Call duck Question

[kenmisk]

We have a grey young female call duck.She is pretty nice, but she has an issue with her oil gland. It appeared to be infected and she is not oiling her feathers properly. Any advice on what to do for her would be appreciated.

[KandBinMN]

I think you're supposed to apply warm packs. Will she bathe in a tub of warm water? I think you can gently massage it too. I have a female mallard that hatched out last Oct. Since she was so late, she never got in water much and I've noticed that her feathering is not very nice, almost crusty. I even shampooed her a few weeks ago and massaged her oil gland too, but she still feels "crusty". Will be curious to see the replies you get, hope someone has advice for both of us.

[kenmisk]

Yes she will bathe in warm water, when we get them ready to show, we pop them into a bath of warm water, no soap, but warm water.
THanks for your response, thought no one would answer.

[KandBinMN]

I was hoping for more responses too. My mallard hen looks like a mess yet too. I may just sneak her in for a real bath when my husband isn't home:grin:
Then I can let her do a really good soak, blow her dry and massage the oil gland. Have to do it before it gets too cold out, so as not to shock her. Her sister is much better looking since her bath last month. I still think it has something to do with being from a mid Oct. hatch last year, they never were conditioned well to water.

[Evy]

No soap or shampoo & DO NOT blow it dry. Being wet is what stimulates them to preen & get the oil gland working. "Waterfowl'' need a year round source of clean swim water to stay in condition.

[kenmisk]

Thank you for your response, THe duck has a bath every day, but the oil gland is still not working. Do you think this is just a permanent thing? Thanks

[KandBinMN]

Hmm, I can do without the shampoo if she really dunks and splashes, but I live in MN. There is no such thing as open swimming water in winter. They get a big bowl of warm water twice a day- enough to dunk beaks and heads. If we get a mid winter thaw, the pool comes back out until we're back in the deep freeze again. So far this year, they've had the pools to bathe in yet, with fresh water every day. She did well when it rained one day too, but is still "crusty" feathered.
Call duck person- have you questioned a vet? If it is an infected oil gland, maybe she needs antibiotics or something done in the office to unplug it?
My duck doesn't appear to be plugged or infected, she didn't completely feather out until it was winter and spent many a night with her sister in the farm shop which is kept above freezing.:smile:

[Evy]

Thank you for your response, THe duck has a bath every day, but the oil gland is still not working. Do you think this is just a permanent thing? Thanks

Find the gland & massage it with your finger. If your finger shows oil, it's working & she's just not preening. Spritzing her with warm water daily may encourage her to do so. If the gland is swollen & / or dry, massage may help. Otherwise, there may be underlying problems that only a vet can discover.

[TLund]

Some ducks just do NOT feel the need to bathe and preen. We just got a call from a breeder and you could not tell what color she was (snowy) had very hard feathers and rough looking all over. We gave her watet to bathe in when we got home and she never got in once. We put her in it every few minutes the first day and everytime we walked by her pen the next. We put her out with all of our other calls on the third day and about a week later started to get the hang of the whole thing. Now she is great looking and feathers look great as well.

[kenmisk]

Thanks to all of you who responded.


Ken

[Evy]

Some ducks just do NOT feel the need to bathe and preen. We just got a call from a breeder and you could not tell what color she was (snowy) had very hard feathers and rough looking all over. We gave her watet to bathe in when we got home and she never got in once. We put her in it every few minutes the first day and everytime we walked by her pen the next. We put her out with all of our other calls on the third day and about a week later started to get the hang of the whole thing. Now she is great looking and feathers look great as well.

That was likely a matter of poor conditions on the part of the ''breeder''. Ducks will bathe & preen from the day they hatch, given the chance. Those that aren't given clean swim water daily from the beginning often mature with an actual fear of the water & never are in condition.