Wet Feather?

[fernanda2003]

Hi, so I got three ducks. Two Pekín and one black one. The Pekin are about 2-3 weeks old. They are very messy when drinking water so we have to replace their bedding often. We did try a new method with putting their water dispenser in tray to keep the water from flowing into their bedding, it seems like it’s working. However one of the pekín ducks seems to always be wet from his/her chest and stomach area. i washed him/her with soap and towel dried him and it seemed to have dried him off completely however just after a couple hours in the dry bedding he/she is wet from the chest and stomach area again and the other two ducks are dry. I don’t know what to do to help keep him dry from those areas because the other two are doing fine but he/she keeps picking at his/her stomach and chest as if it itches or something. Any recommendations?

 

[ChasingChooks]

Is their bedding wet? I assume he doesn't have any injuries on his chest? Is the wetness on him clear liquid? Hope someone can help!

 

[Miss Lydia]

For one thing they don’t have wet feather at that age actually washing them In soap you just washed any of the oils it may have already put on its feathers by preening. Try a different waterer you can make your self you can put this on a tray to keep the water off the bedding but these types of self made waterers really do help. See if this works to keep your ducklings feathers drier.put a pee pad on top of the tray then the waterer

 

[fernanda2003]

Is their bedding wet? I assume he doesn't have any injuries on his chest? Is the wetness on him clear liquid? Hope someone can help!

their bedding isn’t wet, i change it often because i thought that’s what was causing him to be wet on his tummy and chest area but even after dry bedding he continues to be wet. the other two stay fairly dry but one of them stays wet and i see he picks at his chest area frequently

 

[fernanda2003]

For one thing they don’t have wet feather at that age actually washing them In soap you just washed any of the oils it may have already put on its feathers by preening. Try a different waterer you can make your self you can put this on a tray to keep the water off the bedding but these View attachment 3805050types of self made waterers really do help. See if this works to keep your ducklings feathers drier.put a pee pad on top of the tray then the waterer

i was reading on different websites that it would help to remove the dirt with a bit of soap which is why i did it. they seemed to be dry and not crusty from the bottom anymore but now one of them is still the same with a wet tummy. what type of bedding do you recommend to keep a bit more dry?

 

[ChasingChooks]

I just realized that wet feather was a condition in ducks. Oops.

What bedding do you use currently?

 

[fernanda2003]

 

[Miss Lydia]

When I start my ducklings I use pee pads for the first 2 weeks then I introduce pine shavings this way they know what food is and aren’t as apt to want to eat the shavings. Your going to have to keep up with removing wet poo beddings and adding fresh as needed and try and keep it as dry as possible that is the reason for placing their water container onto something that will catch the water. I found an old broiler pan at a thrift store and used it with a puppy pee pad over to help with drips. And to protect their feet. And if you make a waterer similar to the picture it will help a lot.

 

[fernanda2003]

View attachment 3805176View attachment 3805177

this is what they look like from the bottom belly area. i really don’t know what do, i feel really bad for them because they are wet but i dont know what i can do to fix it.

 

[fernanda2003]

When I start my ducklings I use pee pads for the first 2 weeks then I introduce pine shavings this way they know what food is and aren’t as apt to want to eat the shavings.

we bought the ducks from a tractor supply store and the lady in charge told us to buy the chopped hay. and that’s what we’ve been using for the 11 days we’ve had them.