them safe.

 

[sprouticus]

everyone living in town says they don't have preds, but listen you do and it inevitable they will find your ducks sooner or later. A good friend on here just lost 2 of her ducks to raccoons which she said never came in her yard. If you don't lock them at night up it's only a matter of time. Of course ducks would prefer to sleep outside but it's our responsibility to keep them safe.

they have a coop and get locked up everynight....its been that way since a few weeks after i got them. I believe I mentioned that. also I don't think a predetor could even get inside the 8 foot fence......we don't have raccoons in this area. can't think of any local predetor that could climb it. I started locking them up to avoid an egg hunt everyday, and there was also the potential for an owl attack.....although I have never seen one in town, I know it's possible.

 

[Miss Lydia]

they have a coop and get locked up everynight....its been that way since a few weeks after i got them. I believe I mentioned that. also I don't think a predetor could even get inside the 8 foot fence......we don't have raccoons in this area. can't think of any local predetor that could climb it. I started locking them up to avoid an egg hunt everyday, and there was also the potential for an owl attack.....although I have never seen one in town, I know it's possible.

Oh sorry I read it wrong, good to know they are locked up. Well hopefully you'll be able to figure out the best way for this little one till she is big enough to hold her own. But more than likely she'll always be at the bottom of the pecking order, my 2 little girls that hatched this summer are at the low end. They know it and avoid any conflict pretty good. Keep us updated on how it goes please.

 

[sprouticus]

well, its a little over a month later, and everything is going well. I have been away for work for the last 3 weeks, and my GF has been looking after the ducks alone. I just finished making an automatic waterer for her with some toilet parts and heat trace wire, and also a large food hopper to cut down on her work load. The little duck is full grown now, and all feathers have grown back. I can't even tell her apart from my other cayugas, and everyone seems to be getting along quite well. The sanctuary/cage inside the coop was removed a couple of weeks ago with no issues, and one of my cayugas has finally started to lay, giving me 3 eggs a day which is more than we will eat. I wasn't expecting a cayuga to be laying this time of year, but the eggs are cool. not exactly jet black, but very dark in colour. thanx again for all your help!

 

[Miss Lydia]

well, its a little over a month later, and everything is going well. I have been away for work for the last 3 weeks, and my GF has been looking after the ducks alone. I just finished making an automatic waterer for her with some toilet parts and heat trace wire, and also a large food hopper to cut down on her work load. The little duck is full grown now, and all feathers have grown back. I can't even tell her apart from my other cayugas, and everyone seems to be getting along quite well. The sanctuary/cage inside the coop was removed a couple of weeks ago with no issues, and one of my cayugas has finally started to lay, giving me 3 eggs a day which is more than we will eat. I wasn't expecting a cayuga to be laying this time of year, but the eggs are cool. not exactly jet black, but very dark in colour. thanx again for all your help!

Great news thanks so much for posting back and letting us in on the good news.