Worms on or in a duck?

[Ghost1941]

Let me start with the back story... Killed two ducks from the opener, breasted both of them and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. The one hen mallard had a really vibrant color set on her wings so I cut one off and salted the end of it. I placed it in a bag with some additional salt and set it on a table in the garage. I went out to check on it today and there was a large number of small white worms crawling around the feathers. They did not appear to be maggots and after I pointed a light at them they worked their way back into the feathers and for the most part disappeared.

ANY ideas what the hell these things are and how they actually got there?

[DV8r]

IDK, but leave them alone and they should hatch into a fly of some sort that may be easily recognized. Meanwhile thank them for cleaning the wing for you.

[langenc]

Maggots take many forms esp fly maggots. Those in DC are different.

[DV8r]

Maggots take many forms esp fly maggots. Those in DC are different.
The DC variety is easily distinguished though by its fowl aroma.

[Ghost1941]

The DC variety is easily distinguished though by its fowl aroma.

I see what you did there... :whistle:

[Roundballer]

ANY ideas what the hell these things are and how they actually got there?

I would surmise that some fly of some sort had laid eggs on the ducks wings when it was still alive, or the duck had picked up the eggs from some other action. Much the same as ducks and geese pick up fish eggs on their feet and transfer them to other lakes, streams, and ponds. The fly eggs were there when the wing was placed in the bag. The duck if it was still alive would have cleaned itself of the hatched larva as soon as they showed, most likely by eating them as the duck tended to its' feathers. They have now hatched and will live on the desiccating soft tissues left in the wing, until they move onto the next stage of their development. Eventually the type of fly that the eggs came from would be evident.