Wet Feather?

[TheHighlandChick01]

This precious girl has frost all over her but our drake has very little & only by his tail. Does she have wet feather, something else entirely or does this look normal?

 

[Miss Lydia]

She looks pretty icy. Even my Muscovy don’t get like that. Do the have shelter so they can get out of the weather?

 

[TheHighlandChick01]

She looks pretty icy. Even my Muscovy don’t get like that. Do the have shelter so they can get out of the weather?

Yes, Sassy & Gilbert have a 10' x 10' enclosure. I took the pictures right after I let them out this morning for some free-range time.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Doesn’t necessarily mean she has wet feather she could have splashed water on her drinking. Mine will get icy around their necks from sticking their heads in the water bucket. Do you know when she molted last?

 

[TheHighlandChick01]

I’m afraid I’m not sure when her last molt was. We’ve had them since July so this is still so new to us. That’s a blessing to know it could just be from splashing her water around which is definitely something she loves to do on a regular basis. She appeared to be shivering when she was outside so that added to my worry. Having lost our other female recently I am especially worried about losing this one too.

 

[Miss Lydia]

What are your temps. If she was shivering that's a pretty good sign she was cold. You might want to keep them inside on really cold days. In the low 20 on down. But defiantly go by body language. Keep her out of water where she can get wet through in through just in case she isn't as water repellent as she could be. You can add some extra protein to their feed or give as a treat. mine get salmon and pea dry dog food as an afternoon treat along with meal worms. Both really good for feather quality.

 

[TheHighlandChick01]

What are your temps. If she was shivering that's a pretty good sign she was cold. You might want to keep them inside on really cold days. In the low 20 on down. But defiantly go by body language. Keep her out of water where she can get wet through in through just in case she isn't as water repellent as she could be. You can add some extra protein to their feed or give as a treat. mine get salmon and pea dry dog food as an afternoon treat along with meal worms. Both really good for feather quality.

Single digits last night & with wind chill it felt like negative 7 according to weather.com. It was close to 22 degrees when I had them out this morning. Thank you for the great tip re dog food. I read online that some recommend blackstrap molasses as a way to increase nutrients. Any thoughts, pro/con, re this as another option?

 

[Miss Lydia]

I know molasses is used in feed and also for flushes if a toxin is ingested but haven’t seen it used to add nutrients that’s interesting I’ll have to read up on this.

 

[TheHighlandChick01]

Nutri-Drench was also mentioned for both chickens & ducks as an alternative to the blackstrap molasses. If I understood correctly Nutri-Drench is a molasses-based vitamin supplement.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Yes it is an I forgot about that one. I keep it in the frig so I can keep it on hand. But you don’t want to use it all the time because just like molasses it can cause diarrhea. It is really great stuff though. Best is just make sure you feeding them the best feed you can and treats an supplements are just the extras. I do use Nutritional yeast sprinkled over their feed a couple times a week since it’s got good quality niacin which supports leg health in water fowl.