What's wrong with my ducks feathers

[qwakqwak]

Hi my 14 month old pekin's feathers are not looking normal. The ends of her wings are not white they are a dirty color. The feathers are mostly just stems on the ends. She also has a pale colored beak. Her sister grew in new feathers about 2 months ago and has a bright orange beak.I dont know if she is just getting her feathers in slow or if something is wrong.
Please reply if you have any input
Thank you!!

 

[ChristineR]

What are they eating? Do they have water to swim in? Did she molt at all yet?

Your pictures aren't showing up for me. Not sure if it's just me or what.

 

[qwakqwak]

They are eating layered pellets and I have a small pond in their housing. Her and her sister both looked like this mid summer so I thought thats when they were molting. Her sister grew in new wing feathers not long after that and she didn't they just seem to be looking worse. Hopefully you can see the pictures now.
Thankyou

https://docs.google.com/a/my.fit.edu/document/d/1tSu5bbXbn823-R8lBhdeGARO2QNL2Y-h7OVGgNdi_2w/edit

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Hmm, that is strange. Do they free range at all? Do sprinkled brewers yeast on their food so they can get vitamin D3? What about water source/food?

 

[Amiga]

This seems at first glance to be a nutrient deficiency or possibly some kind of toxicity. This is a guess.

Do you have poultry vitamins/electrolytes/probiotics?

Could you write a little bit more about their history and their daily life? Sometimes things you might not notice can give us clues.

Glad you joined us on the forum.

 

[Lamar Estate]

One of my Cayuga's had horrible feathers. The long feathers on her wings were like sticks. I tried giving her warm baths inside the house, but they didn't help. I was worried that there was something wrong with her oil gland, but it didn't seem swollen.

Then I read something about "wet feathers." (She looked water logged when she would get out of the bathtub.) The remedy was to give her a bath and use Dawn dish soap on her feathers. I tried it. I made sure to not get soap in her eyes, not let her drink the soapy water, and get all the soap rinsed off of her. It worked! Her feathers look so much better now.

 

[qwakqwak]

I have 2 pekins girls and and a mallard drake they are all 14 months old. Their cage is 14x10 it has a small pond, one of those plastic ones you can buy at home depot about 2 ft deep it has a filter. I also have an outdoor dog house where they nest. I let them roam around the backyard about an hour each day. I attached the link with the food I have been feeding them. I have not used any added vitamins should I be? The other pekin and mallard are fine. I checked for mites or anything on her feathers but they seemed clear. The majority of her feathers seem fine its just the wings they are very brittle. I also checked her oil gland today and it did not seem red or infected at all. Thank you for your replies!


http://www.southernstates.com/catalog/p-9134-southern-states-all-grain-layerbreeder-mash-50lb.aspx

 

[qwakqwak]

I saw that online when I was doing research. Does anyone know the causes of wet feather?

 

[Amiga]

I believe it is caused by mites.

 

[ChristineR]

I can see your picture now. I don't think that it wet feather. I tried zooming in the pic, but wasn't able to. When you say her feathers are like sticks, is is just because the keratin casing hasn't come off the new feathers that she grew? If you pinch the tips, do they crumble and fall away?

It probably wouldn't hurt to buy a vitamin supplement to add to their drinking water, just to give a boost, in case a deficiency is causing this.