New duck mom, is my Muscovy sick?

[ByeFelicia]

Hello, I’m a new duck mom and new to BYC but I have been reading for a while. We inherited four ducks in April from a neighbor.: 3 Muscoveys, one Indian Runner, all females.

At the beginning of August, we went on vacation and our parents didn’t collect any eggs… there were 11 when we got home and Felicia had gone broody. With no Drake, we collected the eggs and thought that would be the end of it. Turns out all four ducks stopped laying, kept Vigil with Felicia and there we have been until yesterday when we finished the duck addition (coop with another protected run for the winter). During the day they can free range and we feed them duck pellets that they can eat at will.

Felicia was mad that I put her in the coop last night, but I needed to get her off her empty nest! When I moved her, I noticed that she seemed to be damp and that her feathers look ragged.

This morning she was dry, but she still doesn’t look great. I want her to be warm as the temperatures are dipping into the low 30s. Thoughts? Suggestions? Is this wet feather or just a result of not getting out much?

Thank you! Felicia is my favorite and I want her healthy!

 

[StinkyAcres]

It is time for them to molt and stop laying for the winter. She does look very rough though, probably because she hasn't bathed and preened enough while broody. Do you know if she's molted already? Do you provide a clean bathing pool for them?

 

[ByeFelicia]

I don’t think she is molted yet because she has been mostly sitting on an empty nest in a small duck hut. The malted feathers I see are all white from our other Muskovy I think. They do have access to a small pool, which I empty and refill every day (until it starts freezing!). I have seen her bathe on occasion.

I’m wondering if she just needs to eat more with higher quality protein. I’ve started supplementing with cat food and black oil sunflower seeds. For a while, I was so worried that I would soak a seeded bread in milk and she always gobbled it up.

 

[ByeFelicia]

I also removed the small hut she was nesting in to encourage her to stop brooding. Stubborn girl is now sitting beside its location in the run. She still eats treats out of my hand, so I’ll keep checking on her throughout the day.

 

[StinkyAcres]

It can take a while to stop them from being broody. You are doing the right thing by removing access to the places she was brooding in. Hopefully she hasn't molted yet. Usually you can tell they haven't molted by their very faded feathers. If that's the case, she should start molting soon and the extra protein you are giving her will help her regrow her feathers. My one broody Muscovy was also late to molt and hasn't finished yet while the others are just about finished.

 

[DukesDucks]

I don't know if it is the strange weather, overly warm fall so far, but my Muscovy ducks have been acting oddly

For several week 2 of the girls went broody. determinedly sitting on a nest together although there were no eggs. I finally started shutting them out of the coop which seems to have worked.

They are all molting later than usual. Jack and Kitkat are looking especially rough. I try not to laugh as they still believe they are handsome boys.

.

 

[ruthhope]

One of my muscovy molted back in June/July. He was a little bit crabby with me while molting but maintained his place at the top of the pecking order. Last year, he was off color for weeks, sulked throughout -- running away from me and ostracizing himself from the other ducks. But this summer he didn't lose his flight feathers. He is replacing his flight feathers now, 3 months later. I haven't known a "split" molt before in any of my or my son's ducks. He is having some difficulty holding his wings up: those sheaths and emerging flight feathers are obviously heavy!!