Q:
One of myducksis currently suffering from a pretty bad case of wet plume ; she ’s begin to avoid the water wholly . What can I do ?
A:
Usually , rain will naturally run off a duck’s egg ’s back due to its waterproofed feathers , but with a condition called wet feathering , this waterproofing does n’t quite play : The rain fleece in , and the duck ’s down can become waterlogged , stimulate the duck to become chilled and jump to keep off the water supply , build matters worse . This is due to problem with the feather itself .
How Wet Feather Works
To see wet feather , you first have to understand a little bit of feather form and duck’s egg behavior . draw up the center of the feathering is the stiff backbone called the shaft , and on either side of the shaft , parallel offshoot called barbs make up the plumage ’s WWW . These shaft have tiny crisscrossing branches called barbules that are hold together with minute hocked filaments know as barbicels . For the feather to provide the insulation duck require , the barbs , barbules and barbicels must be properly aligned . If not , the duck rearrange them through a operation known as preening . While preening , duck’s egg take away rubble , dirt and parasites from their feathers and realine each feather to the optimum position comparative to each other and the shape of the duck ’s eubstance .
The preen gland , or uropygial gland , is an oil - bring on secreter locate near the base of the duck ’s tail that is an all-important part of plume . rock oil produced by the secretory organ is released by a nipple - like pore . During preening , a duck rubs its bill and head up over the preen gland and then rub the accumulated oil over the feather of the body and wings . The crude oil helps waterproof feathers and keep them flexible .
Reduced preen vegetable oil production can also result from malnutrition , specifically deficiency of vitamins B and E , both of which are required for healthy production of oil colour . ( The accession of cereal grain , especially wheat , can help meet duck ’ vitamin boron and E requirement . ) Wet feather can also result when shuttle are keep back without passable water and then relocated to a situation with more than sufficient water . It ’s significant to identify the movement of the problem and regenerate the situation as soon as possible .
Treating Your Ducks
duck’s egg miss their feathers once a year during molting season , and this annualmolt will typically cure the duck of fuddled feather . In the meantime , you could try the following step to avail reverse the effects , but be forewarn : It requires fourth dimension , patience and hard employment .
This may ease the problem , but in some cases , only the one-year molt will help .
In severe cases of wet feathering , the duck’s egg may need to be pluck . If the initial trouble is not adjust , be it excessive external parasite or an septic preen secretor , the condition may reelect , so ensure to do by for parasites , check the consideration of the preen gland — inflammation , redness , hotness and tactual change are signs of an issue — and process if necessary and swan the nutrient intake of the ducks .
This clause originally appeared in the July / August 2016 issue ofHobby Farms .
