Angel wing in ducks, & how we wrap to mend it - Pictorial

[Miss Lydia]

I'm calling it healed. He looks great today.

I'm amazed at how big the blood feathers or the shafts of them get. My third one turned out just to be heavy feathers. I removed Donald's this evening and his looks great.

Great job!! Oh boy those blood feathers are really heavy.

 

[Ren2014]

This is Alton. His blood feathers are so heavy they nearly touch the ground when he bends over Should I do anything??

 

[Miss Lydia]

This is Alton. His blood feathers are so heavy they nearly touch the ground when he bends over Should I do anything??

Is he working to hold them in place or just letting them droop? Usually when they are heavy you'll see them adjusting them alot they will droop again, adjust. That is how they build up their muscle to hold them in place.

 

[seasprite]

I just looked at the first page and I know that body wrap would not stay on any of my ducks! Lol. They are so smart and skilled at removing anything that allows them to get their bill around it. The paper tape we use only sticks to the wing feathers and it is snug enough that there is no loose gaping bandages.

What we have done is to use paper tape and only wrap tape in a figure 8 pattern around the wing to keep the tip held under. The midpart of the 8 is at the bottom of the wing so it looks like a V shape on the outside of the wing and the inside of the wing. I don't wrap up the entire body so they are still able to use the wing for balance and they can still swim. By the time the tape starts coming loose it is time to remove it anyway.

I have done a couple young birds as their feathers were heavy with blood and the way I tape does not hinder the feather growth. The adult Call drake I taped was too late to correct completely but it did make a significant improvement. The tip stayed under but it was already curved out from the weight of his feathers so they did not rest as close against his body as they should have. We had to look close to see it and with his wings clipped you could not tell at all.

Duck Drover, this is exactly what I'm trying to figure out how to do. I'm not sure I totally understand the figure 8 but, I'll give it a go! I'm out of paper tape and vet wrap, so I might try masking tape topped with duct tape. I have 7 week olds, a rouen and a cayuga, and the there's nothing I can do to keep the cayuga dry underneath - they just have a small water dish right now while they're all tapey, but she still keeps trying to swim in it!

 

[Ren2014]

Is he working to hold them in place or just letting them droop? Usually when they are heavy you'll see them adjusting them alot they will droop again, adjust. That is how they build up their muscle to hold them in place.

I have seen him adjusting some but mostly he just lets them drape.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have seen him adjusting some but mostly he just lets them drape.

Well the lazy lil stinker. He needs to be working those muscles. Not sure you can help because if you wrap it won't help the muscles get strong enough to hold the wings in place.

 

[seasprite]

I did the wing-only way, and so far it's going great! I ended up using a strip of duct tape about 18" long, ripped in half lengthwise. Then I - put a little bit of oil in my left hand,and painted it down the centers of the duct tape strips with my right finger to make them less sticky. I'm not sure I have it the same way as DuckDrover - my Vs are upside down - but it's holding the wing tip securely and the ducklets are soooooooo much happier than they were with their whole bodies wrapped. They were out in the rain today and the tape still looks fine.





I hope this works! They're almost 8 weeks now and suddenly looking so grown up.

 

[LeannS]

I have a Khaki Campbell hen that I bought as a one year old, She had developed angle wing so I just keep her wings feathers clipped so they do not get in her way.She is a very good egg layer. I have only been a duck owner just a few months, and have learned allot with others peoples mistakes. Thanks to this web site. I have six ducks for eggs production and would love to have more but 6 eggs is more then enough or my own use.

 

[Ren2014]

Well the lazy lil stinker. He needs to be working those muscles. Not sure you can help because if you wrap it won't help the muscles get strong enough to hold the wings in place.

He is definitely lazy. I watched him today and he doesn't even flap his wings.

I did the wing-only way, and so far it's going great! I ended up using a strip of duct tape about 18" long, ripped in half lengthwise. Then I - put a little bit of oil in my left hand,and painted it down the centers of the duct tape strips with my right finger to make them less sticky. I'm not sure I have it the same way as DuckDrover - my Vs are upside down - but it's holding the wing tip securely and the ducklets are soooooooo much happier than they were with their whole bodies wrapped. They were out in the rain today and the tape still looks fine.





I hope this works! They're almost 8 weeks now and suddenly looking so grown up.

How long do you plan to leave it on?

I have a Khaki Campbell hen that I bought as a one year old, She had developed angle wing so I just keep her wings feathers clipped so they do not get in her way.She is a very good egg layer. I have only been a duck owner just a few months, and have learned allot with others peoples mistakes. Thanks to this web site. I have six ducks for eggs production and would love to have more but 6 eggs is more then enough or my own use.

Welcome to the world of duck ownership Khaki Campbell's are excellent egg producers. Glad you found a way to help her wing.

 

[seasprite]

I'm having a hard time deciding how long to leave it on. Last time I did a full wrap at about 6 weeks, on our mystery duck who is a bit smaller than our Welsh Harlequins, and she unwrapped herself on the third day and was totally healed. These two are later and bigger and the Rouen's wing was worse.. I guess I'll take it off tomorrow morning and see how it looks. They still don't seem bothered by the tape!