Angel wing, possible pinioning, and ideas on what color?? Pics added

[AliciaM]

How old is too old to pinion a bird yourself without using a vet? Ive been trying to wrap a call ducklings wing that has angel wing but he keeps either pulling it off or moving the wrap so its around his legs and cant walk. Hes almost fully feathered but still has the lower wing full of blood feathers. He is 5 weeks old. He has no strength in the lower wing, it just flops.

Here are some pics. Also.. can anyone help me guess as to what color these guys are??

The one in the middle is the one with angel wing. These ducks are all full siblings.

This is Spongebob.. Notice the one and only black feather on him?? Cool, huh?

Im gonna call this one Homer..its kinda homely looking.. looks nothing like his siblings..

I havent named these guys yet..They are about 3 weeks old.

 

[Sumatra503]

Wrapping the wing won't halp with angel wing. There is not a need to pinion him either. Simply clip the feathers short when he gets older. That's what I do with my pekin, Daisy. She has bad angel wing and breaks feathers. I simply trim the feathers as short as I can on the end of her wing Where the angel wing is and she does just fine.

He is too old to pinion by anyone inexperienced, so just leave it alone or too a vet to do it.

 

[AliciaM]

Thanks Sumatra503 for the info... I didnt realy think pinioning would work at this stage, but it was worth asking.. I will remember to keep them trimmed. I might look into a vet doing it, just to see what the cost would be.. but most likely I will just keep it trimmed..Since I have to trim everyone elses wings to prevent flying the coop...

 

[tia]

It takes a lot of patience to wrap the wing. I used what they call vet tape. It really takes two people to do it and it has to be pretty tight. It has to be wrapped around several times. I wrapped it around the wing first and then several times around the body. Good Luck.

 

[The Duck ABC's]

Wrapping does work, but it needs to be done right. A 2 person job. One holds the duck, the other wraps. Vetwrap is the best product for the job. First fold up in the wing and wrap once, this prevents the wing from being stretched out downward. Then wrap once just above the part where the legs join the body. Final wrap is up the chest. It does need to be firm. You know it wasn't if the duck pulls the wing out. Wrap it for 4 days, put take it off at night. Reevalute and perhaps add a few more days. This is what I've told Tia last year and it works nicely.

 

[mominoz]

Too high of protein may contribute I have read, I believe he should be on 14-15%... you could add rolled or crimped oats to cut your protein..... i'd wrap and cut the protein for a bit....

 

[sonew123]

Quote:
YES!!! How old are they---I get angel wing everytime I hatch out ducks ( which has only been twice) When I see it happening I cut it way back on protein-and give lots of green green treats-shredded broccoli -peas-romaine lettuce-it fixes itself in days. Then after they reach a few weeks older -it stays fixed and have never had any issue since

 

[destinduck]

Alicia. Sumatra is wrong. Wrapping has been proven to fix the problem and It is not to late to wrap your duck! Listen to duckABC's and the others advice. Cut back on protein and give your ducks more room for exercise. These are the most main consistent reasons for angel wing. Lots of greens also help. And pinioning is not an option anyway (even by a vet) because of the way the wing bends with angelwing. So wrap right and tight NOW or thats the way he will always be. Good luck and hopefully you'll fix her. And yes If you catch angel wing very early Like sonew said cutting back on protien and plenty of exersice will sometimes correct itself

 

[The Duck ABC's]

The wing in the picture is to far down for diet fix only. The combination is the best method. I would also add vitamins to the diet. Polyvisol without iron infant drops are wonderful. One drop into the bill twice a day for 2 weeks will help tremendious. It's high in the elemental vitamins for nerve, muscle and bone building. The key to fix angel wing is to wrap before they are 12 weeks old. After 12 weeks the chances of correcting it are not to good. You are early in the problem and this is when you can fix it 100%. Ok the duck may not fly well or not at all, but you don't have the risk of further injury because it is standing out. It usually starts to slip first (your stage) and then it turns out making the duck look like an airplane. I have treated angel wing in ducks 7-8 weeks old and they turned out fine. You could not even tell they had it. It's all in the wrapping method and you will learn fast. Ask Tia, I think her duck got out of the wrapping twice and then she had it right. Vetwrap is cheap, look in the horse isle at the feed store.

 

[justmeandtheflock]

I had one who wouldn't keep the vet wrap on so I used duct tape. You would need to be very careful taking it off. I used an oil to gently get the adhesive unstuck from the feathers. I kept it on for a week and the duck didn't have any more problems.