Help! Mandarin missing chest feathers

[Cailyn Riley]

we have a woodie that we raised essentially since day 1, once he got older we got him a buddy- we bought him from a “breeder.” Our woodie is super tame but the mandarin is wild (and grown.) we have since noticed the mandarin is loosing chest feathers- he’s missing noticeably more- deeper patch missing in the chest and rising up his neck and down his belly. I do not believe he is molting- although my woodie is a brat and chases the mandarin at times, I know the mandarin is not letting the wood duck get close enough for long enough to take out that many feathers. I have not found a single feather in his pin?!?! It didn’t seem as if he had “pools” at where we got him from (they may have that I didn’t see-) but he has full access to a duck pool in his pin.

Please help! Any advice would be appreciated. We love our new mandarin terribly and want him to be healthy- we also have a healthy wood duck to consider as well and I don’t want him getting sick !

 

[CayugaJana]

I’m sure there will be more experienced members on here that reply but they will want some answers to basic questions to assist.

What do you feed your ducks?
Have you noticed him scratching at all or noticed anything in his feathers?

 

[Cailyn Riley]

No, I appreciate the response! Currently- we are feeding them chicken crumble at 16% protein and also give them seeds from the same brand as their crumbles. We have also been giving them some corn and meal worms as a treat, trying to get the mandarin comfortable and trusting of us. I am not able to see him super close up- he is still spooked easily.

I did look at his feathers from a little bit away and noticed they seem not as well kept as our wood duck- granted one was raised outdoors (mandarin) and the other indoors for a while (wood duck.)

 

[CayugaJana]

Do you have any poultry vitamins? Putting the liquid in their water is pretty easy. I believe they can eat their feathers if their bodies aren’t getting enough protein. But I don’t think 16% is that low for an adult.

If his feathers look crummy, the vitamins will help him and it’s the least invasive option as you said he’s still pretty skiddish. It may also help if he is in fact pulling out his feathers and eating them. The only other thing I can think of is if he has some sort of lice or mites. But you’d have to catch him to check for that.

 

[Cailyn Riley]

It very well may be he is pulling them out and eating them. The wood duck is a little brat and chases the mandarin away from the food at times- especially since they’re both left in the pin at night with the heat lamp right now (covered with blankets and tarps, whereas usually the wood duck is in the duck house at night (and the mandarin will be too once we can teach him to go in there.) so it gives the mandarin more time to eat and play in the pool.

We noticed the mandarin was having a lot of liquid stools so he has been drinking electrolyte and probiotic water for the last couple days now- poop is better now but feathers are not

 

[CayugaJana]

That’s great. I would keep up with the additives to the water. Is there a way to let him have more time to eat? Maybe put some food out where he spends a lot of time? You can also buy some quality cat food, dog food, or koi fish crumbles to give him in addition to his food. If he isn’t getting what he needs fro
his feed, the extra protein will help. And it will help him grow back his feathers. Sometimes you just have to wait for them to molt in order to get the feathers to look better. What is the weather like where you live? It’s miserably cold here and a duck missing a lot of feathers could freeze to death.

 

[Cailyn Riley]

I will definitely look into the cat/dog/ koi food! Thank you.

It is pretty cold here- lows in the 20’s at night. Currently, they have Bean’s baby duck heat lamp in their pin- their pin is boarded with plywood on the wind side at the moment, with all other sides covered by sheets, and then a large tarp over it (for rain and more wind blockage.) cooper the mandarin seems to love the heat lamp and bean hates it so luckily cooper does get a lot of bake time. We also covered it to hide from predators since they are in the pin and not their coop.

 

[CayugaJana]

My ducks love mealworms the best, but they are so expensive we buy the other treats too. I get a large bag of the koi crumbles at Walmart. It at least a 10 pound bag for $20. It’s at least 30% protein. My ducks didn’t come out of the shed at all yesterday. It was too cold for them. Lol

 

[Cailyn Riley]

You’re awesome, thank you! How cold is it where you are?! My poor ducks are ready to break free! I think I like your ducks better lol

 

[CayugaJana]

Lol. It’s been in the single digits with wind chills below 0 for a week. It’s been under 32f for almost 3 weeks! It’s driving me crazy!

The lack of sunlight does a number on me too. I feel gloomy and lazy lol.

I hope cooper settles in well. You’ll have to post pics when he gets all of his pretty feathers in the spring.