Ducklings - one of the most popular birds on domestic farms. These cute yellow lumps delight their owners and give hope for a quick profit. However, sometimes the breeders are confronted with obscure diseases that threaten the loss of livestock and serious financial losses.
These include baldness ducklings. Let's look at several causes of this phenomenon and methods of dealing with it.
Vitamin deficiencies and unbalanced nutrition
This is one of the most common causes of duckling baldness, which indicates a lack of protein and minerals in the body. To prevent or correct a problem that has already arisen, an additional dose of vitamins — chopped greens or oilcake should be introduced into the diet of chicks. Also in their diet must be present the following additives - yeast, fish oil, bone meal, chalk, crushed shell and shell rock.
Did you know? Everyone knows that a duck makes a croaking sound, but few know that only females do it. The sounds of the drake are more like loud hissing. In addition, duck quacking has one mysterious feature - it does not reflect from surfaces and does not cause an echo.As for protein metabolism, it is necessary to strictly monitor its balance in the diet of young animals. Since an acute shortage or an intense short (1-1.5 weeks) overfeeding of animal proteins with its subsequent exclusion from the diet will almost certainly lead to a massive loss of feather. Fresh fish, minced fish, bone meal, reverse or dry milk should always be present in the bird menu.
Many experienced poultry houses advise, with a small number of ducklings, to give them 2-3 small times a week for 1-2 small raw capels or sprat. This is an excellent protein product for birds and the ability to diversify their diet.In order to cope with the appeared bald spots and in their place new plumage began to grow, it is necessary to give the birds methionine (15 g grams per day), calcium and sulfur. By the way, sulfur helps to improve metabolism, so you can add it already from 1-2 weeks after birth, which will help the chicks to gain weight.
Important! Little ducklings consider their mother the one whom they first saw after birth. Therefore, they are quite easy to keep at home, having the opportunity to plant the chicks to any other feathered female, for example, to the hen hen.
Some farmers make the mistake of starting to feed the ducklings with bran and vegetables. The fact is that such a mixture has a laxative effect and, together with feces, salts and other substances necessary for it are washed out from the body. And with their lack of chicks begin to pinch each other's feathers. 
Therefore, in order to avoid this problem, it is necessary to organize a proper balanced diet with obtaining all the necessary vitamins and trace elements. In addition, any nutritional changes should be gradual.
Familiarize yourself with the rules of using vitamins, feeding, and treatment for ducklings.
Rasklev (cannibalism)
The gnawing of a feather often appears after replanting a new group of individuals into an already established herd. At this moment the birds begin to compete with each other, defend their territory and as a result weaker individuals inevitably suffer.
Therefore, replanting should occur gradually, taking into account the hierarchy. It is not necessary to jointly contain uneven-aged individuals, and the largest and most aggressive ones should be separated at all separately from the rest of the herd.
One cannot underestimate the problem of cannibalism in ducklings, since plucking feathers and skin on most parts of the body often leads to the death of the young. Therefore, birds that have been injured should immediately be isolated and treated with antiseptic wounds..
Winging ducklings wings: video
Feather parasites
If besides the bald patches on the skin of the ducklings, small red dots also appeared, then, most likely, these are the bites of the parasites. In this case, the chicks lose their appetite, begin to behave restlessly and constantly search their feathers.
The solution to this problem will be processing feathers ducklings acaricidal drugs. And in order to prevent the emergence of parasites in the future, you should avoid contact of young animals with adults and, especially, wild relatives, especially if they are swimming in a natural reservoir.
Did you know? During the hostilities of 1916, there was an agreement between Ireland and Great Britain to suspend them at a certain time so that an employee of the central park of Dublin could feed a flock of wild ducks living there.
Also in the house should always be a container with a mixture of wood ash and sand, so that the ducklings can take baths in it and get rid of feather parasites on their own.
To avoid the spread of infection, you should regularly clean the house, nests, feeders and drinkers. 
Crowding
Being in too small a room, ducks begin to show aggression and their plumage suffers as a result. In order to prevent this from happening, the norms of the poultry house should be observed - for 2 individuals at least 1 square meter of space. At the same time for 4-5 birds one nest should be installed.
In addition, in the first weeks of life of ducklings, the length of daylight hours in the house should be at least 20 hours, for which it is necessary to provide artificial lighting. The placement of 50 watt LED lamps at the rate of one lamp per two birds is optimal. From two months of age, the duration of daylight hours is reduced to 12 hours.
Find out why ducklings fall to their feet and what to do.
Also, according to research, the risk of flaking feathers increases if more than half of the livestock is not allowed out of the premises for walking. Therefore it is necessary to organize a spacious and fenced yard for walking ducks with access to greenery and water. 
Low humidity and poor ventilation
One of the causes of duckling problems with ducklings can be a violation of the microclimate in the house, and they are especially badly affected by humidity below 50% and polluted air. Dry air slows down the growth of the feather, making it dry and brittle. As a result of the uncomfortable conditions, the birds start to “break down” on their tribesmen and damage the plumage.
Important! If no methods work, then circumcision or cauterization of one-third of the upper beak will help avoid flaking of the pen - debikirovaniya. The procedure is quite complicated, so it is best to have it carried out by an experienced specialist or veterinarian.Required living conditions for ducklings:
- relative air humidity - 65-70%;
- air temperature in the first week is + 27-30 ° С;
- air temperature in the second week is + 23-26 ° С;
- air temperature from the third week is + 19-22 ° C;
- good performance artificial ventilation;
- regular airing in the warm season;
- not too bright lighting.
So, as a prevention of baldness, ducklings need to organize a spacious and comfortable room for them, a full and balanced diet and follow the absence of parasites on them. All these measures will help to prevent the problem and raise mobile, vigorous and healthy ducklings.Reviews
