Will she get better after her molt?

[DRsmorn]

I have a duck that has some problems with her feathers... and the drakes scuffed her a bit... will she be good after her molt?



lobster

 

[BelovedBirds]

I have a duck that has some problems with her feathers... and the drakes scuffed her a bit... will she be good after her molt?



lobster

bless her! How many drakes to hens do you have? What feed are they on? Does she preen herself properly, oil gland look okay? Is she due her moult now?

 

[DRsmorn]

I have 3 drakes to 5 females... I just feed them some mixed grains and some vitamins... they do have a lot of space to free range and a pond, but its been a dry summer so it has dried away ... dont know when they moult i think somewhere next month or the month after?

 

[BelovedBirds]

I have 3 drakes to 5 females... I just feed them some mixed grains and some vitamins... they do have a lot of space to free range and a pond, but its been a dry summer so it has dried away ... dont know when they moult i think somewhere next month or the month after?

So you're a little out of ratio, the drakes may be overbreeding this duck and that could be partially why she looks so rough- the ideal ratio is 1 drake to every 3-6 hens.

What vitamins do you give to them? Are you supplementing niacin- do you mix the feed yourself?

 

[DRsmorn]

So you're a little out of ratio, the drakes may be overbreeding this duck and that could be partially why she looks so rough- the ideal ratio is 1 drake to every 3-6 hens.

What vitamins do you give to them? Are you supplementing niacin- do you mix the feed yourself?

Yeah, i know im planing on getting more females but they are hard to get here... i did buy one a month back. I am mixing the feed myself yes i just buy bags of corn, wheat and other grains... and i mix them together. they were getting niacin when they were little but not that much now, all the other birds look good especially the drakes. As for vitamins, i just put some mineral mixture for all types of animals in there feed.

 

[Canadian Wind]

Welcome to BYC!

Yes, moulting will help, but not for long with all those drakes. I would suggest keeping the boys away from the girls, in a separate area.

 

[BelovedBirds]

Yeah, i know im planing on getting more females but they are hard to get here... i did buy one a month back. I am mixing the feed myself yes i just buy bags of corn, wheat and other grains... and i mix them together. they were getting niacin when they were little but not that much now, all the other birds look good especially the drakes. As for vitamins, i just put some mineral mixture for all types of animals in there feed.

since you're mixing the feed yourself, it is possible that they are lacking certain vitamins or protein. Is there no duck food for sale locally? Or online?
While waiting on more females I highly reccomend separating a couple of the boys from the rest of the group, as the females are in danger at the moment of being overbred.

I agree with @Canadian Wind that moulting will help, but there may be some other things going on too, factors which might not be helping and contribute to making her look a little rough.

 

[ruthhope]

Where are you DRsmorn? There should be some proven recipes for home made duck food on the interent: This is the link to a discussion on BYC.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/recipes-for-homemade-duck-food.559165/

As well as feeding the grains, do offer chopped green leafy vegetables, and chopped fruit if you have any, as well as brewer's yeast/or nutritional yeast. Ducks need a lot of Niacin to stay healthy and some individual ducks need more. Yours might be one needing more.

However, her plummage doesn't look any worse that one of my drakes. He is also do a molt and at the moment his wing feathers a ratty and his other feathers a fluffly like your females, not sleak his plummage gets heavy traffic as he is prone to getting into fights with the other ducks who then pull his wing or tail feathers. You girl, as other has said, is probably being over mated. She will get nice plummage again when she molts -- but do try and get a few more females, and separate the drakes until the sex ratio in your flock is better