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One of my female Pekins looks terrible and I cannot tell if it is a molting thing or if she has an ailment. First, she has almost no feathers on the back of her head and neck. I know this is due to rough mating and the male duck's saliva. Second, her other feathers on the top part of her back and wings now seem to be thinning. Not necessarily falling out but it doesn't look like the individual feather strands are close together anymore, so the feathers are not dense, but rather more like teeth in a comb. She doesn't seem to be sick acting, but based on other web sites, often ducks won't seem sick until its too late to treat them. She is about 9 months old and free ranges during the day, and is penned at night. Hay is changed or freshened at least every other day and she has access to over an acre of pond daytime and fresh drinking water while penned. Any suggestions?? Thanks

Hey,

It does sound as though shes having alot of males mating with her, which would cause the loss of feathers on the back of her head and neck. This could also explain the problem with the feathers on her back. It could be caused by the claws and gripping feet of the males while they are trying to balance themselves during mating. This would result in feather damage and many broken feathers.

I would suggest keeping her seperate from any males for a few weeks and give her time to get them back into shape. Give her plenty of bathing water so she can stimulate her oil gland (on the top of her tail), and oil her feathers and keep waterproof. Make sure she has loads of bedding, although it sounds as though she already does, to keep her warm as her feathers may not be waterproof at the moment due to the damage. If a duck is not very waterproof they are more susceptible to the cold and bad weather.

I've had a few females that have had this problem, and they always sort their feathers out once they've been seperated from the males.
But, if the problem doesn't seem to stop, then i would recommend taking her to a Vet, just to make sure because like you said, birds normally don't show signs of illness until its sometimes too late.

Mel X

I've also thought of another reason why your duck might have scraggly feathers. Theres a condition known as 'Wet Feather' which is caused by the oil gland not functioning and therefore the duck cannot oil it's feathers. It can be caused by muddy conditions, stagnat water or stress. The feathers go bedraggled and the bird will appear unhappy. If the bird is stressed moving it to a new enclosure with better selected friends can help. Also, the condition may resolve itself after the next moult. If this is the problem then only drinking water should be given so the bird doesn't get too wet and cold.

But i would have thought that this condition would effect all of the birds feathers not just a couple of areas.
I got this information from the British Waterfowl Assocation.

I just thought i'd let you know.
Mel X