PLEASE, could someone help me figure out what’s wrong with my beautiful Pekin???

[AmyA248]

Good afternoon,

After losing his mate, my male Pekin has not been himself, and over the past month he has stopped bathing and something is VERY WRONG because he looks TERRIBLE!!
He has several sores and is a complete MESS!!
We keep our coupe immaculate and they are all very well cared for a given plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits.
I heard it could be mites, but none of our other duck have this problem.
We are so terribly concerned.
PLEASE HELP!!

 

[BelovedBirds]

Good afternoon,

After losing his mate, my male Pekin has not been himself, and over the past month he has stopped bathing and something is VERY WRONG because he looks TERRIBLE!!
He has several sores and is a complete MESS!!
We keep our coupe immaculate and they are all very well cared for a given plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits.
I heard it could be mites, but none of our other duck have this problem.
We are so terribly concerned.
PLEASE HELP!!

What does their diet consist of? What amount of fresh veggies/fruits and what amount of feed, what type of feed?

Does he live with other drakes? They could be bullying him

 

[AmyA248]

What does their diet consist of? What amount of fresh veggies/fruits and what amount of feed, what type of feed?

Does he live with other drakes? They could be bullying him

Their diet consists of high quality feed, lots of greens, fresh vegetables and fruits. Extra fatty supplements during the winter.
We do have other drakes and we cameras to watch for bullies. I’m afraid he’s dying!!

 

[BelovedBirds]

Their diet consists of high quality feed, lots of greens, fresh vegetables and fruits. Extra fatty supplements during the winter.

What is the feed? And how much does he get, is he eating okay and showing a good appetite? Be careful not to overdo the veggies and fruits as these can water down the nutrients they're getting from their feed, it's okay as a treat, but treats ought to only make up about 10% of their diet. The rest should be feed and what they get through foraging

We do have other drakes and we cameras to watch for bullies.

so can you rule out him being bullied? I'm not super experienced, but it really looks to me like he's being picked on and having feathers pulled.

How old is he and when did he last moult?
Mites are a possibility but I'm not knowledgeable about symptoms and treatments as it's not something I've had to deal with before. Someone else might be able to chime in with info about that

 

[swampfox440]

How old is this drake?

 

[AmyA248]

What is the feed? And how much does he get, is he eating okay and showing a good appetite? Be careful not to overdo the veggies and fruits as these can water down the nutrients they're getting from their feed, it's okay as a treat, but treats ought to only make up about 10% of their diet. The rest should be feed and what they get through foraging

so can you rule out him being bullied? I'm not super experienced, but it really looks to me like he's being picked on and having feathers pulled.

How old is he and when did he last moult?
Mites are a possibility but I'm not knowledgeable about symptoms and treatments as it's not something I've had to deal with before. Someone else might be able to chime in with info about that

Thank you for your reply!
The feed is from Tractor Supply and high quality.
He’s eating ok.
We don’t give too many treats as I know too much is not a good idea.
I was told to give him a bath in Dawn detergent and we are treating him for mites, but I’m not sure that is the problem.
He does get picked on occasionally and we immediately intervene. We are keeping him in the shed with the babies for now.
He was always the first to jump in the pool but now he never goes in. I’m not sure when he molted last.
He lost his mate several months ago and hasn’t been the same since.
I don’t know how to control the fact that he’s getting picked on by our Muscovy drakes, who have talons that can really hurt! I feel terrible because he’s such a sweet boy and I don’t know how to protect him.

 

[BelovedBirds]

Thank you for your reply!
The feed is from Tractor Supply and high quality.
He’s eating ok.
We don’t give too many treats as I know too much is not a good idea.
I was told to give him a bath in Dawn detergent and we are treating him for mites, but I’m not sure that is the problem.
He does get picked on occasionally and we immediately intervene. We are keeping him in the shed with the babies for now.
He was always the first to jump in the pool but now he never goes in. I’m not sure when he molted last.
He lost his mate several months ago and hasn’t been the same since.
I don’t know how to control the fact that he’s getting picked on by our Muscovy drakes, who have talons that can really hurt! I feel terrible because he’s such a sweet boy and I don’t know how to protect him.

How old is he?

Do be careful, if the babies are young as drakes can do a lot of harm to ducklings and should be separate.

Dawn baths are sometimes used for severe cases of wet feather, or for birds that are involved in oil spills, as it will strip the oils from their feathers- however it shouldn't be used as a remedy for anything and everything, as it will just strip the natural oils from the feathers and skin too.
Not knowledgeable on mites so can't speak there, but it does seem he's being bullied, that could be causing the feather loss and deteriation in condition. They could even be preventing him from getting the food sometimes. I would guess that this is the case and since
you've seen some bullying happening. I would suggest housing separately from the other drakes during breeding seasons, when the hormones are highest, and see if that makes a difference in him

What is your ratio of hens/drakes?

 

[ilovemybabychickies]

Hello! I am so sorry that you poor duck is feeling bad, poor baby. Maybe he is depressed that his mate passed away. He might be pulling out his feathers because he is sad. Does he have sores from laying down so much? Sorry if I was not able to help out much... I really hope he feels better soon!

here is a link that might help you.

http://www.majesticwaterfowl.org/mmissue74.htm