| Summary Information |
| Diseases / List of Physical / Traumatic
Diseases / Disease summary |
| Alternative Names |
Tail picking,
Cannibalism. |
| Disease Agents |
Conspecifics. |
| Infectious
Agent(s) |
-- |
| Non-infectious
Agent(s) |
-- |
| Physical
Agent(s) |
|
| General Description |
Pecking at
down/feathers, including tail-picking, may be seen in hand-reared waterfowl. This may lead
to the development of areas of bare skin and, with persistence, to skin damage (B18, B40, V.w5). |
| Further Information |
- Much less common than in gamebirds such as pheasants. More common with
some species than others.
- Primarily due to boredom. Avoided by providing a grass sward for geese
and other grazers to peck at, and other greenstuffs.
- Spraying areas of skin damage with 'purple spray' (aerosol preparation
containing oxytetracycline hydrochloride plus blue or purple dye, usually in a spirit
base, e.g. Terramycin Aerosol Spray, Pfizer Ltd., Sandwich, Kent, UK) helps to dry the
wound and disguise the blood, reducing the attractiveness of the area to broodmates, in
addition to reducing the attractiveness to flies and the risk of secondary infection.
- Particular 'offenders' pecking their littermates may have to be
separated.
(B18,
B40, V.w5). |
| Techniques linked to this disease |
|
 |
| Host taxa groups /species |
|
| Disease has been reported in either the wild or in captivity
in the following WATERFOWL Species: |
[N.B. Miscellaneous
/ Traumatic Diseases tend to be under-reported and the majority are likely to affect all
waterfowl species, given exposure to the related disease agents/factors.] |
| -- |
| Disease has been reported in free-ranging populations of the
following WATERFOWL Species: |
-- |
| -- |
